C&C in the Kitchen

Last week I hosted a holiday luncheon and cookie exchange, so I thought I would share what I served and the cookies I exchanged. I decided to keep it simple and serve soup and bread. I made two soups, the first a butternut squash, leek & apple soup from My New Roots.

And the second, one of my favorites, Thai sweet potato and carrot soup from The Wanderlust Kitchen. 

I made three types of cookies: 

Peppermint Brookies from Weelicious which were so dang good and were a big hit with the Mini Fashionista. 

Peanut Butter Blossoms from Hummusapien which were equally as delicious. The Mini especially loved helping with these. Unwrapping the kisses and placing them on the cookies was the perfect job for a 6 year old. 

And lastly, I had to include one "healthy" cookie, so I decided on these gingerbread chocolate chip almond butter cookies from Recipe Runner that are paleo and gluten free. I was a bit skeptical of how they would turn out, but they were super moist and tasty (although mine looked nothing like this picture)!

I highly recommend trying all of these recipes! I will be adding them all to my list of favorites. 

C&C in the Kitchen: Recipes on Repeat

When I find a recipe I have the tendency to make it over and over and over again...

Here are a few of the recipes that are currently on repeat in our house.

Spiced Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Chocolate-Cashew Cardamom Frosting from Dishing up the Dirt

Speedy Veggie ‘n Brown Rice Noodle Bowl with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce from Oh She Glows. 

No-Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars from Hummusapien

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet and Farro Winter Salad from Joy the Baker

Have a great weekend!

C&C in the Kitchen

I've been in the kitchen a lot lately. First it was almond milk and banana bread and today I'm sharing another recipe. I'm pretty sure the "time of the month" directly correlates with the amount of baking I do on any given week...

Last week I had the sudden urge to bake chocolate chip cookies for a Junior League meeting. My plan was derailed when I realized that I had only 1/2 stick of butter in my refrigerator. Since I was on a mission, I wasn't going to let that stop me...so I started thinking...what else could I use? And from that came my first, and certainly not my last, time baking chocolate chip cookies with coconut oil. 

Here is the recipe I came up with!

Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 cup coconut sugar (you can also use 1/2 brown and white sugar)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 cup chocolate chips 

Instructions

- Preheat oven to 350.

- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat coconut oil and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

- In another bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

- Slowly mix into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

- Scoop by rounded tablespoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

- Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

And here is what you get....tasty, moist and healthy-ish chocolate chip cookies. 

They were definitely a hit at my meeting, and I will without a doubt be making them again soon!

C & C in the Kitchen

In last week's "My Favorite Things" post I promised to share what I baked for the sweet swap. You know we're big fans of health treats, but this was no occasion to keep it healthy. And Regan found me just the indulge-worthy recipe - dark chocolate, pistachio, and sea salt cookies from Two Peas & Their Pod. This cookie delivers big time. They have all the components of pure baked goods bliss. 

One of my friends is gluten free, so I had to make sure she could indulge in the sugar mania. If this is your first introduction to The Detoxinista, consider your life changed. She has awesome recipes and the raw brownie bites are no exception. All you need are walnuts, cocoa, vanilla, dates, sea salt, and water! I put mine in the freezer after I made them giving them that little extra je ne sais quoi. 

And finally, while I didn't bake these...they are worth the mention - i.e. a trip (or order) to Baltimore. Hilary brought the most delicious salted caramel brownies from Charm City Cook. I'm not really a caramel fan....until now. These are hands down the best brownies I've EVER had. No joke. 

I saved one for Dr. B...but didn't have enough self control to leave it until he got home. Now I've got an excuse to have them again!

I hope you try out some of these treats! You won't regret it. 

C&C in the Kitchen

I love to bake. I love to eat. I love to eat baked goods. Unfortunately, eating baked goods in moderation is not my strong suit. Given this baking/eating addiction, nothing gets me more excited that finding healthy baking recipes.

Recently a friend and fellow barre3 instructor (thanks Jessica C.) introduced me to this amazing recipe for Healthy Cookies. Like I often do, I used the recipe as a base to create my own version of these tasty and healthy treats.

These are probably my most favorite healthy treat ever...they might even be my favorite cookies EVER!

image via

I will call these C&C Cookies. Here is my recipe.

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut (I use sweetened)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts
2 Tbs chia seeds
2 Tbs flax seeds

Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Mash bananas and mix with vanilla coconut oil.
- Add oats, almond meal, coconut, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Add chocolate chips, walnuts, chia and flax seeds and mix on low.

Bake on a non-stick cookie sheet or silpat liner for 13-14 minutes!

Here is what my cookies look like from start to finish!

Try this recipe! You won't be disappointed!