Breakfast Cookies

This week for the DH's breakfast, I decided to make these breakfast cookies from the Minimalist baker that I stumbled upon when I was looking at her almond meal coconut cookies from last week.

GLUTEN FREE VEGAN BREAKFAST COOKIES

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

17 mins

Total time

27 mins

Tender, not-too-sweet breakfast cookies made with bananas, flax seed, oat flour, rolled oats, almond meal and lots of dark chocolate chips. Gluten free and vegan!

Author: Minimalist Baker

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten Free

Serves: 26 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp flaxseed + 5 Tbsp water)
• 1/2 cup natural, salted peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
• 2 Tbsp refined coconut oil, melted (or canola oil)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp agave nectar (or sub maple syrup, or honey if not vegan)
• 1 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup oat flour (ground from GF oats)
• 1/2 cup almond meal (ground from raw almonds)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch sea salt (add more or less depending on saltiness of your PB)
• 3 Tbsp raw walnuts, lightly crushed (or sub other nut)
• 1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips (non-dairy for vegan)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine flax seed and water and let rest for 5 minutes to achieve "eggy" texture.
3. Mash in the bananas until well combined, and then add peanut butter, baking powder, baking soda, melted coconut oil, agave nectar, salt, vanilla and stir.
4. Add oats, almond meal and oat flour and mix well.
5. Add chocolate chips and walnuts and stir until well combined. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to harden.
6. Drop cookies by spoonfuls on a lightly greased baking sheet - they won't expand much. Also make them as uniform in size as possible to ensure even baking.
7. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden brown.
8. Let rest on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. After completely cooled, store in an air-tight container to keep fresh for up to a few days. Refrigerate or freezer for even longer storage time.

My notes:
1. Sticky dough, but I was able to flatten them out pretty well and they held together after being baked.
2. I used whole wheat flour instead of the oat flour
3. I used canola oil instead of coconut oil
4. I used almond butter (a mix of raw and roasted) instead of almond butter
5. I used psyllium eggs, not flax, and probably added more water because of that.
6. I used cashews for the nuts and threw in some cranberries because why not
7. The DH was a fan, and I will probably be making these again. Next time I'll probably throw in some spices-- cinnamon or allspice-- something extra to give oomph. Perhaps the almond butter swap for the the peanut butter took some of the flavor out, I don't know, but I thought that these guys could use a little more something.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

And here I go continuing on my quest to find whole grain pancakes that taste like pancakes should. Today I tried this recipe from The Little Spice Jar 

FLUFFIEST WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Prep time:  12 mins

Cook time:  13 mins

Total time:  25 mins

Serves: 10 pancakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 and ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 and ½ teaspoon light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup blueberries or chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine 1 cup milk with vinegar in a medium bowl or a 2 cup measuring cup and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour". Add the egg and melted butter to the soured milk and using a fork or whisk, beat lightly until mixed.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. No need to sift. Stir milk and egg into flour mixture in 2 batches. Set aside for 10 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons of milk and stir.
3. Heat a nonstick griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately ¼ cup for each pancake. Dot the pancakes with blueberries or chocolate chips as preferred before flipping. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

My Notes:
1. These definitely had a good "rise" to them and made nice thick cakes.
2. I made a stack without blueberries and they were just okay. With fresh blueberries, though, they were much better.
3. Verdict: On to the next one, on to the next one.

Crispy Rice Bars "Luna Bars"

Happy Valentine's Day! My dear husband requested something "different" this year (and by different I think he just meant not cookies) for Valentine's Day. I've been wanting to try a homemade LUNA bar for awhile and so that's where I took it.

The recipe below is directly from Chocolate-covered Katie. My notes/changes are below.

Homemade Luna Bars

• 3 cups rice crispies (I used brown rice crispies. For a less-crispy bar, you can sub 2 cups of the crispies for 1/2 cup oat flour.)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt (I used salted pb, too)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons nut butter of choice (for lower-cal option, see below link)
• 1/2 cup sticky sweetener, such as agave or brown rice syrup (I used agave)
• 2-3 tablespoons protein powder (you can omit)
• melted chocolate chips or 

Mix your pb, sweetener, extract, and salt. Melt (either in the microwave or stove), then pour over the cereal and powder, and stir very well, making sure to coat all the crispies. Smush and smash the crispies. (Get mad; it’s fun!) Line a pan with wax paper and spread the mixture evenly into the pan. Place a sheet of wax paper on top of the mixture, then press down as firmly as you can. Really press it down! Spread the chocolate on top, and freeze for at least a half hour before slicing.

My Ingredients and Changes:
1. I also used brown puffed rice, which I got from the bulk bins at Whole Foods, but I'm sure regular crisped rice would be equally delicious. I probably ended up using closer to 4 cups of it.
2. I've been running low on vanilla extract and so I did one teaspoon vanilla and added a teaspoon of imitation maple flavor, which I have a lot of and never use. I think this was a brilliant move on my part because it added a nice flavor dimension to the final product.
3. I used Skippy's natural "no-stir" peanut butter for this and went with blue agave syrup.
4. I put in two tablespoons of chocolate flavored protein powder.
5. For the chocolate layer, I melted chocolate and butter (2.5ish oz to 1.5ish TBSPs).

My Notes:
1. This would be a no-brainer GF, DF dessert, if I omitted the whey protein powder or subbed in cocoa powder, and didn't use butter in the chocolate layer.
2. I probably could've added more protein powder (maybe 4-5 TBSP) without anyone noticing-- I think in the future, I'd mix the powder into the melted liquids before adding it to the rice.
3. I think I would do a thicker chocolate layer next time. I used an 8x8 pan and the 2.5ish ounces of chocolate definitely covered the surface area, but I think I'd have liked more.
4. I really liked this, but next time I might try added some nuts or some other interesting mix in to the rice.

Almond Meal Cookies (GF, DF)

Friday snack duty this week and I am strangely uninspired. Usually I go all out for Friday snack-- I bookmark recipes to try out weeks in advance, and often go over the top with what I bring in-- gluten-free, dairy-free things for the two co-workers of mine who follow that diet, and other delicious treats for everybody else. But this week, I'm tired, I'm feeling overworked and underappreciated and squeezed on all fronts and I just can't bring myself to care. I made this recipe from the Minimalist Baker mostly because the ingredient list was short and my bag of almond meal in the freezer was taking up prime real estate. But now that I've baked them, I realize that of course I care, because while according to the DH they taste fine, they look pitiful. And I'm contemplating leaving them at home and making something else entirely. Le sigh.


Almond Meal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Coconut
http://minimalistbaker.com/almond-meal-cookies-with-chocolate-chips-and-coconut/

ALMOND MEAL COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND COCONUT

 

Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Gluten free cookies from the Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook, featuring bits of dark chocolate, shredded coconut, and hearty almond meal.

Author: Sprouted Kitchen, modified by Minimalist Baker

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Gluten Free

Serves: ~20 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (137 g) almond meal
• 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped dark chocolate (Sara used cacao nibs)
• 1/2 cup (40 g) shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or sea salt)
• 1/3 cup (73 g) brown sugar 
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp (45 g) coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond meal, dark chocolate chips, coconut, baking powder, salt and sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg until uniform in color and doubled in volume.
3. Whisk in the coconut oil and vanilla, then add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or even overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
6. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, place on baking sheet with 1-1/2 inch space in between each. Press down slightly to flatten a bit.
7. Bake until edges begin to brown, 7-10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

MY NOTES:

1. I used actual unsweetened shredded coconut -- like from a coconut using a scraper-- that had been frozen. No coconut flakes. I also used canola oil, chocolate chips (not chopped chocolate), and added in a little bit of almond extract, and some cinnamon and cardamom. 

2. These guys barely puffed or spread in the oven. I don't know if it's because of any of the substitutions I made (as I wrote about in #1)... but mine look kind of grainy and whitish, and nothing like the beautiful pictures on the minimalist baker's blog. 

3. I have no idea how she got 20 cookies out of this recipe-- I got 13, and I had really been stretching the dough, maybe maybe could have reached 15. 

4. I chilled the dough all day long, and it was pretty easy to work with thankfully. 

Maple Pumpkin Muffins with Oats and a sliced Almond topping

I've been trying to make different things for the the DH to take for breakfast this new year. My first recipe to that end this year is from the wonderful blog Cookie and Kate (love her photography).

Maple-Sweetened Pumpkin Muffins with Oats from Cookie & Kate

http://cookieandkate.com/2014/healthy-maple-pumpkin-muffins/

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• ¼ cup milk of choice 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves
• 1¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling on top

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius). If necessary, grease ten cups of your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and didn’t require any grease).
2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and maple syrup or honey together with a whisk. Add eggs, and beat well. Mix in the pumpkin purée and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice or cloves.
3. Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined. If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins, like nuts, chocolate or dried fruit, fold them in now.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the ten muffin cups. For these muffins, it’s ok to fill the cups a little higher than you normally would. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a small amount of oats, followed by a sprinkle of cinnamon. Bake muffins for 23 to 26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack. These muffins are delicate until they cool down (you have been warned!), so it’s best to wait until they have cooled down to remove them from the tin. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan. Enjoy muffins as is or with a spread of nut butter or regular butter.

MY NOTES:
1. I used olive oil, regular milk, and a combination of whole wheat flour and white flour (3/4 cup and 1 cup, respectively). Of course I put way more of the spices in there than the recipe called for.

2. I opted to hold the oat topping, and instead mixed sliced almonds, sugar, and a bit of salt together and spooned that on top of the muffins before baking.

3. They came to about 11ish small muffins. Pretty moist as far as whole wheat-y muffins go, but definitely would go down better with coffee or milk.

4. I froze half of them for about a week, and they were fine on the defrost.