Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies

There are currently three boxes of Girl Scout cookies sitting on our kitchen counter,  ice cream in the freezer, cereal on top of the refrigerator, and Craisins in the cupboard. All foods that I can’t eat until after Easter due to the added sugar. The kitchen is a major temptation zone!

But cutting sugar out of my diet has been a positive experience so far. Over the past few months, I’d noticed that I had become addicted to sugar. I had some form of added sugar at nearly every meal, and I relied on it to get me through the day. If I didn’t have sugar, I would feel sluggish and cranky, and I’d think about it CONSTANTLY until I got my hands on something sweet to eat!

My sugar intake had become quite excessive, which is why I made the decision to fast from it during this Lent season. I haven’t had any sugar for about a week and a half, and I’ve realized that I really don’t NEED it. My body actually feels so much better without it!

The only time it’s really hard not to throw in the towel and devour a whole box of samoas is when my suitemates and I are drinking tea or coffee after dinner. I just try to pretend like it’s no big deal when they are eating cookies or ice cream and nibble on some fruit or homemade larabars (minus the chocolate chips).

I’ve also been trying to bake some desserts with no added sugar, like these oatmeal raisin walnut cookies, which are sweetened only with pureed raisins. They were actually really tasty! Of course, they can’t beat my mom’s oatmeal cookies, but they are definitely a great option if you are looking for a sugar-free dessert.

I think these cookies would also be awesome with other dried fruit and nuts. Next time, I’m going to use dried cherries and almond meal with a splash of almond extract in place of the raisins, walnuts, and spices. Doesn’t that sound delicious? I can’t wait to try it out! 🙂

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies

Source: adapted from Little House in the Suburbs

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups walnuts, finely ground
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups golden raisins
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Lightly toast the rolled oats in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Place toasted oats into a food processor and process to a coarse flour.  Transfer oat flour to a large bowl and combine with ground walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

3. Place raisins in food processor and process until a thick paste forms. Blend in melted butter and egg. Pour mixture into dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with bottom of a water glass. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Green Tea White Chocolate Chip Cookies

After three wonderful days in Boston, a spontaneous one-day detour to New Jersey, and over 20 hours in the car, we got back to Cleveland late Wednesday night. Although I was a little sad to come back to Cleveland, I am glad to be getting more sleep, working out, and eating oatmeal again. And blogging, of course! 🙂

We had such a lovely time touring Boston, catching up with old friends, and eating delicious food! This was one of those trips that I am SO glad we took. It was so much fun!

Even the long hours in the car were really enjoyable and the time seemed to fly by. Of course, good company, good music, frequent breaks, and lots of yummy snacks definitely helped. 🙂

I originally planned on baking some cappuccino cookies for the road trip, but at the last minute I decided to try something new instead! I swapped out the instant coffee for some green tea powder and used all white sugar instead of half white and half brown.

The end result was fabulous! The cookies had a really nice green tea flavor, which balanced out the sweetness from the sugar and white chocolate chips. I like them almost as much as the original cappuccino cookies and I ended up eating practically half the batch all by myself! 🙂

Green Tea White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons green tea powder (matcha)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and green tea powder. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla  extract, and beat on medium speed until mixture is fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chunks or chips with a spatula. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

4. Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking pans, spacing them about 1 1/2-2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven, and allow cookies to cool on pans for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cappuccino Cookies with Espresso and White Chocolate

At 10:30 am today, we ran out of coffee. Just a few months ago, this wouldn’t have bothered me in the least, but this morning, I was frantic. I blame my recent coffee addiction on Ahra, who’s even more crazy about it than I am! 🙂

I’ve always LOVED coffee-flavored desserts (especially ice cream!), and I’d enjoy a mocha or latte on occassion, but I never understood those people who just HAD to have coffee every morning. Now I know.

I know my body definitely doesn’t NEED it, and I’m not even sure if the caffeine really has any effect on me at all. I guess it’s more of a psychological dependence? I don’t know, but if I don’t have a big cup of strong black coffee, then it is just NOT a good day.

Getting through tomorrow without coffee might not be pretty, so I’ll have to get my daily dose through other means. Maybe by eating a bunch of cappuccino cookies with espresso and white chocolate? 🙂

The coffee flavor really stands out in these cookies (which I love!), and the sweet bits of white chocolate are the most perfect complement. This is definitely one of my top 5 favorite cookie recipes ever. They are really, REALLY good! 🙂

Just in case these cookies don’t do the trick, I’ll be supplementing with lots of tea, my first true love! 🙂

Cappucino Cookies with Espresso and White Chocolate

Source: Joy the Baker

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons instant espresso or coffee powder (I used 4 tablespoons of instant coffee powder)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chunks (I used about 2/3 cup white chocolate chips)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and instant espresso or coffee powder. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, and beat on medium speed until mixture is fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chunks or chips with a spatula. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

4. Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking pans, spacing them about 1 1/2-2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven, and allow cookies to cool on pans for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls

Today was a delicious, delicious day. So many sweet treats and snacks, but no nutritious and well-balanced meals… Oh well, it’s the weekend! 🙂

The boyfriend and I went out for brunch at the Inn on Coventry this morning and I ordered a ginormous pumpkin pancake. It was delish! I also had about four cups of coffee. Walking a total of 3.5 miles there and back in 10-degree weather was definitely worth it!

After a quick afternoon workout, I drank a cup of soy milk and ate a spoonful of almond butter. The jar is now nearly empty, which means I finally get to try OIAJ! 🙂

While I was deciding whether I was feeling unlazy enough to fix myself a real meal, Deborah asked if we wanted to get bubble tea. Of course I did! I had iced Thai tea with wonderfully chewy tapioca balls. I also nibbled on an egg custard tart. Yum!

Right after getting back home, I muched on a few handfuls of homemade peanut butter and banana granola. So crunchy! 🙂

After snacking all day, I wasn’t hungry for dinner at all. So I just shared a red bean bun with the boyfriend instead.

AND! I polished off the rest of the peanut butter cookie dough balls I made yesterday.

I am a little (okay, A LOT) obsessed with cookie dough, so I think these little balls are the most  brilliant invention ever! They are soooo good! The taste and texture is similar to raw cookie dough, even after they’re baked. Amazing!

Healthy eating will (hopefully) resume tomorrow! 🙂

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls

Source: adapted from Peas and Thank You

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together baking powder, baking soda, salt, whole wheat pastry flour, and all-purpose flour.

3. Slowly add dry ingredients to mixer bowl and mix until a dough forms. Fold in chocolate chips. Chill dough for 30 minutes. (If dough looks  too dry or crumbly, add a little more peanut butter or a splash of milk).

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a mini ice cream scoop or your fingers (I used my fingers), scoop dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Dough balls will be soft and look much like they did before baking, but do not overbake! Let dough balls rest on pan for 1 minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

I never thought I would say this, but I think I am becoming a morning person. For the last several months, I’ve been starting my days earlier and earlier, and I’m really enjoying it! Because no one else in the suite is awake, it’s peaceful and quiet, and it’s so nice to have some time to myself in the mornings. I usually start off the day with a big mug of tea or coffee, and catch up with my favorite blogs. Sometimes I even do some baking! 🙂

This is such a huge change for me because for the first three years of college, I would literally wake up 30 minutes before class, no matter what time of day it was. I barely had enough time to brush my teeth, throw on some clothes, and scarf down my breakfast before racing to the main campus to make it to class on time.

Last Friday morning, as  I was enjoying my usual cup of tea and blog surfing, I came across a recipe for giant double chocolate cookies. Doesn’t that sound like the most wonderful cookie ever? What could possibly be better than an over-sized, rich chocolate cookie loaded with chocolate chips? Not much, in my opinion! 🙂

Although I LOVE chocolate, I don’t bake with it too often because two of my suitemates are not chocolate eaters. So if I make a chocolate dessert, I end up eating it most of it by myself! But I was dreaming about these cookies nonstop ever since I saw the recipe, so I just HAD to have them. I finally got a chance to make them on Monday night, and they were absolutley divine!

These cookies are best when slightly underbaked, and eaten while still warm with a tall glass of cold milk. If you are a chocolate lover, make these cookies immediately! It’s for your own good. 🙂

Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

Source: Annie’s Eats, adapted from My Baking Addiction, originally from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drivers, inspired by Levain Bakery

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder (I didn’t have any, so I just used regular unsweetened cocoa powder.)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until well-incorporated. Mix in cocoa powder until thoroughly combined. Add flour, salt, and baking powder, and beat until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

3. Transfer dough to a clean work surface and knead by hand gently to ensure even distribution of ingredients.

4. Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and place on prepared baking sheets. Slightly flatten each dough ball into a disc.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transfering to wire rack to cool completely.