Ari's Menu

Little changes making a big difference.


Skinnified Sunday: Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins

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A couple of weeks ago after one of our Monday runs, we got back to Nicole put the most amazing muffin in my hands to send me off with. It was drool worthy, and let’s just say it didn’t even last my 3 mile drive home.

 

Good friends end runs with muffins. Just sayin’. Actually, I’m a little bit surprised that spending so much time with an other food blogger hasn’t caused both of us to gain 100 lbs. That girl is always giving me delicious things to try like these. So.much.food.

These were actually fairly healthy already, so it didn’t take much tweaking, but ya know what I learned? There is no substitute for butter in a crumb topping. Well, I’ve seen some people use coconut oil, but there is no “low fat” option. UNLESS YOU KNOW THE SECRET?!?!?! I tried light whipped butter–no dice. I tried pumpkin puree and ended up with a goopy mess, so I finally sucked it up and told myself that using 3 tbs for 1.5 dozen muffins was not the end of the world. So there. I used real butter. I actually couldn’t believe I had any in my house, but I dug in the back of the fridge, and there it was in all it’s butter glory.

Just call me Paula Dean, I guess. šŸ˜‰

I was super happy that my muffins came out just as delicious as the original, and they were definitely my tean’s favorite. Chunks of apple in the middle with a crumbly cinnamonĀ streusel top? You just can’t go wrong there!

Ya know, in case you wanted to be ALL UP IN THIS MUFFIN’S BUSINESS.

 

Original recipe via Foodie Misadventures

My Swaps:

  • White whole wheat flour for all purpose (+fiber, + protein)
  • Less sugar
  • Reduced fat buttermilk for regular (-fat, -calories)
  • Apple sauce for canola oil (-fat, -calories)
  • Liquid egg substitute for real egg (-fat, calories, -cholesterol)
  • 1/2 streusel topping (-fat, -calories, -sugar) <—I made the all of it at first, but there was SO MUCH that I only ended up using about half
Skinnified Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins
yield 1 1/2 dozen

  • 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • dash salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground all-spice
  • 1 cup reduced fat buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large apples, peeled and diced (I used gala, but honey crisp would be AMAZING)
For the cinnamon crumb topping:
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 3 tbs white whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tbs butter, melted
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper liners. Spray lightly with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and all-spice. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, applesauce, egg substitute, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. Do not over mix. Gently fold in the apples until just combined.
  3. To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon (or your fingers…) until crumbly.
  4. Fill the prepared muffin pans 3/4 full with batter. Evenly sprinkle each muffin with crumb topping. Bake for 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an air tight container.

 

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Muffins

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Ultra-soft whole grain pumpkin muffins filled with a sweet and spicy cinnamon sugar swirl.

The weekend before last, most of my team was completing their longest training run bright and early Saturday morning. Even though I had already completed my 20 miler the day before, I wanted to go cheer on my friends, and Susan had ordered some muffins for the team to celebrate all of the hard work we’ve put in over the last 4 months.

Obviously IĀ hadĀ to bring something pumpkin, and these were a huge hit! Of course, I had to taste one before sending them off, so I shared one with my pumpkin hating husband who loved them just as much as I did! I don’t know know if it was the pumpkin, or the perfect amount of baking time, or what, but the texture of these muffins was absolute perfection!

They are so light and fluffy and the cinnamon swirl really spices them up perfectly!

And GUESS WHAT!!! This was the first time I took all my own pictures without my fancy camera husband around to even help me get my settings and everything adjusted. 100% me (and, you know, the fancy camera helps a little šŸ˜‰ ). I feel like I know absolutely nothing about photography, so I was thrilled at how these came out!! I’m really excited to learn be learning more, and getting a little more self sufficient on the photography end, since it is such a big part of the blog.

Anyway, back to the muffins! They would be the perfect treat to wake up to on Thanksgiving morning for a quick and easy breakfast while you prepare for family and the big day. Cut them in half, slather them with pumpkin butter because there really is no such thing as too much pumpkin! Trust me.

These babies will definitely be a fall (well, pretty much year round since I’m an all season pumpkin lover) staple in my house!

Print
Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Muffins

Yield: 1 dozen

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tablespoon milled flax seed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • dash salt
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup egg substitute
  • 1 cup reduced fat buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin tins, then spray lightly with nonstick spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax seed, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup sugar and pumpkin puree, vanilla extract and egg substitute until well-combined.
  4. Alternate adding dry ingredients/buttermilk to wet ingredients (flour mixture, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour).
  5. Fill muffin tins 1/3. In a small bowl, whisk remaining 2 tbsp sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the batter. Top with remaining batter.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Let stand for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Ultra-soft whole grain pumpkin muffins filled with a sweet and spicy cinnamon sugar swirl.

https://arismenu.com/cinnamon-swirl-pumpkin-muffins/

Coconut Mocha Brownies

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There was a time in my life where I didn’t love chocolate.

I mean, I liked it okay, but I always preferred vanilla based desserts. Now? Let’s just say I’m an equal opportunity dessert eater. šŸ˜‰

My friend Jason, however, has always been a chocolate fiend. He always chooses the chocolate desserts, and it was only through tasting his amazing drink at Dutch Bro’s that I found the perfect post long run coffee drink (Cocomo–basically an iced latte made with chocolate milk + coconut syrup. I get sugar free coconut to make this drink so healthy šŸ˜‰ ).

When Jason’s birthday came around (back in June…), I knew immediately that I had to make something chocolate, and after several post run coffee dates, I was super inspired to make something based off a coffee drink. Espresso makes chocolate sound even chocolatier, and these brownies are ohhhhh so chocolatey. Like, must have a glass of milk chocolatey.

I honestly don’t even know how I did it. I don’t know how I made the gooeyest brownie I’ve ever tasted without using any butter or oil, and I don’t know how or why they tasted so freaking good, but I just know they didn’t taste the slightest bit healthy. I mean, they really aren’t, but they tasted like they had ALL of the bad stuff, rather thanĀ compromisingĀ somewhere in the middle.

The flavors just all complement each other perfectly, and the melty chocolate chips in the center with the rich chocolate cream cheese frosting are just to die for. They are definitely a little indulgent, but worth the treat, in myĀ opinion.

 

Coconut Mocha Brownies

yield 32 brownies

For the brownies:

  • 1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tbs espresso powder
  • dash salt
  • 11 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
  • 1 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1 cup egg substitute
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp coconut extract
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened reduced fat coconut
  • 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
For the frosting:
  • 12 oz reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch process or special dark are best)
  • 2 tsp espresso powder
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/4 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp coconut extract
  • extra shredded coconut for topping (optional)
Directions:
  1. Ā Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 pan, then line with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, espresso powder and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together yogurt, chocolate, and sugar, eggs, and extracts until combined. Fold in the flour mixture, followed by coconut and chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-40 min, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out mostly clean. Let the brownies cool completely, then use parchment paper to lift them out of the pan.
  5. To make frosting,Ā beat cream cheese in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth. Add extracts.Ā Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed, followed by cocoa powder.Ā Increase to medium speed and add melted chocolate.Ā Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl often.
  6. Frost completely cooled brownies, then serve immediately or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

 

 

Pumpkin Filled Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

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In case you’re wondering if I’m running out of things I want to make that include pumpkin…

The answer is no. Not even a little bit. In fact, the list has gotten so long. Longer than my To-Do List, and you can figure out for yourself which list I’m actually gaining more ground on…

I just wanna bake cookies all day long. Can that be my life? Except, then none of my pants would fit. No matter how much healthier my cookies may be than your average dessert, a cookie is a cookie, and if you eat a dozen a day (don’t judge me), then…well, we all know how that ends. Moral of the story? Bake cookies all day long, then bribe the love of everyone you know by feeding them delicious healthy desserts. That’s how I win friends in life. That, and rapping Gangsta’s Paradise at parties. Or maybe that was how I lose friends? I forget…

So as you can see, my tools for friendship are bribery and embarrassing myself. They seem to work pretty well. I attract awesome humans. I’m guessing it has more to do with the cookies. These cookies were, um, ridiculous. I used my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe + some pumpkin pie spice, then mixed together some canned pumpkin, cream cheese, brown sugar and a little flour for thickening, and I had a dangerous dessert on my hands. I loved the way the thick oatmeal cookies held up to the creamy filling. The filling was tricky. Pumpkin leads to a slightly runny cream cheese frosting, but I noticed that this girl used flour when she made almost the exact same thing, so I tried that and it solved all of the problems in the entire world. Or at least my very critical, life-or-death frosting problem. Thanks Sally, you’re my pumpkin frosting hero! šŸ˜‰

These would be perfect for a more bite sized Thanksgiving dessert (I made some big ones too, but I ended up loving the minis the best!), or for any fall party, or really…just because. Who doesn’t love a cream filled sandwich cookies? It’s one of life’s happy things. šŸ˜‰

 

Pumpkin Filled Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

For the cookies:

  • 1 1/2 cupĀ white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 7 1/2 tbs apple butter
  • 1 1/2 tbs coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cupĀ rolled oats

For the filling:

  • 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together apple butter, coconut oil, sugar, egg substitute and vanilla until combined. Slowly beat in dry ingredients, then fold in oats.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop cookies onto the sheet using a small cookie scoop.
  4. Bake for 12 minutes until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in remaining filling ingredients. Spread filling over 1/2 of the cookies, then top with an other cookie.

Salted Chocolate Chip Sunflower Butter Cookies

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My recipes always have the loooooongest titles. I’m not the type of person that can just say “Sunflower Cookies” and call it good. That does NOT explain these cookies. The have sunflower butter and dark chocolate chips and a SALT!

If you are one of those people that doesn’t like sweet and salty, then I’m pretty sure we can’t be friends. It is my very favorite thing. When I saw these, I just about died. Also, I sweat a lot which makes me crave salt, and I’m sure knowing my sweating habits makes you realllllly hungry. No? Weird. Maybe an other picture of awesome sweet and salty cookies will revive your appetite.

I’ve been making lots of vegan desserts lately. As I was stalking all the pins that come from my site (seriously, I have a problem), I noticed that a lot of people were labeling my recipes as vegan, and I was like “Whaaaaa???? I don’t think so….”, but then I looked and realized that a lot of them are, or are super easily adaptable. I don’t really use butter very often, and I use a liquid egg substitute a lot, but a flax egg, or corn starch egg works just as well. So now you plant lovers can eat lots of cookies also. And trust me, you want to eat these cookies.

I don’t know about you, but I think sunflower butter might be the best nut butter. I should know. I am, like, a nut butterĀ connoisseur. I could do one of those blindfold tests where you put out different types in front of me, and I could probably tell you the nut and the brand. Maybe I should be embarrassed? I’m not.

Sunflower butter has the perfect texture and flavor for cookies. And spoons and fingers. Or at least the TJ’s brand does. I love it so much, I won’t try anything else. I don’t mess with a good thing. When I find something I like, I REALLY like it, and become quickly obsessed with how it’s THE BEST THING EVER, but really…I think this is. The only thing better might be making my own, which is on my list. Yes, I have lists. SO MANY. Each of them overflowing with the many things I want to make, and some crazy ramblings for my brain. It’s kind of like this blog on paper with no pretty pictures.

Anyway, back to the cookies. It’s pretty easy. Dough, baking sheet, salty goodness…

I would actually recommend smushing them down slightly less than this. I made a couple with the left over dough and I left them puffier, and I actually liked those even more! Not that I wasn’t ridiculously eat 8 cookies a day obsessed with these just as they were šŸ˜‰

I loooooove the way these ones look on their cute little silpat.

 

Salted Chocolate Chip Sunflower Cutter Cookies

yield approx 1.5 dozen

  • 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup apple butter
  • 1 cup sunflower butter
  • 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbs corn starch
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips
  • coarse sea salt for topping

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the apple butter, sunflower butter, sugars and vanilla until smooth.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together corn starch and water, then beat into sunflower butter mixture.
  4. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.Ā Fold in chocolate chips.
  5. Using a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto lined cookie sheet. Use an extra piece of sprayed parchment paper to slightly flatten each dough ball. Generously sprinkle sea salt over cookie dough (about a pinch per cookie).
  6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just golden. Do not overbake. Let cookies stand on sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Candy Corn Oatmeal Cookies

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Happy October! I know we’re technically on day 3 here, but it’s still the beginning, so I figured what better way to celebrate than with Halloween candy?

Okay, I have a confession. I don’t think I actually like candy corn. I LOVE these cookies, but I bought this entire bag of candy corn to make them, and so once in a while when I was craving something sweet, I would grab a couple. I wanted to like them. Everyone loves candy corn at Halloween time! I tried way too many times, but the truth is, I think they taste weird on their own. I would much rather have a chocolate peanut butter pumpkin.

You know those round ones wrapped in pumpkin foil paper with the crunch in the middle that only come out for Halloween? I have a serious obsession. I used to buy at least 4-5 bags a season, and eat them all. It was kind of gross. Really gross. But those pumpkins are delicious. This year, I’m abstaining from delicious peanut butter pumpkins. I don’t trust myself. However, if you buy a bag and wanted to give me jusssstttt ooonnneee, we would maybe be best friends for ever and ever.

In return, I will give you the whole 2/3 full bag of candy corn sitting on my counter. I would say in my pantry, but yeah…. Still haven’t put that away. In fact, my house is a bit of a disaster, but that’s a whole other story, and it’s a little embarrassing. Let’s just pretend for one day that I am the neatest person ever, and my house always looksĀ immaculate. That’s a fun dream.

Let me tell you, the first time I attempted candy corn cookies, disaster ensued. I tried to make pumpkin ones, and they were entirely too cake-like, plus I mixed the candy corns into the batter, and my poor cookie pan is still recovering. It was a sticky, cakey mess that no one would enjoy eating. Surprisingly, I didn’t freak out like I normally would. I laughed about it, threw away the disaster cookies, and went back to the drawing board. The result? Halloween cookie perfection.

It’s still important to bake the candy corns in the cookie, because that’s what makes them gooey, and stick to the cookie, but pressing them in on top saves you the mess! Also, a heartier oatmeal cookie stands up a lot better when adding strange little yellow, orange, and white candies to the mix šŸ˜‰ The cookies are slightly crispy on the edges, while perfectly soft and gooey on the inside, with the perfect melty sweetness of baked candy corn.

Even this candy corn hater couldn’t get enough!! I’m telling you, if you too think you hate candy corn, you can reform to society’s candy corn obsession by putting them in these cookies! And if you love candy corn, you willĀ reallyĀ  love these cookies!

Candy Corn Oatmeal Cookies

yield 3 dozen

  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat four
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 6 tbs apple butter
  • 3 tbs coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup raw turbinado sugar
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cupĀ rolled oats
  • approx 1 cup candy corn

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together apple butter, coconut oil, sugar, egg substitute and vanilla until combined. Slowly beat in dry ingredients, then fold in oats.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop cookies onto the sheet using a small cookie scoop. Press 3-4 candy corns into the top of each cookie.
  4. Bake for 12 minutes until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

What’s your favorite Halloween candy??

 

Skinnified Sunday: Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

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Every day is a pumpkin day in the blog world this time of year. Luckily (for me, maybe not for you), I am obsessed with pumpkin. I buy canned pumpkin year round, and eat it almost every day. Weird? Well, yes….I am, but pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors, plus it has tons of health benefits and is a great substitute for oil in baked goods!

I confess, I’ve already started adding pumpkin to my coffee drinks, and cheating on my beloved Dutch Bros with Starbucks because I know *exactly* how I like my flavor pumps at Starbucks and I prefer their pumpkin syrup…

You know what, though? These cupcakes are, like, 5 billion times better than either version. That’s an exact number based on factual evidence. Like surveys, and stuff. Things that people with grown up jobs do to test things. If it were me, they would each do an audition, which I guess they kinda did. The cupcakes get the lead fair and square.

The pumpkin makes them perfectly fluffy and soft, while also adding the perfect fall flavor. And don’t even get me started on my serious love for ground cloves. Ummm, best spice ever maybe??? I love me some cumin, but lately I cannot get enough of the cloves. In my yogurt, in my cupcakes, straight out of the little shaker…

Combine that with cinnamon and nutmeg, and you’ve got a match made in heaven. Brushing the coffee on after they’ve been cooked makes a huge difference. It keeps them soft, and brings out a bold coffee flavor that usually gets lost during baking. You can also control your coffee intensity. I sit there and brush those things over and over and OVER because I have a mild ridiculous wallet blowing obsession with my littleĀ caffeinatedĀ friend, but if you feel less in love with coffee, you can use less. Just never, ever tell me about it. I can’t handle it.

This is actually not the first go around for these bad boys. They first made their appearance on the blog about a year ago, and they looked a little like this.

Womp womp.

Oh the things you learn in a year. I’m still not an excellent cupcake froster, not like this girl, but I’ve certainly learned a thing or two.

The original recipe for these muffins (which includes all the smart brushing with the coffee, and all that goodness) comes from one of my very favorite recipe blogs Annie’s Eats.

Original recipe

My Swaps:

  • Half the recipe (-temptation)
  • White whole wheat flour for all purpose flour (+fiber, +protein)
  • Apple sauce for oil (-fat, -calories)
  • Egg substitute (ie: egg beaters, liquid egg whites, flax egg, or corn starch egg) for whole eggs (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
  • Lighter cream cheese frosting for whipped cream (-fat, -calories)
  • Caramel sauce (-fat, -calories, -sugar)

Skinnified Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

yield 1 dozen

  • 1 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 1/2 tbs espresso powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • dash nutmeg
  • pinch ground cloves
  • dash salt
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 cup egg substitute
  • 1/4 cup strong coffee or espresso for brushing

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
  2. In a mixer if you have one (if not you can use a hand mixer or your muscles!) combine pumpkin, sugars, and applesauce.Ā Add egg substitute, followed by dry ingredients.Ā Mix until just incorporated.
  3. Fill lined muffin tin 3/4 full with batter and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  4. Pierce each cupcake 2-3 times with a fork, then brush with coffee. Wait 2-3 minutes, then brush again.
  5. Cool completely on wire racks and then top with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting.

 

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 8oz package reducated fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In an large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in honey and vanilla. Top cupcakes, or store in the refrigerator.

 

Hawaiian Macadamia Butter Cookies

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Sometimes you make a cookie that you just don’t want to share with anyone.

 

Well, if you’re Heather, that is every cookie. I’m sorry Heather, but I will never stop teasing you no matter how good you get at sharing. My friend Heather used to have a sharing problem. She’s worked on it, and recently shared some amazing food with me in Seattle. I was so proud of her. My mom also has a sharing problem. If you ask for a bite of her ice cream, she goes all food aggression and practically growls at you like Clementine. Basically, that was me with these cookies.

Every once in a while, a recipe just turns out so perfect that you can’t wait to make it for every event for the rest of your life, and make double because half of it will never even make it out the front door.

I was really inspired by all of the food in Hawaii. I came home with a full out list. Some people relax on vacation. I wrote lists. And you know what, awesome things came out of it. I like lists.

So let’s discuss these magical cookies, shall we? They have every single food I loved in Hawaii: macadamia nuts, coconut and banana. Also, they have white chocolate, because how could you have those foods and NOT include white chocolate?! That sounds like a terrible idea. When I was little, I used to eat mass amounts of solid white chocolate. It was my favorite. I also don’t ever remember being a single digit size in elementary school. I’m sure there’s noĀ correlation….

Not only are these babies stuffed with all good things that exist in the world, they are the perfect texture. It’s like they were made with real butter! Okay, so I will never stop believing that fat substitutes are awesome for baking, and that baked goods made with applesauce are still seriously delicious. However, they do not taste likeĀ butter. These do. I think it’s something about the oil/fat content of the macadamia butter. It works perfectly, and I love it so much more than a peanut butter cookie.

Soft, gooey and perfectly balanced. These are a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Make these cookies. Make them today. And tomorrow. And next week. Trust me.

 

 

Hawaiian Macadamia Butter Cookies

yield approx 1.5 dozen

  • 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1 medium extra ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 cup Roasted Macadamia Butter
  • 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut (I found unsweetened low fat, but regular unsweetened is fine too)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda,Ā baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the banana, macadamia butter and sugars. Beat until smooth. Add the egg substitute and vanilla and mix well.Ā Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.Ā Fold in white chocolate chips and coconut.
  3. Using a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto lined cookie sheet. Use an extra piece of sprayed parchment paper to slightly flatten each dough ball.
  4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just golden. Do not overbake. Let cookies stand on sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Starburst Cookies

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That sounds weird, right?

But think about it. Cookies are good. Starburst are good.

You like fruit in your cookies. Starbursts are like fruit, but bad for you. But don’t worry, the cookie part if less than bad for you, so it all evens out. Trust me.

Did you know that now there are packages of Starburst that come with just the red and pink ones??? Amazing. Is there any reason to eat a fruit flavored candy that isn’t red or pink? Like gummy bears…why do they even make the other colors? Why can’t they just stick to the red ones?!

You know what I think is weird? Gummy bears in ice cream! I do not prefer that. The cold ice cream makes them hard, and not gummy at all really. But a warm cookie makes a Starburst warm and gooey, like when you put taffy in the microwave. Yummmm.

Taffy, on the other hand, should only come in yellow. But that’s neither here nor there. As it turns out, Starburst inside a cookie is actually not weird, but delicious.

Especially if the cookie gets just a little crunch on the outside. Then all the textures and flavors work out in harmony and all that crap. Yes, my cookies are freaking harmonious. What are your cookies? Just melodic? Pssshhhh. Okay, I’m sorry. I had a music nerd baker moment. Don’t give up–LOOK AT THE COOKIES!!

 

Starburst Cookies

yield 1 dozen

  • 2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbs fat free cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tbs light whipped butter, softened
  • 3 tbs turbinado sugar
  • 3 tbs Splenda
  • 1 tbs egg substitute
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 12 Starburst candies

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, sugar, and Splenda until smooth. Beat in egg substitute and vanilla. Ā Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
  4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and stuff each dough ball with 1 Starburst. Re-roll dough around Starburst, so that it is completely covered, then place on prepared cookie sheet,
  5. Bake 8 to 10 min, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 min before serving.
  6. Serve warm, fresh out of the oven for optimal Starburst consistency. If you make them ahead of time, you may wish to rewarm before serving.

Pumpkin Spice Churro Bites

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One of my favorite things about going places like Disneyland, well, aside from the fact that I am freakishly obsessed with Disneyland, was always the churro stand.

Crispy on the outside, and warm and gooey on the inside. How can anyone not like churros??? Seriously. They are so soft on the inside, I used to be convinced that there was actually a filling. I didn’t quite understand the depths, and amazingness of deep frying. Don’t worry, I get it now. Deep frying = instant texture success. Sad, but true.

However, we all know greasy, oily, deep fried food and I are not besties, and, clearly, I need churros in my life. These things are the real deal. Crispy and cinnamony on the outside, while still gooey on the inside with a hint of pumpkin. Pumpkin + cinnamon = always delicious.

Also, why are all foods in life not served dipped in chocolate? That sounds like the cure for all things bad in the world. War. World hunger. People you don’t like. Just serve them dipped in chocolate.

Okay, don’t dip people in chocolate. That’s weird. I am, at least it’s definitely weird if you plan to eat them. This isn’t Silence of the Lambs or anything. In fact, I don’t even like scary movies. And this has taken a turn for the weird, so um, where was I? Chocolate. Cinnamon. Pumpkin. Churros. Mini. Oh yes, they’re mini. Which means you can eat 10 churros instead of 1. We all know I like to eat in volume, so that is obviously a plus.

Okay, before we get to the recipe, I have to tell you a secret about how I messed these up the first time. I made the bites, all was going well, but then I mixed the butter with the cinnamon sugar instead of dipping and rolling. Needless to say, it was delicious, but not quite what I was going for. Also messy, very messy. However, if you don’t mind mess, and don’t care what they look like, I would say that is an equally delicious way to achieve churro love šŸ™‚

Pumpkin Spice Churro BitesĀ adapted fromĀ Erica’s Sweet ToothĀ yield approx 3 dozen

For the churros bites:
  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • dash pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 egg substitute
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
For the cinnamon sugar topping:
  • 1/4 cup light whipped butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a pan of mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Ā Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat sugar and pumpkin together.Ā Add egg substitute and vanilla. Beat until well combined.
  4. Slowly alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour. Ā Mix until just incorporated.
  5. Use an extra small cookie scoop to fill each muffin tin and bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on how small your cookie scoop is), or until just golden brown.
  6. While the churro bites are baking, melt butter in a small bowl and combine cinnamon and sugar in a shallow dish.Ā When churro bites are finished, immediately remove from the pan and dip each bite in the butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Ā Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Skinnified Sunday: Homemade Nutter Butter Bites

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Remember those cute little mini Nutter Butters? The Nutter Butter Bites? They’re half the size, so you get to eat twice as many. That’s the way it works, right?

Is there anything better than crunchy peanut butter cookie stuffed with sweet, creamy peanut butter filling?

Maybe if you mixed them into peanut butter fro yo. Will you please mix them into peanut butter fro yo??? I WANT TO EAT THAT!!!!

Before I left, I had an order for a dozen cookies from the bike shop, and they said they didn’t care what kind, so I made them these. The next time Steve went in, apparently they were all talking about it, because I got this awesome voicemail while I was in Ashland telling me how much the bike people loved my cookies. Sometimes I can’t even believe how much my life has changed–people buying my cookies?? What????

These totally brought me back to my childhood. Nutter Butters were always one of my favs, and they are even better homemade!

I got the original recipe from one of my very favorite blogs. Here’s the original recipe:

My swaps:
  • Light whipped butter + apple butter for real butter (-fat, -calories, -saturated fat, -cholesterol)
  • Less sugar (-sugar, -calories)
  • Liquid egg whites for real eggs (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
  • White whole wheat flour for regular (+ protein, +fiber)
  • Extra sugarĀ (-sugar, -calories)
  • Milk
  • Less filling (-fat, -sugar, -calories)
Skinnified Homemade Nutter Butter Bites
yield about 6 dozen
For the cookies:
  • 1/2 cup light whipped butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup apple butter
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter (I suggest PB&Co White Chocolate Wonderful)
  • 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 6 tbs liquid egg whites
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
For the filling:
  • 3/4 cup light whipped butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (Again, WCW is best)
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
    1. Begin with the cookies. In a large bowl with mixer beat butter, apple butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add liquid egg whites, and vanilla. Continuing beating until well combined. Turn mixer to low and add in flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until combined. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
    2. Preheat oven to 375Ā°.Ā Using an extra small cookie scoop, transfer dough to a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Using a fork, press down on cookie creating a criss-cross pattern.
    3. Bake for 6-8 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Cool on baking sheet 2-3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to continue cooling.
    4. To make the filling, beat butter and peanut butter together in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Slowly add in your powdered sugar and turn mixer speed up to medium and beat until filling is smooth.
    5. Spread an even layer of filling onto the bottom of one of the peanut butter cookies and then top with another cookie to create sandwich. Repeat with all remaining cookies.

 

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