Ari's Menu

Little changes making a big difference.


Gingerbread Hot White Chocolate

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So you know that moment when you have your first hot chocolate of the year? Like the real first one that doesn’t come from a powder? The kind that’s thick, creamy, rich, and decadent and makes you feel like a big jerk for not following the “don’t drink your calories rule”?

Oh yes, it happened.

LOOK AT THE STEAM!!!

I’m still real proud of my steam shots 😉 Anyway, one of my favorite things to do this time of year is get in the car with a scalding hot cup of hot chocolate (I can’t stand when it gets cold!) and go look at Christmas lights. Steve and I go at least once a year. It’s tradition. Something about the combination of the lights, the mood in the air, and the delicious treat just makes me all kinds of happy.

Buuuuuut, I have a confession. I’ve never made hot chocolate that doesn’t come from a powder. I don’t know why. That crappy diet hot chocolate has 25 calories so I can shovel pounds of whipped cream on it, or something? I don’t know. It’s silly, because this hot chocolate is sososoSO good! It’s so thick and creamy that you would think it’s made with whole milk or cream!

It was the perfect night time treat, and it’s like one of those secretly healthier recipes. You know, the kind you can make for all the people in your life that talk crap about all your Greek yogurt and vegetables. You can give this to them, then get that secret satisfaction as they slurp it all up. Then, if you’re me, you’ll yell out all kinds of unnecessary comments like “HAH!! That was healthy! I fooled you! Take that suckerrrr!” I swear, I’m very mature.

Moral of the story? Make the hot chocolate. Act super immature when you fool all your friends and family into chugging down your lightened up dessert. 😉

 

Gingerbread Hot White Chocolate

yield 2 servings

  • 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 1/2 oz white chocolate
  • dash pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • dash cloves
  • dash nutmeg

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small-medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until mixture is desired temperature and all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

**Note: You could also make this in the crockpot on low for 2 hours whisking occasionally.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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There is no better combination than peanut butter and chocolate. It’s a proven fact.

I would also like to say that chocolate chunks > chocolate chips. Fact. Just call me the Chocolate Encyclopedia. Or the Chocolate Whisperer. I like the sound of that. You can picture me sitting in my kitchen whispering sweet nothings to my chocolate.

In college, my friends referred to me as the Musical Theatre Lexicon. I guess you could say when something’s important to me, I spend a lot of time with it. Like chocolate. And peanut butter.

I made these for my wonderful friend Emily’s birthday. Then I spent too much time taking pictures of them and was late to her party. Story of my life. The cookies were so good though. Like, really reallllllly good, so I like to think they made up for it 😉

You know what’s REALLY hard??? Not eating all the birthday cookies you baked for your friend. Especially when they are so gooey it’s practically like biting through a slightly crunchy shell into hot cookie dough with rich, bold dark chocolate pouring out from the inside. Not eating all the cookies = true friendship.

I’d had my eye on doing some chocolate chunk cookies for a while now. I recently read a post on making the perfect chocolate chip cookies, and the two things that stood out were that you should use more than one type of chocolate to keep the taste buds interested, and always very lightly salt the dough before it goes into the oven–not for the “salted cookie” effect, but just a tiny bit to contrast the sweetness and bring the most flavor out of the cookie, so that’s what I did. The result? Cookie heaven.

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

yield 1 dozen (these are BIG cookies)

  • 1 1/4 cups gluten-free baking blend (or white whole wheat flour)
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbs corn starch
  • 1/2 cup apple butter
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup water (+ corn starch = egg replacement)
  • 4 oz good quality dark chocolate, chopped into large chunks (I used a chili dark chocolate and an espresso dark chocolate, but any chocolate would be delicious)
  • 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, baking powder, and corn starch. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the apple butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla until smooth. Add water, followed by flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chunks. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. Use a large cookie scoop (or your hands) to drop dough onto prepared cookie sheet. Lightly sprinkle the top of dough with sea salt.
  4. Bake for 14-18 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.

Pumpkin Beer Cakes

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This recipe brought to you thanks to my amazing friend Polly.

One day she wrote on my facebook requesting “pumpkin beer pumpkin cupcakes”. You, my friend, are brilliant.

Is there anything that screams fall more than pumpkin cupcakes made with pumpkin freaking beer? And oooooomg. These are not only the softest cupcakes I have ever tasted (yes, EVER), but the pumpkin flavor is so bold, and tasted like absolute perfection. The top even got this incredible texture that I don’t even know how to describe–almost like a cookie with the slightest crunch on the edges and a perfectly gooey center? That’s kind of what happened here.

Obviously I had to make a pumpkin beer glaze to go on top. Duh.

Don’t get me wrong, the glaze is awesome, but I found the cupcakes to actually be perfect on their own. It depends on how sweet you like them. The glaze is reaaalllll sweet. I mean, glaze is essentially powdered sugar so, ya know… Steve loved the glaze (he likes his desserts with a side of insulin), but I preferred mine plain.

I’m telling you, before the season is over and you are totally sick of pumpkin (does that really happen to people!?), do yourself a favor and make these cupcakes. Then drink the rest of the beer because, well, it’s the holidays… 😉

 

Pumpkin Beer Cakes

yield 1 dozen

  • 6 tbs pumpkin puree
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tbs turbinado sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tbs corn starch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • dash salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin beer + more for brushing the tops
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbs unsweetened vanilla almond milk

For the Pumpkin Beer Glaze

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • dash salt
  • 1-2 tbs pumpkin beer

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and spray lightly with nonstick spray.
  2. In a medium bowl combine flour, corn starch, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together pumpkin and sugar. Combine almond milk, vanilla  and pumpkin beer in a measuring cup or small bowl.  Alternately add flour mixture with beer mixture to the pumpkin and sugar starting and ending with dry ingredients until combined, scraping down sides of the bowl when necessary.
  3. Evenly divide the mixture between the 12 muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
  4. Let stand for 1-2 minutes, then use a toothpick or thin fork to poke several holes in each cupcakes. Brush each cupcake 2-3 times with extra pumpkin beer and let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. If you would like to add the glaze, combine powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl. Very slowly, add in pumpkin beer whisking constantly until it reaches your desired thickness. Careful, a small amount of liquid goes a long way with powdered sugar. Glaze cupcakes and serve.

 

 

Animal Cracker Cookie Butter

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Sometimes you just have to make something that is not even a little bit healthy.

And then sometimes that thing is so good, you have to share it on you “healthy” recipe blog. Love me anyway?

Although, I promise, it’s not that different calorically from any cookie butter you would buy at the store, and it is sososo delicious.

I do have a lingering question….If I dip an animal cookie in it’s own butter, is that wrong, like ethically? Is it like eating a cow while drinking it’s mothers milk?? Will I have to change religions because I totally broke all laws of Kosher eating??? Hang on, lemme finish my cheeseburger…

Okay, but for real, I think cheeseburgers are gross. Ground beef is just not appealing to me. But an animal cracker dipped in it’s own “butter”, that I can get behind! I have my priorities straight, I think.

So this “recipe” is two measly ingredients. Depending on the type of animal crackers you buy, you can make it vegan, gluten free, the whole 9 yards, as long as you’re not allergic to coconut. If you are, I’m so so sorry. That must suck.

 

Animal Cracker Cookie Butter

yield 1/2 pint

  • 1 cup animal crackers (regular, vegan, gluten-free, whatever suits you)
  • 4-5 tbs coconut oil, melted

Directions:

  1. Place animal cookies in food processor, and process until only fine crumbs remain.
  2. Slowly 1 tbs at a time, stream in coconut oil. Let the processor run for 2-3 minutes between each additional tbs is added, and scrap down the sides of the processor often. It is somewhat of a process for the oil and cookie crumbs to come together in the right texture, but it is well worth the wait (and you don’t want to end up with overly fatty and runny cookie butter)!
  3. When the oil and cookie crumbs have formed a think, homemade-peanut-butter-like substance, transfer into a half pint jar and store at room temperature. Best used within 1 week.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

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If you had to choose only one cookie to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

For me, it’s definitely a toss up between oatmeal and peanut butter, but then you have to take into account black and white cookies which, you know, could solve all of our problems.

Okay, so can we just talk for a second about that moment you search for something strange on the internet, or at least you think  it’s strange, and then a few words in, it pops up all the way because so many other people searched for it too? It makes me giggle. I didn’t realize how many other Seinfeld fanatics were out there searching for the black and white cookie episode on youtube. Turns out, there are tons of crazies out there just.like.me. Scary thought. Look out world.

You know what else is scary??? My “baby” brother just got his freaking learners permit. You see, I’m so much older than him (wahhh) that most of his life I referred to him as my baby brother, but somehow he got to be 15, and I got to be pushing 30 (well, I mean I’m pushing it from a distance, I guess, but still, IT’S LOOMING), and the world as I knew it has ended. I can’t even handle it.

And he had to go and do it on marathon week when I am an emotional basket case. Rude. Umm, today I got teary eyed IN FRONT OF MY STUDENTS when I spoke the word “marathon”. I should be locked away until this thing is over.

Okay, so back to the cookies. “Look to the cookie, Elaine.” Sorry. Go watch the video on youtube, and that will make sense. These cookies would definitely be on my list if I had to choose one to eat for the rest of my life. I kinda feel like I’ve developed my perfect oatmeal cookie recipe, and I keep coming up with different variations on it, but the basics stay the same, and it all started with this cookie. The edges just slightly brown, the soft is so gooey that you would swear I used a Paula Dean portion of butter (spoiler alert: I used none), and they have the perfect amount of sweetness for my taste–somewhere between diabetic coma and healthy tasting. 😉

I made these for an event my mom was attending, and they were a huge hit. Everyone that tasted them fell just as in love as I did. Also, they’re vegan so some of my awesome friends can enjoy them too!

 

Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

yield 3 dozen

  • 1 1/2 cup white whole wheat Flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup apple butter
  • 1 1/2 tbs coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, not packed
  • 1/4 cup water or unsweetened almond milk (+ the corn starch = egg replacement)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup reduced fat unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup mini dark chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and corn starch. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together apple butter, coconut oil, sugar, water/almond milk and vanilla until combined. Slowly beat in dry ingredients, then fold in oats and coconut, followed by the chocolate chips.
  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.

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. 😉

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 cinnamon 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 I had 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 😉 ). 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/

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! 😉

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. 😉

 

Pumpkin Filled Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

For the cookies:

  • 1 1/2 cup 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 cup 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 butter 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 😉

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. 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 looks 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 😉 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 will really  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 cup 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

· by ·

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 little caffeinated 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. Add egg substitute, followed by dry ingredients. 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.

 

Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream

· by ·

What? It’s fall where you are? I’m really sorry, but the high here today is still in the triple digits, so I bring you ice cream.

Special creamy coconut milk ice cream that I can share with all my vegan and no dairy friends, because I really like them. This was made special for Bethany who recently gave up dairy and is taking a more paleo approach to eating. This ice cream isn’t paleo–it has sugar, but it is dairy free, and about a billion times more delicious than any soy ice cream I’ve ever tried.

Have I ever mentioned that ice cream is my very favorite thing? Okay, I know I have a lot of very favorite things, but ice cream has been on the list since I was like 1. And I’m kind of old, so that’s a long time. To be honest, light ice creams are tough to make at home. I’ve made a couple I like, but it’s really tough to get the right texture. Coconut milk is so perfectly creamy–it worked as an amazing base, plus the recipe was so simple!

The flavor combination of coconut milk + brown sugar with dark chocolate was ridiculously good. In fact, I ended up having to give the leftovers to my mom and step dad because I knew I couldn’t be trusted. I got the empty container back about 3 days later. I guess they liked it too 😉

Print
Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Ingredients

  • 1x15 ounce can full fat coconut milk
  • 1/4-1/3 cup brown sugar (depending how sweet you like it)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips (if you want to keep it vegan, make sure to buy vegan chips)

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl or blender, combine coconut milk, brown sugar and vanilla.
  2. Freeze mixture according to ice cream maker instructions.
  3. After finished churning, fold in chocolate chips before transferring to storing container.
https://arismenu.com/chocolate-chip-coconut-milk-ice-cream/

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