Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip CookiesThere’s no shortage of recipes for  healthier versions of chocolate chip cookies, but this one ups the ante. It uses rolled oats (a good source of fiber and whole grain), as well as canola oil and soy milk as substitutions for butter and full-fat milk. The recipe also contains bananas, which add another dimension of flavor and—bonus!—are a CarbLover’s Diet CarbStar food because they contain resistant starch. Saturated fat: 1 gram

Ingredients:
1 cup oat flour
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda (who uses 1/3 teaspoons?? No idea. just do a little less than 1/2 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup plain soy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 ripe banana, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or another type of nut. use your fave)
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (they said to use vegan variety, but that is only to make it healthier)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 6 ingredients (through sugar) in a bowl. Whisk together oil, soy milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients; stir to combine. Fold in banana, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough onto pan with a small ice-cream scoop. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown, turning baking sheet halfway through. Let cool on a wire rack.

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Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

Now this, my friends, is a cookie.  A whopper of a deep dark chocolate cookie, and it’s chock full of chocolate chips.  It’s thick, chewy, and just sinful.  The glass of milk is not just a prop – it’s a necessity in this case.  These cookies definitely earn the title of “giant”, considering that 4 ounces of dough is used for each one.  I’m not such a fan of quarter-pounder burgers, but quarter-pounder cookies?  I’m totally on board.  If you don’t have a kitchen scale yet (tsk tsk), here is the perfect excuse.  How else will you know that each cookie is exactly 4 ounces?  This is important business, people.  Truth be told, I actually haven’t eaten an entire cookie at once.  I keep eating half at lunchtime and half after dinner.  Believe me, I could – I just like having dessert twice instead.  I also froze half of the dough balls, and I know I’ll be thankful for that move when an emergency chocolate craving kicks in.

These cookies are a knock-off of the version sold at the popular Levain Bakery, whose claim to fame is…you guessed it, their giant cookies.  This is a unique cookie dough.  You start out mixing it just like any other cookie dough, but it is very thick and ends up requiring a brief hand kneading to be sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.  It may seem a little strange but these cookies are worth it.  These are definitely best enjoyed straight from the oven, but keep well in an airtight container.  As with most cookies I make, I like to give the leftovers a 10 second warm up in the microwave before enjoying to make the chocolate chips all gooey and melty.  Yum.

Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

Yield: 12 very large cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup dark cocoa powder
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended.  Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.  Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead briefly by hand to be sure the ingredients are well combined.
• Divide the dough into 4 ounce portions (or divide into 12 equal pieces).  Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten just slightly into a disc.  Place on the prepared baking sheets, a few inches apart.  Bake 16-20 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

SOURCE

Annie's Eats, who got it from My Baking Addiction, who adapted it from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives, inspired by Levain Bakery

Homemade face mask

Model Shalom Harlow calls this homemade face mask (only 2 ingredients required!) "moisturizing and soothing."

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites, separated from the yolk and placed in a bowl
• 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt (I like Greek yogurt)

Preparation:

Separate the egg whites from a couple eggs and place them in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of yogurt (do not use flavored yogurt!). Mix them up and apply to face. Leave on face for a few minutes then rinse face in warm water, followed by a warm washcloth.

creds to: http://beauty.about.com/od/skinflaws/r/egg_white_mask.htm

Molasses Crinkle Cookies - Recipe Wednesday

Another "mom" recipe.
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Method
Melt butter and let cool. Combine sugar, molasses, and egg and mix well. Add butter. Mix dry ingredients separately. Add to wet ingredients and mix well. Chill. Form into 1 inch balls - roll in sugar. Bake at 375º F for 8 minutes.
ENJOY :)

DIY Bleached shorts

Creds! ohsoprettythediaries.com 



- Sit your shorts in half bleach/ half water.
- Let sit for about 20-30 minutes.
- Dry the shorts- we put ours in the dryer after they had dried a little.
- Cut the bottom of the shorts in whatever shape you'd like.
- Wash them alone (or in this case we washed the two pairs together).
- Dry.
- Add designs or proceed to dye another color.

YAY!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Recipe Wednesday

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter                    1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup sugar                    1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar         3/4 cup coconut

1 egg                                 1/4 cup wheat germ

                                         1 tsp baking powder

                                         1 tsp baking soda

                                         1 1/2 cups raisins

Method

Mix egg, butter, and sugars in a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients together and add to sugar mixture. Stir in raisins. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350º F for 12-15 minutes.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

ENJOY :) 

Gluten free Shortbread - Recipe Wednesday

More gluten free recipes! Next week I promise to post some of the non-celiac recipes that I used to love.
Here it is:
Ingredients
2 sticks butter
2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp xanthum gum

Method
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. shape the dough with your hands into triangles about as thick as your pinky finger. bake for 20 minutes at 325º F.
ENJOY :)