Cookie Problems: Coconut Sugar Milk Chocolate Cookies

Welcome to another episode of COOKIE PROBLEMS! I have a cookie problem and it grows and grows. Thankfully I've been ripping it at the gym across the street from my house lately so I've been whittling away at the old post-partum baby weight. No biggie though!!! Eating delicious cookies is much more important, right? :)

I was sent some very peculiar-sounding but not really peculiar at all sugar a few months back - organic coconut sugar! I wasn't sure if it would be super coconutty tasting, but as I opened the package this beautiful caramel aroma wafted out, and it smelled almost like ginger snaps. I couldn't wait to try it. You use it cup for cup to replace regular sugar - so there's no muss and no fuss!

But you want to know how it tasted, right? 

I whipped up some milk chocolate chip and Skor bits spelt flour cookies to try out the coconut sugar... and WOH!!! The cookies were frigging delicious. I didn't notice any coconut flavour at all, simply a rich molasses-y flavour, similar to brown sugar. I think I'll definitely try baking with coconut sugar again, but it's definitely on the more expensive side, so if you're on a budget, you can try it occasionally. 

MILK CHOCOLATE + SKOR BITS SPELT FLOUR COOKIES

Makes 2 dozen cookies. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients: 

1 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup of organic coconut sugar (I used Organika brand)
1 egg (I used an organic brown egg if you were wondering... :)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup of milk chocolate chips
1 cup of Skor bits (or toffee baking bits)

Make it! 

1. Using a stand mixer or beaters, cream the butter and sugar on high.
2. With the mixer on low, scrape down the bowl with a spatula and add the egg and vanilla extract.
3. Stir to combine the spelt flour, baking powder and sea salt.
4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined and dough begins to form.
5. Throw in the chocolate chips and Skor bits and mix to combine.
6. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out 1 1/2 inch balls of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 12 minutes, turning pans halfway.
8. Set to cool on wire racks. Try to resist diving in face first into these delicious cookies!!!

Happy baking (and COOKIE CHOMPING everyone!)

Thanks to Organika for sending me some of their "sweet" organic coconut sugar to try out!

SWEET & SALTY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

COOKIE! PAINNNNNN! Why aren't I 600 pounds! COOKIESSSSS

How do you elevate the humble little cookie buddy that is the oatmeal raisin cookie? Oatmeal raisin is kind of like the "vanilla" of ice creams. It has this crappy reputation as being a boring flavour, and they have a hard time competing with the classic homemade chocolate chip cookie. But oatmeal raisin has a nice homey feel, too... with a burst of health and a fibre kick, too! Don't dismiss the oatmeal raisin! Unless you hate raisins... in which case, swap out raisins for... chocolate chips!

These oatmeal raisin cookies are buttery, crisp, oaty (ha), sweet and salty, too, with the teensy fancified addition of Maldon sea salt crystals. Give these cookies a try... they come together super fast and they will be the best part of your next day's lunch hour (if they last that long, if you're a cookie pig like me...) 


SWEET & SALTY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup spelt flour
2 1/2 cups oats
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or table salt
1 cup raisins (I used organic thompson raisins)
teensy bit of Maldon sea salt flakes (optional)

Make It!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

1. Using a stand mixer or hand held beaters in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
2. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and pure vanilla extract, mixing to incorporate.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the spelt flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
5. Throw in the raisins and mix until incorporated.
6. Scoop out 2 inch balls of cookie dough onto baking sheets, evenly spaced.
7. Add a few crystals of Maldon sea salt to the tops of each cookie.
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets, turning pans halfway through baking time.

Note: I made these twice. The second time I made them, my butter was actually still on the colder side - and the cookies didn't spread as much as the first batch. You can refrigerate the baking sheets with the cookie dough doled out onto them for an hour before baking to prevent cookie spreading - if you can stand to wait that long to bake them and eat them! 

Enjoy your boring old oatmeal raisin sweet and salty cookies, everyone! ;)

Until next time! Thanks for reading!

xo Lyndsay

WHOLE ORANGE & RASPBERRY BLENDER MUFFINS

A little health blast for ya...

Yep. You really did read that right. Blender. This is a variation of a fast and funny recipe from the wonderful Canadian cookbook icons The Best Of Bridge. In our family, we grew up on Best Of Bridge recipes...we are children of the 1980s... my mom's collection of their cookbooks are tattered and splattered, and no Christmas morning would be the same without the "Christmas Morning Wife Saver" casserole... (a questionable name in this modern feminist age but just right for the 1980s!)

These muffins are tart and tangy and with a slight bite to them from the use of the entire orange, peel and all... and they are a a nice healthy snack, with lots of fruit and fibre! They come together exceptionally fast, and I must admit there is a fun factor to making them, as you feel like a kid again throwing a bunch of stuff into a blender like you're making a super gross dill pickle juice, watermelon, milk, paprika and beef jerky smoothie for your sister to chug as a dare!

  
WHOLE ORANGE & RASPBERRY BLENDER MUFFINS

Ingredients:


1 large orange

3/4 cup orange juice

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

3/4 cup golden brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Make it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need two muffin pans as this recipe yields about 16 small muffins. Muffin liners are optional - if you don't use them, I would spray pans with vegetable oil to avoid sticking!

1. Cut the orange into 8 pieces.
2. Place the orange pieces in the blender along with the juice, egg and oil. Blend until smooth.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the spelt flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
4. Add the dry mixture into the orangey wet mixture and blend until combined.
5. Fold in raspberries with a spatula or large spoon.
6. Pour mixture into muffin pans right out of the blender, or use an ice cream scoop to dole out even portions of batter into muffin pans.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven, turning pans halfway.

Don't you feel healthy now? Enjoy!

xo Lyndsay 

 

Originally published on Poppytalk

BIRTHDAY PARTY SMARTIE COOKIES

COOKIE PAIN CONTINUES!

"I think I heard someone say 'BIRTHday party'...!? "

My good pal Christa and her pal Moberley are super stoked on these Smartie cookies you can get at the cookie shop on the local University campus here in Vancouver. So we tried making them and, well... they were pretty good but they just didn't look and taste like those same cookies. So for her birthday this month, I felt the need to try again...!

You know how some kids just love to go for that crazy, garishly coloured turquoise ice cream that has all the rainbow gumballs peppered throughout? And they're all pleased with themselves because as they suck away the ice cream and nibble down their cone, they're squirreling away the gumballs in their mouths at the same time, and when the cone is done they have a gross little wad of cold "gum"? This cookie is for those kids because of the bright little circles of crunchy chocolate Smarties, but at the same time we adults can snack away on them, too! (like I did... I ate three. Argh, new years diet begone!)

The key to the look of the Smartie cookie? Hand-placing a bunch of Smarties into the cookie after you've scooped the dough out onto the baking sheets and patted them down! These are large cookies but it's the kid's birthday party so give them a break, right? Let them eat sugar and a giant cookie once a year? Man, I haven't gotten there yet myself, but let me know how that goes...

BIRTHDAY PARTY SMARTIE COOKIES

Ingredients: 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 boxes of Smarties (75 gram packs)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Make it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need two baking sheets and parchment paper (optional).

1. Using a stand mixer or handheld beaters, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg until incorporated.
3. Add pure vanilla extract to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, sift the flour and sea salt to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until combined.
6. Add one box of the Smarties and the chocolate chips until combined.
7. Using a regular sized ice cream scoop or clean hands, scoop out balls of cookie batter  and place on baking sheets, evenly spaced, six per sheet. Flatten each cookie with fork dipped in warm water if so desired.
8. Using the second box of Smarties, hand-place a few Smarties on top of each cookie for that brightness of colour that kids love. You'll probably have leftover Smarties.
8. Bake in oven for 13-15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is, turning pans halfway through.
9. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheets.

Makes 12-14 cookies. Enjoy warm from the oven with a cold glass of milk! (I always say this, I know... heh.)

Thanks for reading!

xo Lyndsay 

MAYBE POSSIBLY THE BEST VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I LOVE COOKIES!!

I think I may be on a lifelong search for the most delicious chocolate chip cookies. Any bakery I step into, I examine the chocolate chip cookie. Often I will buy it, and sadly more often than not I am disappointed. But not in a jerky way! But... maybe it's too puffy, too flour-y, too sugary sweet, not enough chocolate... man I have a lot of beefs with chocolate chip cookies.

My ideal choco chip cookies are crisp, with really good melty high quality chocolate, not too sweet with a touch of salt. I think these guys make the cut, and they are so easy to make, you'll be chomping down on a few before you can say "Whut? Vegan? No butter? Cahmannn"... vegan or no vegan, these cookies can be filed under crazy delicious. They spread into crisp, flat-ish "buttery" discs... best served fresh out-tha-oven with a tall glass of ice cold unsweetened almond milk, or whatever milk you fancy!



Maybe possibly the best? I'm not bragging because this isn't my original recipe - we have the ladies behind the first How It All Vegan book to thank! I used spelt flour in this recipe too! But you can easily use all purpose flour. I just like to spelt it up whenever I can. Okay! Done talking! Go!

MAYBE POSSIBLY THE BEST VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup margarine (I used Earth Balance brand)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (i used canola)
3/4 cup golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons water
2 1/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup sea salt
2 cups chopped Lindt dark chocolate (a dairy free variety)

Make it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need two baking sheets and parchment paper (optional).

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the margarine, oil, sugar, vanilla and water until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the spelt flour and the salt.
3. Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet mixture.
4. Add chopped chocolate into the mix!
5. Using a small ice cream scoop, dole out 2 inch balls onto two parchment paper covered baking sheets.
6. Bake for 10-13 minutes, turning pans halfway, until cookies are lightly browned on the bottom.
7. Leave to cool on baking pans.

xo Lyndsay 

Recipe adapted from How It All Vegan.




Originally published on Poppytalk

DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT COOKIES

The cookie brutality continues!!! 

 

Coconut... ya either love it or you hate it. Hands up if you're a coconut lover? If coconuts had a fan club I might be the vice president. Wait, there's already probably that fan club, right? Coconut oil smeared on crispy toast with almond butter and fresh raspberries, rich coconut milk in a fragrant Thai curry, shredded toasted crunchy coconut atop a frosted cupcake ... and all that deliciousness trapped up in a rock hard hairy brown bowling ball high up in a hard-to-reach palm tree!



Back to cookies... I wanted to make a thank you present for my sweet friend Bobbi, one of the coconut lovers, for lending me her daughter's bassinet for when my little baby was a mini newborn.... and I wanted to try a coconut cookie of some kind. I'm forever trying to find the balance between the salty and the sweet when it comes to desserts. A fine sprinkly teaspoon of sea salt is always a welcome addition to my desserts - especially cookies! This cookie is light on the sweetness, bittersweet from the cocoa powder, textured from the coconut, with a touch of salt and rich from butter. I used a 22-24% Dutch process cocoa powder for this cookie which gives it a more complex and slightly bitter flavour and very dark colour! Feel free to use a lighter cocoa powder if so desired...

DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup golden yellow sugar (or brown sugar)
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup shredded sweetened dried coconut
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Make it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

1. Using a stand mixer or handheld beaters, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg until incorporated.
3. Add pure vanilla extract extract to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, coconut, cocoa powder and salt to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until combined.
6. Add the chocolate chips until combined.
7. Using a small ice cream scoop or clean hands, dole out 2 inch round balls of batter evenly spaced on baking sheets, a dozen per sheet. Flatten each cookie with fork dipped in warm water if so desired.
8. Bake in oven for 11-14 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is, turning pans halfway through. 9. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets, then transfer to container or right into your mouth! Serve with an ice cold glass of milk. 

Cookie attack!




Originally published on Poppytalk

DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS: HOMEMADE P&B CUPS!

These are really so good you could mentally insane. Just saying, guys. I would be a 900 pound maniac if I allowed myself to have these sitting around the house.... ENJOY! ^__^

If I could be a hoarder of chocolate bars I would have a closet bursting with Reese's peanut butter cups. Salty sweet peanut butter, milk chocolate... even the cute little "puck" size. The cool thing about this recipe - "no baking required!" Just a little stovetop melting of things, some throwing of things together, some mixing and spreading and chilling... then some serious peanut butter cup snacking!

Who knew graham cracker crumbs were the key to making homemade P&B cups taste so much like the classic store-bought cups?! Brilliant! Make these for your next holiday party and you will make new friends: peanut butter and chocolate loving friends! These can also easily be made vegan or gluten free by using vegan/gluten free graham cracker crumbs and substituting vegan margarine for the butter, and using dairy-free dark chocolate.

EASY TIMES CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Ingredients

1 cup melted, unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups semisweet chocolate (or your choice of chocolate- I used a mix of Lindt brand milk and dark!)

You will need a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.

Make it!

1. In a saucepan on the stovetop, melt 1 cup of unsalted butter.
2. In a stand mixer on low setting, or mixing by hand with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl, mix together melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, icing sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract until combined.
3. Pour into the baking pan and spread evenly along bottom of pan.
4. In a double boiler/bain-marie (or using a ceramic or metal bowl over top of a saucepan of low boiling water), melt the chocolate.
5. Pour melted chocolate on top of graham cracker layer and spread evenly.
6. Place in refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes.
7. Using a circular cookie cutter, punch out circle shaped peanut butter cups! Or just cut out into squares (or some sort of shape!) with a knife.

Note: if your fridge has set the peanut butter cups so the chocolate is too hard, let it sit out for 15 minutes before punching out with cutters! I decorated with blackberries which gave it a bit of a peanut butter and "jam" vibe!

xo Lyndsay

Contributor post by Lyndsay of Coco Cake

If I could be a hoarder of chocolate bars I would have a closet bursting with Reese's peanut butter cups. Salty sweet peanut butter, milk chocolate... even the cute little "puck" size. The cool thing about this recipe - "no baking required!" Just a little stovetop melting of things, some throwing of things together, some mixing and spreading and chilling... then some serious peanut butter cup snacking!

Who knew graham cracker crumbs were the key to making homemade P&B cups taste so much like the classic store-bought cups?! Brilliant! Make these for your next holiday party and you will make new friends: peanut butter and chocolate loving friends! These can also easily be made vegan or gluten free by using vegan/gluten free graham cracker crumbs and substituting vegan margarine for the butter, and using dairy-free dark chocolate.

EASY TIMES CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Ingredients

1 cup melted, unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 cup smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups semisweet chocolate (or your choice of chocolate- I used a mix of Lindt brand milk and dark!)

You will need a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.

Make it!

1. In a saucepan on the stovetop, melt 1 cup of unsalted butter.
2. In a stand mixer on low setting, or mixing by hand with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl, mix together melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, icing sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract until combined.
3. Pour into the baking pan and spread evenly along bottom of pan.
4. In a double boiler/bain-marie (or using a ceramic or metal bowl over top of a saucepan of low boiling water), melt the chocolate.
5. Pour melted chocolate on top of graham cracker layer and spread evenly.
6. Place in refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes.
7. Using a circular cookie cutter, punch out circle shaped peanut butter cups! Or just cut out into squares (or some sort of shape!) with a knife.

Note: if your fridge has set the peanut butter cups so the chocolate is too hard, let it sit out for 15 minutes before punching out with cutters! I decorated with blackberries which gave it a bit of a peanut butter and "jam" vibe!

xo Lyndsay

Originally published on Poppytalk