Blueberry Almond Breakfast Cookies

2 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup almond flour
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 pinches salt
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together bananas, eggs, flaxseed, almond flour, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Fold in blueberries. Spoon onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, measuring about 2 Tbsp per cookie, making 12 cookies. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until puffed up and resembling a muffin top. Let cool on a wire rack.

{Recipe doubled from Clean Eating}

Swedish Toast

1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
1 cup sour cream

Cream sugar and margarine until crumbly (not fluffy). Mix in dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream. On a greased cookie sheet, form dough into 2 flat, oblong, oval loaves. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Slice each loaf lengthwise down the center and crosswise into 1 inch slices. Turn pieces on their sides and toast in the oven; 7 minutes on each side.

Shortbread Cookies

2 cups butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla extract. Add 4 cups flour. Mix well.

Place dough on work surface and knead in remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Roll into 3/4" balls and place on a cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar, flatten each to 1/4" thick.

Bake at 350 for 15 1/2 minutes. Makes 9 dozen small cookies. 50 calories each.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
about 6 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and diced

In a skillet over medium high heat, fry up bacon until cooked through and let cool on paper towels until cool enough to dice. Dice up and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Fold in cooked bacon. Roll into large walnut sized balls and create a criss-cross pattern with a fork. If you’d like, roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before making the criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for five minutes.

Peanut Butter Energy Bites

(makes 18-20 bites)

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

{note} When I made these, they were a bit dry. If you have that problem (which probably has t do with your peanut butter, as I always pour the oil off of my new jars of PB), just add more PB and honey until it will hold together.

*original recipe on smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com

Peanut Butter Bars

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugars and peanut butter. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

{note} The batter for these is really thick. I had to spread it in the pan like you do icing. Also, they would be good without the chocolate chips (or with peanut butter chips) if you don't do chocolate. I think they'd also turn out well with less sugar, but I've only made them the one time, so I don't know for sure.

Chocolate Hazenut Biscotti

3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/2 cup chopped chocolate (or mini chocolate chips)

1/2 cup chocolate chips melted with 1 T canola oil for dipping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; mix into the egg mixture. Stir in the hazelnuts and chopped chocolate. Shape dough into two equal logs approximately 12 inches long. Place logs on baking sheet, and flatten out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
2. Bake for about 30 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden and the center is firm. Remove from oven to cool on the pans. When loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice the loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet.
3. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, turning over once. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.               
4. If desired, dip one side of the biscotti in the melted chocolate mixture and put chocolate side down on some waxed paper to cool completely.

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bars

{from Delicious Living, Feb 2011}

"With a classic macaroon texture, these egg-, dairy- and gluten-free bars are an adult chocolate indulgence. Kids, of course, will love them too."

2.5 C rolled oats
1 C almond meal/flour
1 C unsweetened shredded coconut (I used a finely shredded variety)
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/2 C coconut oil
1/2 C agave nectar (or honey)
1/2 C sugar
1 C bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 275 deg. F. Combine oats, almond meal, coconut and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Mix well.

Combine coconut oil, agave nectar (or honey) and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot (not boiling). Pour over oat mixture and stir until well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips, quickly but thoroughly (they will melt).

Press mixture into an ungreased 8x8 pan and bake for 20 min. Remove from oven and cool completely. Cut into 24 small pieces.

[per serving] 184 cal, 12g fat (1g mono, 2g poly, 7g sat), 0mg chol, 3g protein, 2g fiber, 3mg sodium

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

8 ½ oz. cake flour (2 cups minus 2 Tbsp.)
8 ½ oz. bread flour (1 2/3 cups)
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
10 oz. unsalted butter, softened (2 ½ sticks; 1 ¼ cups)
10 oz. light brown sugar (1 ¼ cups)
8 oz. granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp.)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly (about half an hour on the counter). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Yield: About 24 (5-inch) cookies.

Note: Smaller cookies taste good, too, but are not soft like the big cookies. I made them with a medium-sized cookie scoop and baked them for 11 minutes. This yielded 167 1.5" cookies.

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 3 dozen

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1 standard bag of chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375.

Cram butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Add salt and soda. Mix in flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon-fuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, or until just turning golden brown around the edges.

Chocolate Crinkles

from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

5 1/2 Tbs butter
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup brewed coffee, cooled
1 3/4 cups spelt flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups chocolate chips

2/3 cup powdered sugar for dusting


Cream butter, sugar, vanilla, soda and salt. Beat in the egg and coffee, scraping the bowl, then stir in the flour, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough overnight.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets. Place powdered sugar in a bag. Drop dough into powdered sugar by the tablespoon and shake to coat. Place coated balls of dough on cookie sheets and bake for 11 min, or until set around the edges and still soft in the middle. Remove from oven and loosen cookies on sheetwithout lifting after 10 min. allow to cool completely on the cookie sheet.

These cookies are delicate and may not travel well.

Homemade Thin Mints

Chocolate Wafers:
8 ounces organic butter, room temperature
1 cup organic powdered sugar, (I use Wholesome Sweeteners brand)
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder (I use Dagoba's cacao powder)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Chocolate Peppermint Coating:
1 pound good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
natural peppermint oil to taste

Preheat your oven to 350. Racks in the middle zone.

Make the cookie dough: In a mixer cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and cream some more, scraping the sides of the bowl a couple times if necessary. Stir in the vanilla extract and then the salt and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter is smooth and creamy, sort of like a thick frosting. Add the whole wheat pastry flour and mix just until the batter is no longer dusty looking, it might still be a bit crumbly, and that's o.k. You don't want to over mix and end up with tough cookies.

Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and kneed it just once or twice to bring it together into once nice, smooth mass. Place the ball of dough into a large plastic bag and flatten it into a disk roughly 3/4-inch thick. Place the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill.

Rollout and bake: Remove the dough from the freezer and roll it out really thin, remember how thin Thin Mints are? That's how thin you need your dough, about 1/8-inch. You can either roll it out between two sheets of plastic, or dust your counter and rolling pin with a bit of flour and do it that way. Stamp out cookies using a 1 1/2-inch cutter (this time I used one with a fluted edge, I've done hearts and other shapes in the past). Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a baking rack if you've got one.

{NOTE} When I made these, I rolled the dough into a log and wrapped with plastic wrap. I stuck it in the fridge overnight and then sliced it thin with a sharp knife. I then baked as directed.

Make the peppermint coating:
While the cookies are in the oven you can get the coating ready. I use a makeshift double boiler to melt chocolate (a metal pan over a saucepan of gently simmering water), but I know many people who swear by melting chocolate in the microwave. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until it is glossy and smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract. I started with 1 tsp. If you think the chocolate needs a bit more peppermint kick, add more extract a drop or two at a time - but don't go overboard. If the chocolate is too thick and breaking your cookies, add a bit of flavorless oil (canola or veggie). The chocolate will then melt at lower temperatures (making cheap chocolate seem nicer), but that's not an issue if you're keeping them in the fridge or freezer.

Finishing the cookies: You are going to coat the cookies one at a time and then gently set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set. Drop one cookie into the chocolate and (using a fork) carefully make sure it gets fully coated. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate with the fork and bang the fork on the side of the pan to drain any extra chocolate off the cookie. You are after a thin, even coating of chocolate. Place on the aforementioned prepared baking sheet, and repeat for the rest of the cookies. Place the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer to set. They will set at room temperature, it just takes much longer, and I prefer them straight out of the freezer anyways ;)

Make 3 or 4 dozen cookies {NOTE} When using the log method, I got 6 dozen cookies out of a batch.

recipe found here

Ginger Cookies

Ginger Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup honey
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 heaping tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 heaping teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 heaping teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 heaping teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 cup white sugar with 1 T ginger mixed in for decoration

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs, and then the molasses and honey. Combine the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, heaping the measures if you like a lot of spice. Stir the dry ingredients into the molasses mixture just until blended.

Roll the dough into small balls, and roll each ball in the remaining white sugar. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are cracked. Bake longer for crispy cookies, less time for chewy cookies. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 4-5 dozen, depending on how big you make them

Apricot Macaroons

3 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (14 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup soft dried apricots, coarsely chopped (3 ounces)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, almond extract, and salt until frothy. Add coconut and apricots; mix to combine. Using your hands, shape mixture into mounds, each equal to 2 level tablespoons; place 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet (macaroons will not spread). Bake until lightly golden, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Transfer macaroons to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 1 week. Makes 16-20.

Grandma Larsen's Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2.5 cups oatmeal
1 pkg chopped dates (optional)

Cream shortening, sugars and eggs. Add flour, soda and salt. Stir in extracts, followed by remaining ingredients. Drop onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Makes 7 dozen small.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup thick rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream shortening, butter, sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour, salt and soda all at once. Mix in oats just until combined.

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto baking sheers and bake for 10-15 min, or until just starting to brown.

Makes approximately 60 cookies

Grandma Linnea's Spice Cookies

1/2+ c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. (scant) molasses
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (scant) salt
3/4 teaspoon cloves

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg and molasses, mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Form into balls the size of small walnuts, then flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool 1 minute, then roll in powdered sugar.

Makes 7 dozen. 30 calories each.

NOTES: I think we cut the original recipe down because it made way too many cookies -- that's why the measurements are so odd. I put several cookies in a paper bag with powdered sugar and shake them rather than rolling in powdered sugar. For flattening, I dip the bottom of a small glass in granulated sugar (to keep the dough from sticking) and then press down the cookies. The cookies do spread during baking; I think they almost double in size (but you might want to check with Dana -- it's been a long time since I've made them).

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream shortening, peanut butter, sugars and eggs. Blend all dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/4 inch balls, place on lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten with a fork, criss-cross style. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 6 dozen.