Heart Glazed Cornmeal Cookies
My Kitchen Aid Mixer is named Sir Charles Mixalot III. I just call him Sir Mixalot for short. We had a conversation the other day. It went something like this:
Sir Mixalot: Hey Trace! Would you please use me? I'm sick of collecting dust on your pantry shelf.
Tracy: Hey. You talk! Fiiiiine. I'll use you. What should I make?
Sir Mixalot: I'm a little outta shape. Something easy. Baby steps. Take it easy on me.
Tracy: I totally get it Sir Mixalot, I haven't worked out in awhile too. How about cornmeal cookie dough?
Sir Mixalot: I can totally handle that. You're a dear. Many thanks. Don't forget to clean my crevices afterward.
Tracy: Ummm. OK...
So I busted out Sir Mixalot and put him to work. The dough came together in a snap. We high-fived and I gave him a deep cleaning (head out of the gutter!). Then I got to work cutting, baking & glazing these cookies. The dough was the easiest part thanks to Sir Mixalot. The glazing part was a little tough and I only say that because I had a 3 year old running around the kitchen island begging me for some cookies and showing me a new toy every 5 seconds. Labor of love, my friends. LABOR OF LOVE.
Valentine's Day is coming up! Bust out your Kitchen Aid Mixer (and name him/her if you haven't already) and get to work. Your Valentine is gonna love the crunchy bite of a sugary cornmeal cookie. I know this.
1000 Seed Banana Date Muffins
Random thoughts going through my head:
Do you think that someone actually counted out a thousand seeds in this recipe? At what point did they get interrupted by a 3 year old and lose count? My guess is 33. Do you think it's a thousand seeds per muffin or per batch? If I walked over to the mirror right now, how many seeds would be stuck in my front teeth? Who would be the first person to tell me about that poppy seed stuck near my canine? Why is the term muffin top so good yet so frightening? Why can I not resist a bread product covered in seeds?
Do you think there's a thousand specks of glitter in my nail polish? I put on three coats...
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds and sesame seeds make up that seeded muffin top. I told you they were seedy! They're super healthy (almost NO oil!) and packed with a fun ingredients including yogurt, bananas, whole wheat flour, ground flaxseed, whipped eggs whites and pureed dates! If you're planning on eating one before you leave the house, check your grill in the mirror! It's totally seed central.
Raw Chocolate Milk
Brace yourselves. Your minds are about to be blown. You ready? You braced? Good.
What if I was to tell you that you can easily make chocolate milk that tastes like a frothy chocolate malt without using malt or dairy?
(Omg. This is starting to sound like an infomercial! Crap! I need a big screen projector behind me!)
Well, YOU CAN. You can make delicious chocolate milk with your blender!
(this is not an infomercial for a Vitamix cuz I don't have one. I want one though! Like really really bad.)
So this is raw chocolate milk. What makes it raw? So glad you asked! It's made with cashews that have been soaked in water! There's also cocoa nibs up in this mix which makes things extra fancy in my book. Looking to make plain vanilla cashew milk? Just omit the cocoa nibs and reduce the agave syrup. This recipe is a game changer & approved by my picky 3 year old. Winning!
Apricot Coconut Energy Bars
APRICOT COCONUT ENERGY BARS:
Tangy, sweet, crunchy, chewy, delicious, healthy, raw, nutty, vegan, scrumptious, simple, homemade.
All you need is a few pantry items, a food processor and a bit of freezer time and you've got yourself a week's worth of healthy snacks.
Who needs to buy expensive energy bars when you can make your own?
Sorry energy bar companies, I totally sold you out.
Banana Nut Waffles
I make a lot of vegan recipes, yet I'm not vegan. Why? I think it's because I liked to be surprised by food. I love when a few ingredients can come together and taste almost identical to what it's like in its original form- kinda like this coleslaw that used cashews in place of mayo. It's pretty cool when things taste like other things like this Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad that tasted like pizza! I also get pretty excited when I find a recipe that pleases the guys in my life like this Kale Coconut Salad with Sesame Oil. I've made that recipe at least 5 times since then.
What I hoped to get out of this recipe was a batch of healthier waffles using what I had in my pantry; I almost always jump at a recipe if I've got all the ingredients. What I didn't realize is that I'd get a batch of waffles that tasted like banana bread. Being a lover of banana bread, I was thrilled.
While I could only eat one for breakfast, Cooper ate two. Future professional food eating champ? We'll see...
Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Everyday between 2-3pm, my body craves chocolate cake. The cake I crave is not a cake that's saturated in chocolate frosting. I'm talking about a dense/moist/slightly chewy chocolate cake with a few drizzles of chocolate frosting. When I'm not able to fulfill this craving (which is like all the time), my mind goes into daydreaming mode and I start to fantasize about a chocolate cake delivery service at my work and how wonderful it would be if there were ice cream sundae vendors at every street corner. Imagine that. That would be the life!
I also had this thought the other day: Has anyone ever put EAT MORE CHOCOLATE on their New Year's Resolution list? Doubtful.
With a chocolaty dense bundt cake like this, I can't see why that wouldn't be a good idea.
Maybe I should give in to my chocolate cravings more often. Maybe then I could consider myself a chocolate lover.
Spiced Orange Popovers
Ready for my David Letterman impression? I'll do it if you stop staring at my gap teeth!
TOP 10 REASONS WHY YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE SPICED ORANGE POPOVERS:
- They taste like donuts, yet they're not fried!
- They're ridiculously easy.
- Your house will smell like a high-end Christmas candle.
- It's the holidays & you're looking for something festive for breakfast.
- Clove, cinnamon & orange are your best friends this time of year.
- You need an excuse to dust off your popover pan.
- They're light and fluffy. Means no calories, right?
- They're a perfect breakfast, snack or dessert. You could make dinner out of them. (I totally did)
- Your coffee is lonely. It needs company.
- Because I said so!
I should also note that I ate 5 popovers within an hour after I made them....I blame the delicious clove cinnamon orange sugar. Well...that and they were WARM.
It's not like I have to wear a bathing suit anytime soon...
OH WAIT. I do. CRAP!
White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels
I dropped Cooper off at preschool yesterday and immediately headed to the post office to mail packages & pick up stamps for the holiday cards I have yet to send out. The line at the post office went smoothly and the lady who helped me was an absolute dream. Hooray for excellent customer service! Then I went to pick up a few groceries and just when I was ready to tackle another item on my TO-DO list, my car wouldn't start! For the first time in my life, I ran out of gas. I KNEW I should have stopped at the gas station before I got groceries but I felt like I've been pushing EVERYTHING in my life to the limit lately, I assumed my car would push too. Thank God for husbands who come to the rescue!
Emails piled up in my inbox, clean laundry overflowed in baskets on my living room floor and then one of my cats puked on my stairs (which I stepped in!). To combat the stress, I took a break and went out to lunch with Casey. We went to get fancy sandwiches and fresh air but after THREE attempts at making my sandwich without mayo and over an hour of my limited time wasted, I felt like throwing in the towel. It just wasn't my day!
Instead of tackling my TO-DO lists when I got back from the sandwich fail, I made these white chocolate peppermint pretzels instead. Getting lost in dipping pretzels into creamy melted white chocolate, studding them with cracked candy canes and lining the rods (haha, rods!) up into organized rows, made me happy. And then... I got a call from preschool telling me that Cooper needed to be picked up ASAP because he contracted pinkeye. It's a good thing I got at least one solid thing done that day...
What's my point? There's no doubt that the holidays can be stressful. These little obstacles in life are only as big as we make them.The pressure we put on ourselves this time of year has the power to erase the holiday spirit we're supposed to give & receive. Relax!
If you're stressing out because the clock is ticking and you haven't figured out what to make for the holidays, just make these easy white chocolate peppermint dipped pretzels. They're therapeutic and they pose as little reminders of how sweet, savory & crunchy life can be.
Remember: Make things simple and give yourself permission to slow down!
