Protein Packed Ginger Snaps

I adapted this recipe from my regular ginger snap recipe that I've been using for years. Make these switches that I have noted for a whole grain, protein packed, no refined sugar, healthy-fat cookie that tastes awesome (and not at all coconutty if you're worried about that)!

Protein Packed Ginger Snaps

• 1/3 c. coconut oil 
• 1/2 c. no salt pinto beans, blended with about 1 Tbs water (measure beans after blending/mashing)
• 2/3 c. coconut sugar 
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 whole egg or 2 egg whites
• 1/4 c. dark molasses
• 1.5-2 c. whole wheat white flour 

• 1/4 c. coconut sugar 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Using a small food processor, blend the beans with water until there are no chunks remaining. You can hand mash them with a potato masher as well, but you need to keep working them till they are VERY smooth. Will have the consistency of soft PB. Measure 1/2 c into your mixing bowl.

Then combine the coconut oil with the coconut sugar, baking soda, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, egg and molasses. Blend until all is moist and mostly smooth, then add flour.  Start with just 1.5 cups of whole wheat white flour, then add more as needed to create a stiff dough (I used about 1 3/4 c total for mine). Stir until well combined then cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until you're ready to bake.

Combine the 1/4 coconut sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon on a plate or bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture, then place 2 inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet (use parchment paper, rubber mat, or non-stick foil). Press down lightly on the cookie with fork tongs. If there's dough that isn't being used during a baking cycle, cover it and return to fridge or freezer.  Bake cookies in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 11 minutes or until set and tops are cracked. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

My Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

My mom is a lot of things – among her traits and talents she happens to be a world class cookie maker (at least in the eyes of her family and friends).  These cookies have been bringing my family happiness and good luck for years, and now I’m passing the recipe on to you.  When I told my mom that I was going to take her recipe public she said, “Be sure to tell them how I halved the fat from the original recipe.”  See where I get it. : )
My Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 stick margarine, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• ¾ c. sugar
• ¾ c. packed brown sugar
• 2 ½ c. flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir together margarine, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Add flour and baking soda and stir thoroughly. (My mom always sifts them in, but if you don’t have a sifter that’s ok – you may just need to add a little water to moisten the dough if the unsifted flour makes it too dry.)  Add chocolate chips and stir to mix them in evenly.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees.

The baking time is my mom’s big secret.  She doesn’t like hard or overdone cookies, so she bakes hers for only 7 minutes, then sets them on top of the stove to continue warming/cooking for about 3 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

When I make these cookies Hubby prefers that I cook them a little longer, so I let them go 9-11 minutes, then do the same cooling method my mom uses.

Here’s the side by side comparison:

 

My mom’s cookies are done when there’s just a little browning on the edges.  They are very chewy and go great in the freezer because they are still soft right out of the cold.  My cookies are done when there’s coloring on the edges and on the top cookie peaks.  Mine are better right out of the oven, but aren’t as chewy.

Half the Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I love cookies. LOVE them!  Growing up with my parents, how could I not?  My mom is a cookie artist and my Dad is a Cookie Monster.  What I don’t love are the cookies that are SO buttered that they leave grease behind on your fingers or napkin.

Here’s a little secret – you can half the butter on LOTS of cookie recipes.

I even used low-cal butter.

That being said, the flavor was perfect.  Not too sweet, smooth inside and slightly crisp on the outside.  Fierce.

Half-the-Butter Oatmeal Cookies

• 1/4 c. butter/margarine, softened (I used light Blue Bonnet)
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 c. quick oats
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used the mini-chips and they were great)

Cream together the soft butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients all at once, then stir until well blended.  Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.  Bake at 325 for 13 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet, then transfer for racks.  Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

A different twist on classic dessert flavors. More steps involved than your average cookie, but more unique too.

Chocolate Banana Biscotti

• 1 package banana bread mix (I used Pillsbury)
• 3 Tbs water
• ½ banana, mashed
• 4 oz plain, fat free yogurt
• 2 Tbs natural applesauce or oil
• 2 servings of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all wet ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined.  Add wet ingredients to banana bread mix and stir until mixed.  Chop half of the chocolate chip pieces until slivered, then add them and the rest of the chocolate chips to the batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Since I took all of the oil out of the recipe, I sprayed the foil with cooking spray until well coated for ease of removing logs.  Divide dough in half and form two rectangular logs (about 4.5 inches x 8 inches) – dough will be sticky, but touchable (use wet hands if needed).

Bake logs for 30 minutes, remove from oven and cookie sheet, and allow to cool on wire racks.  Once the logs are cooled cut them into ½  inch strips.  Put strips back on the cookie sheet, cut side down, and bake for another 10 minutes.  Flip strips to other side and bake another 10 minutes.

Kim’s note:  Mine were crisp on the outside with a chewy center using the method described above, but have softened even more as I’ve stored them.  If you want them to be truly crispy throughout like a coffee house biscotti, I’d suggest baking the strips longer, but still doing the 10-minute flip so that the edges don’t have the chance to burn.

Cake Batter Cookies

My hometown BFF introduced me to these gems while I was on bed rest for my first pregnancy. Take any flavor of cake mix, add a few simple ingredients, use some imagination for flair and BOOM, you’ve got delicious, super soft, homemade cookies.

I’ve done these cookies as triple chocolate, chocolate peanut butter chip, chocolate mint chip, cinnamon sugar, and even pumpkin chocolate chip! I think my favorite though would have to be lemon cookies with a powdered sugar dusting.


Cake Batter Cookies

• 1 box cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup oil, natural applesauce, or a combination of the two

Mix all ingredients together, add whatever your heart desires, then bake at 350 until done (about 11 minutes in my oven).

*Some tips – when not using oil, you should lightly grease your cookie sheet or use parchment paper to avoid sticking. I  make sure I have a very hard, thin plastic spatula and I remove the cookies promptly.  I’m usually not a stickler for brands, but they do turn out best with Super Moist cake mix and not the generics.

An example of possible variations: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip [Cake Batter] Cookies

• 1 box spice cake mix
• 1 c. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix, they are typically sold side by side)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. canola oil, applesauce, or a combo of both (I’ll fill my measuring cup most of the way up with natural applesauce, then just top it off with the oil – you can cut the oil completely, but I find that it adds a little extra weight and moisture to the cookies.)
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a big bowl – I find that a hand mixer works well for this, but by hand gets the job done too.  Once blended and lumps are out of batter, fold in chocolate chips.  If not using oil, spray your cookie sheets before scooping dough to prevent sticking.  Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes.
Happy Cooking!

Mini Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free)

I'm about to show you a cookie that is flour-less, butter-less, and that boasts only 4 ingredients in its batter. Brace yourself:

Huh. I was a little surprised myself.  This is a normal looking little cookie - not what I've come to expect from gluten-free baking.  

These cookies do best with some time. They are incredibly soft so they aren't a straight-out-of-the-oven cookie. Make them, and leave them. The texture improves and the flavor holds brilliantly too.

Mini Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
(Slightly Modified from Spark Recipes)

• 1 c Peanut Butter* (works best with natural PB, reduced-fat, low sodium, that kind)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Milk chocolate chips, if desired

Combine first 4 ingredients and stir until well combined.  Use a rounded teaspoon to scoop dough onto a cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper for easy removal).  Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes, remove from oven, stick one or two chips into the cookie tops, then return cookies to oven one final minute of baking.  Let cookie sit on baking sheet to cool then remove them to a rack.

*Kim's notes: I'd love to try this recipe again with natural Almond Butter.  Also, if you aren't a fan of chocolate, skip the chips and criss-cross the dough balls with fork tongs for a more classic PB cookie look.