brown sugar

Walnut-Topped Ginger Drops

Leah Short — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 14:25:15 +0000

These Walnut-Topped Ginger Drops were the surprise favorite from Cookie Baking Day 2018. I chose this recipe because I like to have a good variety of cookies, or else I end up with all chocolate! I thought these were so unique with the candied ginger and cardamom. The cookies are almost cake-like and barely sweet, so the touch of vanilla chip drizzle on top is perfect. I wasn’t sure if these would appeal to everyone, but they were the #1 cookie that my coworkers talked about!

What I really love about these cookies is how they are decorated. The one walnut on top with the drizzle looks so cool to me. It was hard finding whole walnut halves, but it can be done! If all you have are walnut pieces, those would look just fine on top. You could also substitute pecans or almonds for the walnuts. Another fun decorating twist is to color the vanilla baking chips. With Valentine’s Day coming up, these would be a fantastic dessert with pink drizzle!

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Leah Short — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 14:58:36 +0000

My coworker Katherine made these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles several times this year and from the first bite I knew they’d make the Cookie Baking Day list! People rave about these cookies and I can taste why. It’s the best of the classic snickerdoodle, plus pumpkin and more spice. They are so moist and almost cake-like. Perfect for this time of year with a big glass of milk!

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Tropical Chewies

Leah Short — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 15:00:09 +0000

New to Cookie Baking Day were these Tropical Chewies. We usually bake only two of the same type of cookies from year to year, so it’s always fun to have something new on the menu. These cookies are full of goodies: white chocolate chips, almonds, macadamia nuts, and coconut. If you’re a white chocolate macadamia cookie fan, you’ll love these!

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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Leah Short — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 15:34:41 +0000

It’s hard to believe after so many years of Cookie Baking Day, that we rarely bake peanut butter cookies. I think it’s because I thought they’d be too time consuming with the rolling and fork-squishing (ha!). This year I was feeling nostalgic for all those classic favorites and guess what? Making Classic Peanut Butter Cookies was easy! Especially if you tag team like my mom and I do. I’m the scooper and roller, she’s the fork-squisher.

I love these cookies! I’ve never tried them with crunchy peanut butter, but I’d bet they’d work just as well. These are soft, but you can bake them a minute or two longer and they’ll be crispy. Whatever your cookie texture preference, these are for you!

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Not-Too-Sweet Granola

Leah Short — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 14:22:03 +0000

My reign of stinginess is over. I got this recipe for granola from my boss and it has ruled my breakfast for months. I teased about it back in April on instagram…twice. Shame on me for just now sharing it. It’s the first time I’ve ever made my own granola and what a hit! I’ve actually never even purchased granola, as it never appealed to me, but my boss was eating it in a meeting one morning with blueberries and Greek yogurt and I was all about it!

I’ve tweaked her recipe a bit to my liking and you can play around with the ingredients as well. In the Fall it would be great with pumpkin pie spice. Not a fan of cashews? Swap in walnuts or add more pecans. It’s really easy to change it up to your liking or what’s in your pantry.

I also halved the original recipe. A half recipe lasts me almost two weeks, but if you’re making this for more people, it’s easily doubled. What’s great about this recipe is that it’s real ingredients and not very sweet. Hence me renaming it Not-Too-Sweet Granola. It’s tasty on its own, but it’s the bee’s knees with yogurt and fruit.

The yogurt adds creaminess and tang, while the fruit adds natural sweetness. Sweet, tangy, crunchy, creamy…it hits on all the feels and that’s just what you need to start any morning right!

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Reese’s Pieces Chocolate Cookies

Leah Short — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:14:27 +0000

How long has it been since you had Reese’s Pieces? Every time I think of them, I instantly think of E.T. If you were a child of the 80s, I’m sure you do, too! The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is as classic as it gets. Last year we made M&M’s Cookies, so this year we turned to Reese’s Pieces Chocolate Cookies! I always forget how good those peanut butter bites in a candy shell taste.

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Leah Short — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 14:50:29 +0000

I almost feel like I’m giving away a family secret sharing these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. For as long as I can remember, my mom’s been baking these and they are pretty much the best oatmeal cookie out there. The recipe isn’t a secret as back in the day it was printed on the Quaker Oats can of oats. The difference is the recipe has changed over the years and just isn’t the same as the original. Lucky for you, I’m sharing the original. You can sub raisins for the chocolate chips, add nuts, or leave out the extras altogether. Nothing beats this chewy oatmeal cookie recipe.

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Clean Slate: Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Leah Short — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:52:52 +0000

I’ve saved the best for last in my Clean Slate series. However, I’d never argue that dessert wasn’t always the best anyway. Have you seen that movie Simply Irresistible with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery? Super cute movie with a food theme, so I love it. There’s one line where SMG says something like “dessert is the whole point of the meal” and I couldn’t agree more! You will not believe these Chocolate Walnut Brownies are in a clean eating cookbook! I don’t usually like to mess with desserts, but these are a winner. I didn’t share one single brownie. That’s saying something!

So, how’s it taste?

Would you believe there’s no all-purpose flour in this recipe? It’s all almond flour, making these brownies gluten-free! Instead of sprinkling the walnuts on top, as the recipe suggests, I mixed them in. I didn’t want them to get too toasted on top and it worked perfectly.

The brownies were a bit more fragile than brownies made with all-purpose flour, but the flavor more than makes up for that. They’re just perfect.

I was nervous about being able to detect the olive oil in the finished brownie, but you can’t. You also can’t detect the maple syrup, which is what I wanted. I still want them to taste like good old-fashioned brownies, even if they are part of clean eating! Believe it or not, you don’t have to give up decadent desserts!

The dishes you see in the pictures above are part of the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware available exclusively at Macy’s. Fantastic dishware for everyday use, plus they’re dishwasher and microwave safe!

Yield: 16 servings

Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
8 oz. dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao), chopped
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
2/3 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with oil. Line with parchment, leaving overhang. Brush parchment with oil.

2. Melt half of chocolate in a heatproof bowl; whisk in oil, sugar, and syrup. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Fold in flour and remaining chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle with walnuts (or fold in).

4. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack. To serve, cut into squares.

per serving (1 brownie): 206 calories, 16g fat, 17g carbs, 3g protein, 2g fiber

Source: Clean Slate by the editors of Martha Stewart Living

Disclosure: I received a copy of Clean Slate: A Cookbook and Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body, and Feel Your Best and the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware at no cost. All opinions expressed here are solely my own, as always. This post contains affiliate links.

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M&M’s Cookies

Leah Short — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 10:10:56 +0000

Merry Christmas!

This is such a classic cookie in general, but I love to make M&M’s Cookies with the red and green M&M’s for the holidays. Way back in the day when mom and I started making Christmas cookies, these were always on the list. You know how I like to change up the list every year and make new varieties, so I didn’t give them much thought…until this year. Wow, I really did forget how darn delicious they are! It’s that brown sugar in the recipe that does the trick I think. I also love that candy crunch. This cookie just might make the list every year from now on.

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Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread

Leah Short — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 19:43:18 +0000

Remember that Pumpkin Quick Bread a few posts back? This incredible Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread was the second flavor I made that same day. I mean when they say quick, they mean quick! This bread was easy, but required a bit more work than the pumpkin version. I had to get out the mixer and it was a bit more involved with the pecan-cinnamon swirl middle, but still a quick bread and very much worth it! Certainly faster than making homemade cinnamon rolls. I brought both breads to work and this one was by far the favorite. Which is funny because I liked the pumpkin best out of the oven, but this one proved to hold up and get better the next day. You can’t go wrong with a cinnamon roll bread complete with glaze!

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