Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

I know when I have a cookie craving, it can often come late and night. (Ok, maybe while I'm watching some housewives...) I don't really feel like turning on the oven and waiting around while I get my butter to room temperature, chill my dough, and bake several batches of cookies. No Bake Cookies are the perfect solution for that. These are a great "one pot" treat and are ready in minutes. This particular recipe has a great depth of flavor from the dark chocolate pieces, and a nice salty bite from the peanut butter. It's also got a great chewy texture from the oats. You will love it. 

Make sure you set out a large sheet of wax paper because you will want that ready once your ingredients are combined. 

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
3 pieces dark chocolate melting wafers (or you can use any dark chocolate you have on hand)
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla 
1/4 tsp salt
4-5 cups of oats depending on your chocolate to oat preference 

Melt your stick of butter. I LOVE the taste of brown butter in this recipe, so if you feel ambitious, you can let your butter heat up until brown pieces begin to form and it turns a deep golden color. If you are in a hurry, you can just melt it quickly. Then add your milk slowly so you don't scald it. Mix in your cocoa powder and sugar. Bring all of this goodness to a boil for about 1 minute, make sure you stir it the entire time so nothing burns. Reduce the heat to low. Then add in your dark chocolate pieces, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until everything is combined. Remove from the heat and add your oats. I would start with 4 cups and keep adding until it looks like everything is coated well and there is no extra chocolate on the bottom of the pan. Then drizzle your wax paper with clumps of the oat mixture. Wait until they cool and you (and the cookies) are all set!

Power Pancakes

Our BFFs introduced us to "powerlifting" pancakes about a year ago. They are high in protein, low in fat, low in sugar, and gluten free. Basically they are a delicious healthy breakfast. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 ripe banana
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 large eggs (or 4 egg whites)
• 1/2 cup low fat free cottage cheese
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened rice milk

Cook like you would normal pancake until golden brown. You could also add my favorite, chocolate chips, peanut butter, or berries as well. And for all you banana haters out there, don't worry you can't even taste them. Oh, and don't forget to use organic pure maple syrup! If you haven't tried the stuff you will fall in love! So much better than all that processed thick corn syrupy stuff. Good luck and enjoy! 

Kitchen Sink Cookies

So these cookies have a million ingredients in them, hence their name "kitchen sink cookies" because they pretty much have everything but the kitchen sink in them. 

When I first married my husband, he was always begging me to make his moms kitchen sink cookies. Well they sounded gross, and they had cornflakes in them, eww! What kind of weird cookie is this. But when I finally relented and made them, I was hooked. They aren't super beautiful but they are super delicious. 

Kitchen Sink Cookies

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter room temp

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups Cornflakes or Branflakes 

1 cup coconut 

1 cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts)

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cook at 350 for 10 minutes. You want them just barely golden on the outside edge. Yum!!!