My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies Yet!

 Posted by at 6:00 am  SGIKS, THS Recipes
Dec 032012
 

After working the Wegman’s Living Gluten Free event in October, I found myself with an urge to create something delicious with the open box of Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal I had in my pantry. 

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This specific cereal plays many roles in my kitchen.  I eat it for breakfast or a late night snack, with berries or banana or if I’m feeling especially crazy, both.  Also, if you’re a big peanut butter fan – try this cereal with a spoonful of peanut butter right in there with the milk.  Take a little bit of peanut butter with each spoonful of milk and cereal. [a little trick I learned from my an old friend in Texas!]

I also use this Crispy Brown Rice cereal in yogurt bowls.  I love the super simple ingredient list [organic brown rice, organic brown rice syrup, and sea salt. siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimple.] and the light crunch it adds to my most often consumed breakfast. [yogurt bowls, I just can’t quit you…even in the winter.]  I admit that sometimes my yogurt bowls get a dose of sugary granola stirred in, along with whatever fruit, nuts, or seeds I may have added to the mix – but when my focus is eating CLEAN, I swap out the sugary granola [or crumbled muffin.] for my go to box from Erewhon. 

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We’ve made a lot of sweet treats with Erewhon cereal, too.  I rely on the gluten free rice cereals for crispy treats when gluten free friends are joining us for a party.  Nick made an awesome batch of Gluten Free Cocoa Crispy Treats with a vanilla caramel twist and I have my eyes peeled for those pumpkin spice marshmallows I heard about to make a batch of pumpkin spice crispy treats soon. 

This go around I decided on a cookie and I can’t believe it’s taken me well over a month to finally share this recipe.  After all, I claim this recipe to be the best cookies to come out of my oven EVER.  The perfect amount of chewy and crispy together with an even sprinkling of chocolate chips.  This is a cookie that would make Goldie Locks mighty happy – they’re just right.

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Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Dice room temperature butter.  Combine with sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.
  • While mixing on low, add egg and vanilla, until combined.
  • Fold in the flour and baking soda until just mixed.
  • Gently stir in Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal and chocolate chips until mixed throughout.
  • Drop teaspoonful heaps of dough onto a prepared cookie sheet.
    [ I used a few methods here: to a preheated baking stone and parchment paper lined cookie sheets I dropped heaping teaspoons of dough.  I also dropped larger spoonfuls in a lightly greased muffin tin, which gave the batch a nice uniformity drop cookies often lack. 
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, removing from oven once edges of cookies are slightly browned.  Cool on sheet for 3 – 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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P.S. Tomorrow happens to be National Cookie Day!  I may just have to celebrate with a batch of these babies!

Raspberry Pear Muffins

 Posted by at 6:00 am  THS Recipes
Sep 272012
 

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This weekend I asked myself a question….

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What do you get when you add Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio and half a container of Driscoll’s* Raspberries?  Inspiration in the kitchen!!

When I want to put my own recipe together, I like to start with Ratio.  It’s a book for anyone who likes to experiment with some cooking adventures.  The book walks you through the science and math behind basic recipes, which I use as a jumping off point for building my own ingredient list. For this recipe, I took Ruhlman’s basic muffin equations, and did some adding and subtracting. Lesson the amount and swap the type of sugar, add mashed pear, decrease the milk, toss in some raspberries… presto chango!!

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Raspberry Pear Muffins
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 26-30 minutes
Makes 10 Muffins

Ingredients

  • 8 oz all purpose flour
  • 2 oz brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 small very ripe pear, about 3 oz
  • 3/4 cup milk [I used almond milk]
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup raspberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare muffin tins with either cupcake liners or non-stick spray.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder until thoroughly combined.
  4. Slice the pear and discard the core.  Mash slices in small sauce pan.
  5. Add the butter to sauce pan and heat over medium until melted.  Stir to combine the butter and pear.
  6. Whisk together the milk and eggs, making certain to break the egg yolks completely.
  7. Time to bring it all together! Blend together the two liquid combinations, then slowly pour into the dry mix, mixing together until just combined. Stir in the raspberries at the very end.
  8. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 26-30 minutes, testing with a toothpick or cake tester for doneness.
  9. Allow muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 3 minutes before moving to a wire rack to complete cooling.

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*Driscoll’s sent me some coupons to try their berries.  Using a $2 off coupon, I was able to snag these Raspberries for just 79 cents. I love a good deal on produce, don’t you?

Trail Mix Pancakes with Peanut Butter Maple Sauce

 Posted by at 6:00 am  SGIKS, THS Recipes
Jul 062012
 

If you read a few healthy living blogs each week or follow several on twitter, you’ve probably heard about the awesome WILD HARVEST Breakfast Showdown going on between HLS attendees. 

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I love recipe contests because they push me to get a little bit creative in the kitchen – something that does NOT come naturally – so I couldn’t help but get involved with some recipe creation of my own using at least three of the awesome WILD HARVEST products from the box of deliciousness that arrived for my ingredient choosing pleasure. I decided to go go ingredient crazy and choose five WILD HARVEST products for my recipe creation.

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Let’s make trail mix pancakes with peanut butter maple sauce! A total #FTWBreakfast, I promise.

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Trail Mix Pancakes
makes 8 medium pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon WILD HARVEST organic ground ginger
  • 3/4 cup skim milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tablespoons margarine, melted
  • 1/4 cup WILD HARVEST organic apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup WILD HARVEST natural cherry vanilla granola
  • 1/6 cup WILD HARVEST organic California raisins
  • 1/6 cup cashew pieces
  • nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and WILD HARVEST organic ground ginger.
  • In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg, melted margarine, and WILD HARVEST organic apple sauce.
  • Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined.
  • Add remaining ingredients and stir slightly until mixed.
  • Bring griddle or fry pan to medium heat, after spraying it with cooking spray. 
  • Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop an overflowth cup of pancake batter onto the heated pan.  Allow to cook about 2 minutes, until the batter just starts to bubble, then flip to cook through completely.
  • Best served warm, fresh off the stove top.  You can also keep warm in an 150 degree heated oven until serving. 

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Peanut Butter Maple Sauce
makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup WILD HARVEST organic creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons apple sauce

Instructions

  • Combine ingredients in small sauce pan on stove, while bringing heat to medium.
  • Heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring often.
  • Serve warm or refrigerate to cool for an apple butter type consistency.

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P.S. SUPERVALU INC. provided me, along with all the other HLS attendees, with the opportunity to enjoy these products and enter this contest free of charge. Thanks, yo!

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P.P.S. I’ve been loving this trail mix that inspired these pancakes: it all started with a bowl of granola, raisins and cashews while reading blogs one afternoon. WILD HARVEST natural cherry vanilla granola, WILD HARVEST organic California raisins, and unsalted cashews.  Try it as a snack mix, try it mixed in yogurt, try it in these pancakes – just try it.  It’s a crazy delicious blend of flavors and textures!

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