Cinnamon Butterscotch Cookies

I am capping off my healthy month with a cookie recipe. YEAHHHH.  They do exist. I have not gone completely off the deep end. I have still been baking, my Sweets business is moving along. I was very fortunate to be very busy the week of Valentine's day. By the end of the week, I was a dead girl. I was totally burnt toast.

As we all know, I still love my cookies. This cookie carries with it, a combination of two of my favorite flavors. Cinnamon and Butterscotch. The Cinnamon reminds me of Cinnadoodles and the Butterscotch of Blondies. This cookies throws them together for an absolute heaven.

Cinnamon Butterscotch Cookies
adapted from savynaturalista.com
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter,  softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Cinnamon Chips
1 cup Butterscotch Chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with Silpat or parchment paper. Set aside

In a large bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars for 2-3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix until incorporated. DO not over mix. Stir in cinnamon and butterscotch chips. The dough is very thick. It will take some muscle.

Scoop dough into cookie sheet and place in oven. Bake for 9-11 minutes. The edges should just be turning barely brown. Remove from oven, let cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to rack. EAT up.

And I wonder why I never lose any weight

I could really eat all of these.

Basic dough with loads of flavors

This shows you how thick this dough was.

Will you be my Valentine. .. that was SO 2 weeks ago.

Down in front. They were delicious on this tray.

DO not worry, I have created a new brownie cheesecake bar
and made some other new cookies. Do not fret.. Sweets still exist!!

Pear, Oatmeal, Ginger Smoothie

This smoothie was absolutely delicious. I love Ginger. To me, ginger is like Limes. Bursting with flavor.

As we were struggling with another cold snowy weekend, I was putting away my produce. I can across three very ripe pears. It made me very unhappy. One of my resolutions is to waste less food. I hate throwing away produce. A colossal waste of money. So, as I was loading up my frig, I remember that I have 1 or 2 smoothie recipes with pears in them. FOUND them.

This recipe is delightful. The combination of flavors just blows me away. This recipe made two smoothies and I could have drank both of them. GINGER...... hmmmm. The Husband said it was good...

NOT GREEN. 

NO. but still very good for you. 

Pear, Oatmeal, Ginger Smoothie

slightly adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients

1 cup Almond Milk

6 oz Greek Yogurt

2 or 3 Pears

1/4 cup Oatmeal

2 grams fresh Ginger (1 small piece)

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 -3/4 ice cubes

Directions

Place all ingredients in a high power blender. Blend until smooth. This may take a minute or two with the oatmeal and ginger.

The Pears were ugly but mostly unbruised. 

I added 2 1/2 pears. The Pears added a great texture to the Smoothie

Soup for Lunch was good with me.

The Pear Smoothie with my Soup was excellent with ME.

Oatmeal Raisin Smoothie

If you are wondering, my Sweets business is a bit slow in January. WHY do people want to lose weight and not eat cookies and cakes.... Hmmm, wait.... that is me. ECK... I know, I know.... I do have a cupcake job for tonight. NOT complaining. So smoothie nation is still going strong. I bought all the ingredients for the Green Cleanse Smoothie, just have not tackled it yet. Instead, I made a cookie. Well not exactly. I love Cookies and everyone know that, but I am trying to not add to my winter weight. So I made this smoothie with Oatmeal and Raisins in it. WOW, it was so good and filling. I was not hungry for hours. Between the heartiness of the Oatmeal and the delicious sweetness of the raisins, I was satisfied. This is a hundred times better than a Special K Protein shake. Also no bottle to throw away.

Oatmeal Raisin Smoothie
adapted by bestcleanrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup almond milk
1 frozen banana
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
1/3 cup of oatmeal
1/4 cup of raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Directions
Place all ingredients in a blender in order and blend until smooth.

This smoothie is loaded with GOODNESS. 

So much better than an over processed, over priced Shake

I was shaking more than the Vitamix

I packaged these up in to-go glasses, and had them they next day.
Excellent, took care of my afternoon craving. 

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Chocolate and Cinnamon mixed in a cookie. And they are crinkly. Chewy on the outside and so soft and flavorful on the inside. Just like a chocolate heaven in a cookie. I really like loads of different cookies. And I thought I liked Banana Bread. We have had the coolest summer in like FOREVER. I am still wearing sandals all the time, but my feet are always cold. Air conditioning has been off for a while. It is very dry here, the grass is not a pretty green color. My Husband watered yesterday, but not in overkill. This is like the third or fourth time all summer he has watered. And really, my grass really only looks horrible to me. (slight exagerration.)

Since Sweets by Shayla is cruising along, I seem to make the same cookies all the time. That is why I found this recipe. My sisters were my testers, one loved it and the other thought it was "just OK".

These are just one of the coolest looking cookies. Very dimensional. Knooks and Crannies of flavor..
This cookie also falls into a NO Dairy and NO Egg.  Vegan with Gluten.

This is not a huge batch of cookies. Makes between 24-28, depending on the size.

Hot Chocolate Cookies
adapted from desertculinary.blogspot.com

Ingredients
1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons soy or almond milk. (or regular milk -- no longer vegan)
2 teaspoon chocolate extract

FOR THE SUGAR COATING
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with Silpat. Set aside

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a large bowl, with a paddle attachment, add oil, sugar, maple syrup, milk and chocolate extract. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just incorporated.

FOR THE SUGAR COATING
In a small bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar together.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out portions and drop into sugar coating. Roll around and place on cookie sheet. Space out 2 inches apart. Place in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. When done, remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack for further cooling.

small batch of intoxicating flavor

plunked in the cinnamon sugar of love

These cookies would also make GREAT Ice Cream Sandwiches. 

Just a thought for another day.

Cold Oatmeal

I have this new passion. COLD Oatmeal. My Mother just shakes her head and tells me she will continue to eat her perfectly good warm oatmeal. Cold Oatmeal is like an action punch. It  fills you up and gets you through the morning. You really could eat this anytime if you wanted. I am so loving this, I wish I had not waited so long.

What flavor to like. OMG, I have not found one I did not like. I guess because I am making this. I have tried some new combinations, and loved them also. Protein bars have been my go to breakfast forever. They work, they even satisfy my chocolate craving. But they get expensive and they are loaded with preservatives. Oatmeal is CHEAP. A large container will go a long ways. I have been adding Almond milk to my Oatmeal. I am digging that also. On Saturday mornings, I have a bowl of cereal with Almond milk. I also add Greek Yogurt to my Oatmeal. Gives you your Calcium and Protein all in one scoop. My last little treasure that is added to my COLD Oatmeal..... Chia Seeds. Another: Love them!! They are loaded with Omega 3's and Fiber and have more punch that Flax Seeds. They also remind me of mini Tapioca. My Mother made Tapioca pudding for my sisters and me when we were youngsters all the time. Yummy. Just a brain thing.

I am going to give you the basic recipe. Then some additions you can make, and the rest is up to you.

Cold Oatmeal
adapted from theyummylife.com

Ingredients
serves ONE
1/2 cup uncooked Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon Chai seeds

Directions
Place all ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, cover and put into the refrigerator overnight. DONE!

It really cannot be any easier than that to have Oatmeal in the morning. IF YOU WANT, you can heat your oatmeal in the microwave. My Husband likes it warm sometimes.

This particular Oatmeal has Dried Cranberries, Coconut and Slivered Almonds. The flavor combination was fabulous

This Cold Oatmeal had Mandarin Oranges diced up, 1 tablespoon Peach Preserves and Slivered Almonds. A very fresh taste. A Peach Pie for breakfast.

For two servings, I used 1 serving of Apple Sauce and Cinnamon. A thousand times better than a packet of Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal. I also added raisins to this combination. OMG Very Delicious

This is Heaven. 1 teaspoon of Cocoa Powder, 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter and 1 teaspoon of Honey. This bowl was Protein packed and will keep you full for hours. You might even want to try it with Nutella.

There are tons of different variations you can do. The options are endless. What I really like about this recipe is, you are eating Oatmeal with good things added to it. It is "mostly" healthy and loaded with nutrients. You will look at a package of Oatmeal very differently. ENJOY.