I read several recipes for quinoa bars and bakes and then made this one based off those and what I had on hand.

2 1/2 cups cooked Quinoa

3 eggs slightly beaten

1/3 cup almond milk (any milk would work, I used the So Delicious Almond Milk Plus to up the protein factor)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Add to the slightly cooled quinoa. Spread in a pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 for 20-25 min. Lift immediately out of pan (using the paper) so they don’t steam. Let them cool on a rack. Makes about 12 bars.

By my calculations they have about 110 calories each. Topped with a tbs of nut butter they are perfect!!

Have you seen recipes for rice crispie style treats made with Oreos? They are ALL over Pinterest. I decided to give it a go. My first batch was with Halloween Oreos. No go. I heard someone once say that they thought the holiday Oreos had more filling that was softer, maybe that is the case. Or maybe I just used too much marshmallow. Either way, they were a mess. Had to trash them.

But….I had also bought peanut butter Oreos. These fared much better. I think I used only part of the marshmallow goo….so pour slowly while you mix until it seems the right consistency. And one bag of Oreo only makes 9 “treats.” But they are GOOD.

Make them like any other rice cripsie treat – melt 4 tbs butter with a bag of marshmallow and then pour over the Crushed Oreos.

I have seen several recipes for cookies with Oreos in them. Some are a chocolate cookie with Oreos in them, some are chocolate chip cookies with an Oreo hidden on the inside…and then the version I picked – a kicked up chocolate chip cookie where the Oreos act as chips/chunks. I was going for a version of Bakergirl’s Double Chocolate Chunk Oreo Cookies. Rather than follow her exact recipe, I made a few changes. I mostly did this because I am lazy and I know the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe by heart, so I went with that. I made the Toll House Dough and then added 1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips, 1/2 a bag of white chocolate chips and about 20 Oreos chopped into chunks (probably chopped into fourths or sixths.)

This recipe is actually Honey Coconut Blueberry Bran Muffins (from Skinnytaste) but I used less honey and no blueberries. And I accidentally used only 1 egg. Ooops.

Here is her recipe…and my changes in red based on what I had on hand…or forgot.

• 1 cup wheat bran
• 1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour I used white
• 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts I left these out
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or skim is fine) I used the sweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup honey I used 1/8 cup since my milk was sweetened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (or canola) I used the coconut oil, kind of a pain to mix in since it was solid – but it worked
• 2 large eggs, beaten I used one. Oops.
• 12 oz blueberries I left these out

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a muffin tin with 16 liners. I used 12…and I did 4 of those in greased cups with no liners. I ran out.

Combine the wheat bran, flour, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in coconut and nuts.

In a separate bowl, blend applesauce, almond milk, honey, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs.  Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.

Spoon into paper-lined muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The stats on Skinnytaste say 144 claories. I plugged in my changes and 12 verses 16 and I got about the same They weren’t very sweet – I think the milk wasn’t as sweet as it would need to be to even out as much honey as I omitted. Next time I would add more honey, and I kind of want to tr without the coconut oil. They are a tad greasy in an odd way (only when warm.) Not bad or offensive, but with the applesauce in there I am not convinced the oil is needed.

Bonham is taking bites of mine right now and declared it delicious. High praise from my non-eater.

I used this recipe from Joy the Baker for Peanut Butter Pecan Biscotti, but I of course made a few changes. Mostly no pecans, add chocolate.

4 tablespoons butter, softened (this should be unsalted, but I used salted and it was fine)
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat together butter, peanut butter and sugar.  Scrape down the bowl and add egg and egg yolk.  Beat on medium speed until well blended then add the dry ingredients.
Divide the batter between the two baking sheets and shape dough into two oval/square log things.

Bake 30 minutes (she suggests switching racks halfway through, which I did).  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking pans until cool enough to handle, but still soft.  Use a serrated knife to slice biscotti about 1-inch thick.  Return to the baking sheet and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes….then I dipped the cooled cookies in melted dark chocolate.

I am pretty sure Coca Cola Cake originated during the war when sugar was hard to come by…but this recipe uses both sugar and coke, so who knows. What I do know is that it is soooooo good. The cake part is pretty light and almost milk chocolatey and the frosting is rich and perfect.

1 c       Coca-Cola
½ c     buttermilk
1 c     butter – soft
1 ¾ c    sugar
2   large eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp   vanilla
2 c    flour
¼ c   cocoa
1 tsp   baking soda
1 ½ c   miniature marshmallows

Combine coca-cola and buttermilk.

Beat butter on low until creamy. Add sugar and beat until blended. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on low until blended.

Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternating with cola mixture – beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just blended.  Stir in marshmallows. Pour batter into greased and floured 13×9 inch pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cool slightly – but frost while sill warm.

Frosting:
1 c    butter
1/3 c    coca-cola
3 tbs    cocoa
1 16oz pkg powdered sugar
1 tbs vanilla
½ cup copped pecans

Bring 1st 3 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Take off the heat, then whisk in vanilla, powdered sugar and nuts. Pour over warm cake.

I wanted to share with you the cookies I made for the Engage OKC event this weekend.

Sugar cookies with store bought icing. I used a basic sugar cookie recipe (make sure to freeze the cut outs for 5 min before baking!!!!) and then frosted with thinned out and colored store bought icing. Just thin it with water, color it and go for it. It doesn’t look perfect, but it works. If I had thinned it more, and had more patience, I could have gotten a smoother finish. Don’t judge, I was in a hurry.

Chocolate Peanut Butter with Sea Salt. 3 Ingredients. Love this recipe from Picky Palate.

Coconut Lime Cookies, recipe from Lick the Bow Good.

To make all these and not spend 8 hours baking, I did them in a few stages. I made the sugar cookies one day and frosted them the next. One day I unwrapped all the Reese Peanut Buter cups and put them in a big zip lock, then when I was rteady to bake it was easy. Just planning it out makes it manageable. Someone helping to wash the dishes….that would have made it even better!

I didn’t grow up in a very religious family, but we did grow up celebrating the Jewish holidays. I identify with Judaism as my heritage and my culture. Religion…well, let’s just leave that subject off my blog shall we? No need to ruffle any feathers!  Purim wasn’t a holiday we paid much attention to, but now that Bonham is learning about it, I thought I would participate the best way I know how…baking!

You can read about Purim here. Basically, Purim “commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther.”

Traditionally on Purim you dress up, kind of like Halloweeen…I mean some people do. I don’t. I hate dressing up. Too many traumatic Halloweens as a kid I guess.  And you eat Hamantashen.

I used this recipe I found on Cupcake Project. She has some great tips and pics, so please click through to her site if you plan to make these.

They are kind of a cross between a cookie and a scone.

• 3 cup  flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 eggs
• I also added vanilla bean – not in the original recipe
• your choice of filling (jam, jelly, preserves, chocolate chips, nuts).

• Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
• Mix in butter and eggs.
• Roll out dough and cut into circles (I used a glass)
• Fill with jam or chocolate, just a bit – maybe a tsp. 
• Fold up the edges (you might need to wet them with a bit of water so they stick, I did.)
• Bake on a well-greased cookie sheet or on parchment paper for 12-15 minutes at 400 F.

 

Purim begins this year at sunset on Wed March 7th and is until sundown on Thursday March 8th.