So....about a month ago our chickens all got snatched up by a fox...or an owl, or something else. We're not 100% sure what got them, but all our girls were gone within a few days. Just big heaps of golden feathers here and there around the farm. :( I'm not a chicken lover like some people are (doting on their birds, naming them, giving them "special treats" like herbs in an ice water bath in the summer...seriously, that's a thing), but I did enjoy taking care of them. I enjoyed that my kids could help collect the eggs, and bring them our scrap bowl, full of leftovers that the chickens loved to eat. And for that matter, I also miss not having them as our compost. So, where once we had at least 2 dozen eggs ready for anything, we suddenly had none...I needed to buy eggs. I haven't bought eggs in forever. We bought a few dozen from a lady Adam knows from work, and a few dozen from a lovely older lady who sells them from her scrap feed, free range chickens. But, more often than not...we had no eggs in the house. I just wasn't used to having to buy them, so we keep going, "ohh....there aren't any eggs in the house....I guess we should go buy some?" Or, I have the urge to bake chocolate chip cookies...and there were no eggs! Yikes! Luckily, making chocolate chip cookie dough without eggs was something I had experimented with a while ago when I made this gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough. I had worked out a lot of the kinks of edible cookie dough because I wanted to eat it raw, and eating raw eggs are not such a great idea. Unless you're a dog. Which I'm not. Anyway, I went back to that recipe, but tweaked it to make sure it would be stable enough to bake. So, here they are, egg-free chocolate chip cookies! They are actually a really simple cookie to make, and, although my preference is a super thick, super soft cookies, these little darlings were super deee-lish. They were a little crispy on the outside, but still nice on the inside. Thumbs up. Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients:
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I know I don't have the butter whipped up before adding the sugars in the photo above...but I wanted a picture of all the ingredients, and well, this is what you get :) Also, the butter is cubed because I needed it to get to room temperature quickly, and that's the way to do it. FYI.
So, you can see these cookies have a fantastic golden bottom, are slightly thin, but still have some puffy spots. They really are so good. Sooooo good. And that's that! It's Friday, it's a "nothing" day for us here (nothing planned), so I'll be working on a wee project outside...actually, it's not "wee" at all, but if I tell myself that I won't be overwhelmed and quit!! I hope everyone has a good weekend! The kids and I are heading to the Tweed Fair tomorrow, then to a Belleville Theatre Guild picnic on Sunday. I am looking forward to both! xo
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Hello all you people! Flour-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients:
Method:
Simple. Tasty. The End. :)
It's the first official week of summer holiday for us here, and Wednesday is Canada Day which we're looking forward to! Tweed does a big how-do with a parade and celebrations in the park. It's always fun, and we're having some friends come to be involved then come back to our place after to hang out and have dinner and a campfire (hopefully, if it's not raining!). Well, I'm excited about all of this! Let me know what you think of the new look! I hope everyone has a great day! Hello there. How are we today? I'm feeling cold. I know it's spring, but seriously, a lot of days you need to be sitting right in the sun to be warm. If you're in the shade, or in the house, you're freezing! So, although hot-chocolate cookies seem like a lovely winter treat, they really hit the spot on any cool day! Made with hot-chocolate mix, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows, these cookie honest-to-goodness taste like hot chocolate....only cold. They are super-yum. Hot Chocolate Cookies Ingredients:
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I bought new cookie sheets and they are the BEST! So, I didn't have to use parchment paper. You can see that the cookies are still poofy and soft-looking out of the oven. This is how they should look! They will flatten and cook a little more as they cool. You can also see the many hot chocolate mixes I used for this batch! Well, alrighty.
I hope everyone has a good weekend, doing what you're doing! Today is a p.a. day for the kids, I have rehearsal tonight, then a full dress rehearsal on Sunday evening. We have a paid preview on Tuesday, then we open on Thursday! Ahhhhhh!!!!! I'm a little nervous/excited. I can't believe the show is opening next week; it feels like we just did auditions a month ago, not 5 months ago! Anywho, happy weekend to all, and to all a goodnight! :) Truffles are one of the easiest things to make, for realz. A 'regular' truffle consists (basically) of cream, chopped/shaved chocolate, and vanilla extract. This paleo version is just as simple, but I opted out of cream and used coconut oil instead. I have also made truffles with coconut cream (from this site), and they were good, but I wanted to make some on a different occasion and had no coconut milk. So, I just threw some things together and made these....which, after I had made, photographed and eaten them...it came to me...I've made these before, sort of...in October 2013 I wrote a "healthy chocolate treats" post and the chocolate I made then was the same. I tried to re-invent the wheel, and came out at the other end with, have you guest? A wheel. I'm loosing my edge here people, this is serious. Sheesh. Anyway, these are tasty, easy, and apparently my "go to" for a chocolate fix....whether or not I even realize it..... Paleo Dark Chocolate Truffles Ingredients:
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So easy, right? They are a real treat! I have always had a serious sweet tooth, but I have especially always loved chocolate, and so I like to have little chocolate treats available that are a healthier than the sugar and hydrogenated oil filled store bought versions. You can buy some good store bought versions, but the prices are usually whacko! I have more time than I do money, so I'll stick to making my own. Anyway, I didn't plan on posting this today, but here I am, doing it anyway. I'm a rebel without a cause!!! Ok, I'm not, I just want to share a chocolate treat because, well, why the heck not? :) Have a great Tuesday! Hey there! I'm still here, but I've just been super busy! Sorry to post another sweet treat...but I needed to share it! It's like the classic super easy peanut butter cookie, only made a little more substantial with oats (so you don't feel so bad about eating it), and then chocolate chips added (....so you feel bad again). Just kidding, don't feel bad about eating cookies, it totally ruins them! ;) I made these recently to bring (of course) to rehearsal, and they got gobbled up. Gobb-bulled. So, here are the cookies with the longest name ever, or otherwise known as the f.p.b.o.c.c.c! :) At least that rhymes! Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies *This dough does require some chilling time* Ingredients:
**If you double this recipe you'll need to use 3 eggs. Otherwise the dough is too dry and won't hold together** Method:
*Chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes*
These cookies freeze really well, by the way. I like to make a batch just to stick in the freezer to have handy for the kids when they get home from school, or as a quick add-in to a snack I'm packing for a day away from home. I love a cookie that has a soft, chewy centre, but a beautiful golden crisp outside. Yummmmm!
These are easy to whip up too, you just have to be ok with the cooling time. I really rather dislike making cookies that require cooling time (when I want cookies, I want them sooner than later!), but these loose their body if made right away. The oats, peanut butter and eggs need time to really bind properly. Anyway, I hope everyone had a good week! We're on the hunt for a new van (originally by choice, but now by force...it's a long story, but just know our van is wobbling like a clown car!). So, I'm signing off! Have a great weekend, and try to get in a random act of kindness today (this was R.A.K week!). xo Last week I shared a seriously delicious gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough dip recipe....and I warned you that my treat day brain worked some magic to add to how de-lish the recipe was...oh yes, I sandwiched it between two gluten free (and flour free) brownie cookies. Yum-o X 1000! :) I decided to bake the brownie cookies a pinch longer than I normally would to make sure they would be sturdy enough to be involved in a cookie dough sandwich. They were perfect! The original post for those beauties is here. In a way, these seem like they would take a lot of work, but the cookie recipe is simple, and the cookie dough dip recipe is simple too. I made both the cookies and the dough dip the day before I needed them, then assembled the next day. I actually made a double batch of both the cookies and the cookie dough dip, and made about 35 sandwich cookies. Flour-Free Brownie Cookies Makes approx. 35 cookies Ingredients:
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip
Method:
Time Saving What I did to make these and make the most of my time was to start the cookie dough dip because the melted butter mixture needed to cool. While it was cooling I made the brownie cookies, and by the time I was done baking, the dough dip butter mixture was cooled, and I could finish making that. Taa-daa! Time to Assemble! I don't think you need instructions for this part, but just in case you do... I created a little assembly line of sorts to make the sandwiches. I lined some cookie up with the tops facing up, and some with the bottoms facing up. Then I used my small (1 Tbsp) scoop to dish out the dough dip onto each cookie with it's bottom facing up, and then took it's cookie partner (the cookie with the top facing up), and squished them together. That's it! Yummy, right? You have no idea!!!
They disappeared at the rehearsal I brought them to, and one person said, "I thought gluten free food was supposed to taste gross?" She thought wrong, real wrong. I can prove that gluten free doesn't have to be gross, but also that it doesn't have to be even a little bit healthy! Haha...I'm just poking fun at those whose brains say: gluten free=healthy! For real, these are a treat, and eat them in moderation, blah, blah, blah... I have rehearsal again tonight, and I'm going to whip up a batch of something to bring. I'm not sure what I'm going to bring yet, actually? Anywhooo... On Wednesday night the hubby and I and some friends went to see ZZTop in Peterborough, and that was actually fun (I wasn't too sure it would be). They still have their little choreographed moments, they brought out their fizzy guitars, there was a really drunk guy in the audience wearing a cowboy hat trying to dance with anything that walked by him...yikes....he finally got escorted out! It was really loud, so I felt kinda old, but we were right near the front and it was a good show! Those are the coolest 65 year old guys ever...well, except for my Dad, he's pretty cool. Although he's older than 65...never mind, I digress. Have a good weekend internet dwellers, and don't forget it's daylight savings this weekend, so you need to spring your clocks ahead one hour! Most people hate this loss of an hour, but for my husband who is working a 12 hour night shift, it turns it into an 11 hour night shift, which might not seem like a lot, but it is to him! :) Bonne journée! Lets be honest, the yummiest thing ever is unbaked cookie dough! A friend said that most cookies actually taste better in their raw dough form than in their baked form, and I had to agree! Another friend mentioned that she had made a cookie dough dip for a party, and I was intrigued! The eggs are omitted from the recipe so that it is safer to eat, and I wanted to give it a shot! Why am I using so many exclamation marks!?! Haha....oh boy... I made a batch of the cookie dough dip from a recipe I found online, and it was not so good. Well, it was good-ish. Butter, sugar, flour, chocolate chips, what's not to like? Well, mainly, the gritty sugar! Think about it, creaming butter and sugar, for any amount of time, will never get the sugar to dissolve fully. So then I found another recipe that had cream whisked in with the sugar, then you added butter and mixd it all up, but that still didn't do the trick. So, I decided to melt the butter and sugars together to get rid of the grit...but then I accidentally made fudge. Don't worry, I just ate it out of the pan with a spoon. Usually I would give up on something that was being so stubborn, but gosh darn it, I love chocolate chip cookie dough and I was determined to get it right! The next problem was that you need to add regular flour to the dough, and I wanted to make it gluten free so that my Caleb could partake, but just swapping out regular flour for gluten free doesn't always go well. Such dilemmas! I'm very dramatic when it comes to dessert related issues. :) Well, let me tell you, I figured out such a tasty chocolate chip cookie dough dip that is not only smooth and not gritty at all, but it is gluten free-and flour free! What? I know, I know....I am amazing....I can hear the applause... :) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip
Method:
I can't seem to get rid of this one down here.....just ignore it.... So, this dip is veeeeeery sweet. Fair square warning. So, if you wanna, and if you have some on hand, or you don't mind paying for this, you can use cream cheese instead of the marshmallow fluff.
You will need to really cream it properly with the icing sugar though, so a hand mixer would be needed. I've tried it both ways (cream cheese was on really cheap, and that's the only way I'll buy it!), and I liked it a lot. It is a little more rich, and there is a bit of that cheese-y taste you expect from cream cheese; it was more like a no-bake chocolate chip cheese cake dip, I guess. Anywho, whatever way you make it....it's goooood. And not gritty! Hazaaa! Oh, I'm excited about this dip! Next week I'll share what my twisted treat-day mind did with the dip to send it over the edge of deliciousness! Have a great weekend! xoxo When you love marshmallows the way I love marshmallows, you find ways to add them to any/everything! Mallowed Peanut Butter Macaroons Ingredients:
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These are a seriously gooey, chocolatey and delicious variation on my regular old macaroons (or whatever you call these!). Not that my regular cookies are not good, they are great (in my humble opinion) :) But really, adding marshmallows just kicks 'er up 10 notches!
They keep well too. I can make a batch and keep them in an airtight container for a week so my kids can enjoy them after school...and if there are any left I have a few too on my treat day! It's hard looking at these all week and not gobbling them all up! Anyway, I hope everyone had a good week! Mine was good; even with some hiccups. Mainly having Keziah home sick for a few days made things different, but by no means difficult! Each of my kids on their own are really so sweet....now, put them together and it can be a different story! This week I also taught a dance number for the Belleville Theatre Guild's spring show, The Drowsy Chaperone....it was a tap dance! Do I dance? Yes. Do I choreograph? Yes. Can I tap dance......well, not exactly. I own tap shoes from some other life I was in, but I am not a "tap dancer"! In fact, when my husband saw the tap shoes sitting out he said, "what are those ugly shoes for?". We've been married nearly 11 years and he has NEVER seen them, so that should give you a hint at the last time I was tappa tappa tappin'! Also, pregnancy has been known to make foot size increase...and mine sure did! I sent a picture of my battered feet with many bandages to a friend, but I'll spare you all those ugly details! The shoes that fit just right many moons (and pre-babies) ago, now just, just fit. Ouch. All that to say though, I feel really accomplished for choreographing an entire dance in a style that I have only ever been moderately trained in! I felt stressed day and night about it; I would honestly wake up in the middle of the night and hear the song in my head, and I would be mentally tapping out rhythms! Every sounds I heard (including typing on a keyboard!) sounded like tap variations to me! Right now my fingers are tap dancing!!! Hahaha!! "They" say you can do anything you set your mind to. And usually that statement makes me irritated! If I set my mind to becoming a dinosaur, no matter how much I want it, I shall never be a dinosaur! Whomp whomp. However, within reason, I say "hear hear!" to that vague statement. I was asked to choreograph this piece, and I set my mind (and feet and body) to do it! I worked at it every day, slowly and painstakingly, adding a new sound or step as I went, and suddenly ("suddenly" as in 3 weeks later!), I had it done and I was teaching it! :) This amusing anecdote is meant as an encouragement to you today! If you see a task ahead looking ominously large and un-manageable, just start at it....pick away at it. Do what you can with what you have (knowledge, resources, etc.), and see what you can do when you set your mind to something! And if you want to learn to tap dance, but not pay for it or have others witness the event, just go to YouTube! Seriously, there are a tonne of tap teachers on YouTube and you can take it at your own pace! Just in case you wanted to know. :) Happy weekend! xoxo It's time for maple syrup therapy! Stat!!! Today is a beautiful, blustery, blizzardy day...and buses are cancelled. No big deal except Friday was a p.a. day, and we had a busy weekend and I had counted on having today to recoup....alone! I have some whacko cold that is running into it's fourth week, and I just needed a "sick day" to sit around in warm and comfy clothes, drink a lot of tea, read something good, and attempt to give my body a chance to get better. No such luck. So, in lieu of having some quiet time, I think it just needs to be pancake time instead. These pancakes happened a few weeks back when I suddenly had the urge to eat pancakes, which I haven't had in a while, paleo or otherwise. I wasn't interested in wasting my time making some pancake that would end up flat, I needed me some big, fluffy pancakes! So, by using a mix of flours, baking soda activated by lemon juice, and a pinch of love (haha, I'm just kidding), these lovely dears came to be! Paleo Chocolate Monkey Pancakes (for one) Ingredients:
Method:
I forgot the lemon juice in that collage above....oh well... It seems like a lots of ingredients, but it honestly comes together in just a few minutes, and is worth every tiny effort! I suspect you could also make these with an avocado in place of the banana (perhaps just a half an avocado?), or maybe even some baked sweet potato (maybe 2-3 tablespoons?). I haven't tried either, but I could see it working well.
You don't taste the banana really at all in these (in my opinion), so if you're worried about that, stop it. :) I only really called them "chocolate monkey" so you would have an idea before reading the recipe that bananas were involved. No surprises! So, whatever this Monday has for you-make the best of it!!! Either with the people you're with, or the place you're in, and if nothing else, with the ingredients you have on hand to make a yummy treat! :) Peanut butter, chocolate, and salty pretzels? Are there any questions? I clearly think this is a yummy idea, and I have people who ate these cookies who will vouch for the yumminess of this idea! I am often making treats for my son who can't have gluten, and I've made him peanut butter cookies before, but I wanted to jazz them up! And everyone knows that peanut butters' best friends are chocolate and pretzels. Everybody knows it. So, I took a super simple recipe and just added a few yummy things and made it a super-duper yummy, and still so simple recipe! And if you are not a gluten-free person you can just use regular old pretzels! I think that point is obvious, but I just wanted to say it, just in case. Gluten-Free Peanut Butter, Pretzel & Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients:
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Yummy, right? And so simple too! Hazaaa! They are the best!...unless you're allergic to peanuts...then I could see these being the worst...but lets not talk about that.
I hope everyone has a great weekend doing what you're doing! My brain is drawing a blank on cute and quippy closings, so I'm just gonna go! xo Amy-Lyn |
Hi, I'm Amy-Lyn! I am the lady behind this here blog! I live in the sticks with my animals, my super handsome husband, and my
3 amazing kids! Here you'll find things from recipes (gluten-free, paleo, and strait up junk food!), DIY ideas, thoughts on raising a son with autism, and whatever else pops into my brain! : ) Read more about me by clicking here! Want to Stay Connected?
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