Colossal coconut & oatmeal cookies

I wanted to make some delicious cookies so baking without taste testing is key here! I have done it before and I can do it again!

My mom made these cookies a couple months back and they were amazing.

Cher came by to take Aubrey to the park which was great since Liam was still sleeping.  With some time on my hands I decided to try making these cookies for a girls night I was having and a small thank you gift for some sweet girls that gave Aubrey some clothes they had outgrown.

2cups oats

1/2cup unsweetened cocoa

1&1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup soften butter

1&1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1&1/3 cup coconut

I mixed my butter and white sugar. I didn't have brown sugar as the original recipe calls for so I just used all white. Sometimes this actually makes a flavour and texture difference but in this case using all white sugar worked out great.

This is what happens when I rush!

I then added the eggs and just let it whip. At this point Liam had woken up so I got him into the snuggly wrap for the remainder of the baking process.

This whipped up so nice; it was the texture of thick cream cheese icing.

I added in all of my dry ingredients (plus 1/2cup unsweetened cocoa as per my moms variation) minus the coconut and I mixed it until incorporated.

I added the coconut and beat it just until combined.

I put these in my 350F preheated oven for exactly 13 minutes and let them cool on the stove before transferring them to the cooking rack.

Aubrey loved them fresh from the oven!

The reaction from Jeff regarding these cookies was great. "What are those?" "They are ridiculous!"

(I kind of forced him to let me take this photo!)

I had packed up a bag for him to take to his friends house but supposedly one baggie was not enough; I'll take that as a compliment.

Girls night +Liam!

This batch made two dozen cookies.

Here's the thank you gift all wrapped up to take over to the girls; hope they love them!

Reeling it in...making better choices thankfully one day at a time!

Before I was pregnant with Liam I had been eating gluten free and reducing my sugar intake trying to do my part to keep my MS symptoms at bay. When I found out I was pregnant my DR advised me if I didn't have any real sensitivity to foods I should try eating a well balanced diet for the remainder of my pregnancy. I gladly reintroduced whole grain bread back into my balanced diet. However balance started to shift and healthy bread turned into "healthy" muffins which turned into cookies then into cake and most recently I added a piece of cheese pizza to my salad to act as the much needed croutons. At this point I decided I needed to reel in my eating! 

Last week I got a great report from my last MRI showing no new lesions and that several of my lesions had shrunk; thank you Jesus!  So I feel I should take that good news and get back on track by doing my part. Removing gluten and refined sugars has always helped combat issues with my digestive system. As well I find for myself if I remove those items as choices I choose better; more fruits, vegetables and natural whole foods!

Cher and Hurley were coming over to join me and the kids for an impromptu dinner. I grabbed some chili from the freezer and decided gluten free corn bread would be simple enough.

I just tweak my regular recipe;

1cup Tapioca flour starch

4tsp baking powder

2tbsp honey

1 tsp salt

1 cup cornmeal

2 eggs

1/4cup olive oil

1 cup milk

I mixed all the dry ingredients together first.

Added in all the wet ingredients at once and then mixed well.

I then added in chopped jalapeños and shredded old light cheddar cheese.

I baked this at 375F convection for 30 minutes.

The kids both enjoyed the cornbread!  Because of the corneal being a huge part of cornbread texture you really can't tell that it's "missing" anything. 

Happy Liam!

Two minutes later!

Sleeping Liam!

Couldn't resist!!

The next day I still had half of the cornbread left. 

Cornbread repurposed:

Jeff decided to cut thick slices of cornbread, toasted them and served it with an over easy egg and salsa; that was a delicious brunch. So delicious there was NO time for a picture. 

I decided for dinner to accompany BBQ chicken and quinoa I would make a yummy spinach salad. I toasted large chunks of the cornbread with olive oil to make tasty croutons.  This was a great way to repurpose the cornbread and a much better choice than cheese pizza as croutons!

I also did up some honey chili lime peanuts to add in. Jeff introduced me to this simple garnish a while back:

Chili flakes and lime zest in a hot skillet.

I added a teaspoon of honey and 1/2 cup of unsalted peanuts. I cooked this until the honey browned slightly and then I took it off of the heat. 

I squeezed in the juice of a half a lime and added a pinch of salt. This also stops the cooking so the honey doesn't burn.  I poured this out onto parchment so it wouldn't cool into one big clump.

I made a lime vinaigrette and served this with spinach, bell pepper, cucumber, the cornbread croutons and chili lime peanuts. Very delicious and it was the perfect accompaniment to somewhat bland quinoa!  Light and healthy can still be tasty. I'm just trying to make better choices; taking life thankfully one day at a time!

Share with Cher; Baking 101

My sister Cher is crazy! I mean that in the best possible way. 

As most days go we meet up with the kids. We amalgamate food, ideas and forces to occupy the attention of our larger than life  two+ yearolds. This being the norm there was a time when Aubrey referred to her as mama-Cher and most recently we hear the kids discussing who's mom is who's. This usually does not end civilized. 

We discussed going to mom and dads after preschool camp for a much needed kiddo nap time and then dinner. 

As shift working wives we often find ourselves together for dinner; usually at mom and dads. 

Cher suggested bringing food this time; she asked me if she should throw out unopened expired Greek yogurt. "Uh NO" we can make coffee cake. That's all I had to say and coffee cake was added to the dinner menu.

While the kids are napping the world is our oyster. I was tasked with finding the recipes; homemade burgers and coffee cake. Once I found a straight forward coffee cake recipe I couldn't even think of getting up off the couch. Cher suggested I send it to her and she'd make it.  

Little did I know the next hour I would be entertained! 

The whole process started out so promising. I would peak up from the couch into the kitchen to see what was happening.

A few questions that we're asked...

"What's granulated sugar?" White sugar.

"Another bowl, really?!"

"3/4 cup?"

"How long is this to take?"

Finally I yelled over "wow how long have you been at this??" 

She answered back "well I think I started around the time of Adam and Eve and I think I'll be wrapping this up around the time the trumpet blows!"

I heard a lot of sighing, "oh my words!", and thought i'd go see what was happening. The hand mixer was starting to smell. There was a little mishap with when to add the yogurt so it got a little thick. Crisis averted!

My dad watched with amazement! I think he had gotten 6 snacks in the time she completed making the cake.

Wow I think we set a record for dish use!

So this actually took 70minutes to bake and it tasted delicious! 

A job well done Cher! Aubs gives you a thumbs up!

Now for the burgers!

I have learned my lesson and I know my capabilities! I am not able to handle ground meat without a recipe. Meatloaf, meatballs and hamburger patties are beyond me. Cher wanted a yummy burger so that's what I googled and this is what I found. I decided to stuff it with jalepeno cheese.

I thought I'd share this tip since it was new to Cher; once I had seasoned the meat I cooked a small amount to taste and make sure the seasoning was good. You can't taste raw meat so rather than ruining the entire mixture by under or over seasoning this is a fool proof way of taste testing it.

Once the seasoning was good I wrapped the meat around the rectangles cheese I cut and flattened them to make the patties proportionate to the buns we had; always important!

And there you have it! I put those in the fridge until we were ready for them. My dad did an excellent job of BBQing.

So dinner was a success we had roasted broccoli and potato wedges to accompany the burgers. It was truly a team effort.

It's so much fun being in a family that gets along and not only that but we actually like eachother!

I am so thankful for all of my siblings and I feel very blessed that we get to do life together!