handling the heat wave

If you hadn't noticed, lately I've been very into making "no-bake" recipes. I know it sounds a little crazy, but for someone who is as baking crazed as I am, the summertime can be hard. Not only is it totally treacherous to stand in front of my 350 degree oven as it wafts hot air in my direction, but the heat totally messes with ingredients as well.  When baking blondies a few weeks ago, they became chocolate swirl blondies instead of chocolate chip blondies because the chips were melted into the batter even before they went into the oven! Overheating and cooling can be problematic when baking in the summer, plus sometimes it is just plain uncomfortable.

That being said, I'd never let a little 93 degree heat wave come between me and my dessert creations. While it might be hot, I still want to make delicious things, and I know you guys do too. I came up with this recipe after seeing similar recipes popping up on other food blogs. They looked delicious, and I'm a sucker for anything with chocolate and peanut butter. Plus, these are naturally gluten free, which is something that can be hard to come by. Best of all, they're no bake, thus continuing my quest for cooler baking experiences in my little kitchen.

These cookies had a 2 fold purpose: first, I made them to bring in and share with my co-workers for a birthday celebration. They went over incredibly well, and since you can make many in a batch, the other half of these bad boys were supposed to go camping with me this weekend. While camping didn't happen (hello?! did you see the weather forecast?), and I was super bummed not to get to make smores, I just had more of these to myself. They are easy to make, (somewhat) healthy, and incredibly delicious. You can pull them together quickly, and I will definitely be making them again. You could certainly add in other nuts, dried fruit, and different kinds of chips to change them up a little --or even another kind of nut butter. They were the perfect combo of salty and sweet, and I'm still enjoying them days later. Keep them in the fridge and you'll have bite-sized treats for days!


no bake peanut butter-chocolate granola balls

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (I used gluten free rolled oats- make sure the bag is marked as such!)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

before

and after!

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing well with your hands until all ingredients are combined
Chill in your fridge for 30 minutes
Remove from fridge and form into small balls with your hands (they should be around the size of a ping pong ball)
Keep in an airtight container in your fridge and enjoy for days!

crazy for cookies

Okay, lets be honest- who isn't?! Cookies are a magical invention of deliciousness, all wrapped up in a neat little hand held package. You can eat them on the go or on the couch, you can even eat them with ice cream in the middle (just wait till summer time...it's happening). When there's a cookie around, everyone is happy. The wonderful thing about cookies, is that not only are they easy to transport and easy to eat wherever you like, they're also a crowd pleaser no matter who is eating them. Babies love them, grandmas always seem to be making them, and mom always puts a smile on your face when you open up your lunch and find that she's packed you a cookie.

With a sweet tooth like mine, I am obviously not an exception to the rule. Cookies are so simple, I have been known to make multiple batches in one day. In fact, this weekend, that is exactly what I did. To say I went a little overboard might be accurate, however all of my friends who I have happily shared my sugary little creations with would agree that all three were definitely delicious (and therefore obviously necessary that I baked them all).

I started out with one of my classic gf favorites, a peanut butter cookie, decided, why not add chocolate to that, and then ended by attacking the meringue (post to follow shortly). I honestly think all three turned out awesomely (thank goodness after the last cookie catastrophe), but you'll have to ask my harshest critics, my friends, about that. For now, enjoy the scrumptiousness of not one, but two peanut butter cookies. These cookies are "naturally" gluten free, aka no weirdo substitutions. And I bet that you have most of the ingredients sitting in your kitchen now. The first is a classic peanut butter, and the second, a peanut butter chocolate cookie, because, well why not?

Peanut Butter Cookies

¾ cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

for all the peanut butter fans out there

ready for the oven!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Mix all ingredients together by hand in a large mixing bowl

For the peanut butter, grease the inside of your measuring cup and the spoon you use to scoop out the peanut butter (Non-stick cooking spray works well for this)- I promise, it will help you out a lot!

Once ingredients are well mixed together (make sure all sugar is incorporated), roll the dough into small balls and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

With a fork, create a criss-cross pattern and sprinkle the top of the cookie with brown sugar (optional)

Bake cookies for 10 minutes, taking them out, even if they don't look quite done 

Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring over to a cooling rack

enjoy!

cooling...it takes a lot of will power to let them sit there

yum!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

¾ cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

Chocolately goodness

Follow the same steps as the cookies above, but for a reminder: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Mix all ingredients together by hand in a large mixing bowl

Once ingredients are well mixed together roll the dough into small balls and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

With a fork, create a criss-cross pattern and sprinkle the top of the cookie with brown sugar (optional)

Bake cookies for 10 minutes, taking them out, even if they don't look quite done 

Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring over to a cooling rack

enjoy!

Chocolate and Peanut butter, what's not to love?

...I think next time, there will definitely be chocolate chips going into these bad boys