Granookies

Okay, really weird name, I know. You can laugh all you want. My husband and I came up with it late last night as we were eating the granookies for a late-night snack.

Basically a granookie is half chewy granola bar, half cookie. Make sense now? The granookie was spawned after I began making a cookie recipe I had found, realized I didn't have half the right ingredients, and so created something unique and definitely yummy.

The nice thing about these is, they're very adaptable (that's starting to become a theme for me, I think  . . . . what can I say? I like versatility in cooking!). You could totally add a little of this and leave out a little of that and have your own unique granookie.

I just like saying that word. Granookie. Granookie, granookie, granookie.

Ahem. Moving on . . . .

Another nice feature about these? They're completely gluten free! That's right, 100% no gluten. That means they're healthy. Very healthy. Packed full of protein, fiber, and  . . . yumminess! What's not to love?

Disclaimer: because they are so healthy, they are not super sweet . . . there's no added sugar. If you like things a little sweeter, try adding 1/2 cup or so of some honey or raw sugar. That should help make them even more delicious. Since I was making these as a snack, we wanted them to be a little healthier, so I left the sweetener out. Again, totally adaptable to what you'd like. :)

Okay, okay, enough about granookies! Here's the recipe:

Granookies

Makes about 2 dozen

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt or plain applesauce

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda 

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

3 cups oats

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped dates 

Mix the bananas and yogurt in a stand up blender for a minute or two, until well combined. Next add the peanut butter, again until just combined. Add in the egg, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves, and blend well. Then add one at a time the oats, chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, and dates, each mixing in until just combined. 

Scoop out rounded spoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, until they are started to golden on top. Let cool, and enjoy. 

(I kept mine in the fridge so they would last longer, not that that helped, since we ate them so quickly! They are probably perfectly fine left out too)

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Yesterday and today have definitely been days for warm drinks. Like Mexican Hot Chocolate kind of warm drinks. So I made some. And it was yummy. You really should make some. Here's a good recipe if you need one....

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Makes 6-8 cups

6 cups water

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate powder 

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Heat until simmering, stirring often. Serve warm with marshmallows, whipped cream, or just by itself! It's so yummy just as it is! 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Well, today I thought I'd share one of my family's favorite recipes: BBQ Chicken Pizza. It's just so yummy. Sweet, tangy, saucy, a little bit spicy, and all-around delicious! I love it because, once again, it is just so versatile! You can really make it your own by playing around with veggie combinations, different sauces, etc.. We usually use Sweet Baby Ray's sauce because it is really yummy and smoky sweet, but I can envision a number of delicious scenarios all based on the sauce. I've tried this recipe with cabbage and sweet potatoes too . . . TO DIE FOR. Literally, one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten. And don't forget, you have multiple cheese options! I often use cheddar because I seem to have that on hand more, but I've also used pepperjack (with the cabbage . . . phenomenal!), swiss, and good old mozzarella. Other ideas/combos, anyone?

I use Bobby Flay's pizza crust recipe, here. I've been using it for a while now and it never fails. He says to use bread flour, but I usually just use all purpose, which makes a nice, soft, chewy crust.

I know this post is short and sweet, but I'm working it in between nap-time and feeding a hungry newborn, so, no complaining! So without further adieu . . . . (what does that mean, anyway . . . ?)

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2 prepared pizza crusts (recipe above)

2 cups (approx.) your choice of BBQ sauce. Here I used Sweet Baby Ray's.

2 cups grated cheese, again, your choice. Here I used Cheddar. 

Various veggies, chopped. Here I used 1 large sliced red onion, several handfuls of baby spinach, and I usually use chopped roma tomatoes. 

2-3 cooked and diced chicken breasts

Dried basil and oregano

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place prepared dough onto greased cookie sheets/pizza pans. 

Spread the bbq sauce over the crust thickly. You don't want it all to soak in, so use a good amount. I use a pastry brush for this. Next add the spinach evenly over the pizza, and then the chicken and onion and tomatoes (or whatever other veggies you have). Top with grated cheese. I usually add one more little swirl of bbq sauce over the top of that, but more for looks than anything. Finally, sprinkle a little salt, pepper, basil, and oregano over the very top. 

Pop into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is a nice golden brown and the cheese is melted. Enjoy! 

Printable Recipe

(Sorry for the terrible picture . . . )

Texas Trail Mix Cookies

So, I stumbled upon an amazing discovery last night in the form of a new recipe. 

I was sitting there in the kitchen, craving cookies. Nothing out of the norm . . . Suddenly the thought occurred to me, "what if I were to create a new kind of cookie? A trail mix cookie!". And so I did. 

Sure, it's probably been done before. But not this good, I guarantee it . . .  (not to brag . . . ). These cookies are fantastic! Ooey, gooey, chocolately, sweet and salty goodness all in one little cookie . . . or big cookie . . . depending on how serious you take your cookie eating. I take mine very, very seriously. 

So why the "Texas" part? Well, I guess I can't take all the credit for these cookies. I played off of a good old Texan recipe from former First Lady Laura Bush, and added my own twist to the ingredients. Here's the original recipe if you'd like that. They are fabulous just like that, I assure you. 

But they're not trail mix cookies, and that's what we're going for here. 

Every year as a girl my family went up into the mountains of California to camp. Those are some of the best memories I have of my childhood. These cookies make me think of those sunny days and cold nights up in the mountains. Sleeping in the bed of the old orange pickup truck. The smell of pine that tantalizes your nose. The feel of needles and leaves and twigs crunching beneath your feet. The taste of the fire-cooked pancakes and bacon. Fresh coffee. Swimming in clear mountain spring pools. Climbing rugged mountain rocks to look out over beautiful views that will literally take your breath away. Long chats and scary stories around the campfire. Toasting marshmallows and making s'mores. And trail mix. You gotta have trail mix to go camping. That is just a must, in my opinion.

Or you could just take a big batch of these cookies along . . . that would do too.

All right already, just make some. :)

(Sorry, once again, a lack of pictures. I did take one, though!)

Texas Trail Mix Cookies

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking soda

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups toasted coconut flakes (just toast them in the skillet until they're a nice golden color)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cups dry roasted peanuts (I used plain, but honey roasted would be good too)

1 cup raisins

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup cran-raisins 

**Makes about 3-5 dozen cookies, depending on how big you like them

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk flour, soda, powder, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, blend softened butter and both sugars until light and creamy. Add eggs in one at a time, blending well. Mix in vanilla. Add the flour mixture slowly until incorporated. Then add the mix-ins (oats, chips, raisins, nuts, coconut) slowly, until just combined. You never want to overmix cookies or they get kind of tough. 

Scoop balls of the cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I do about 1/4 cup in size. We like our cookies a little larger around here . . . ). 

Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like the cookie. 

Cool and enjoy with a big glass of milk! g on how crispy you like the cookie. 

Cool and enjoy with a big glass of milk! 

printable recipe

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

We tried creating a recipe recently. I love buttermilk pancakes, but I also like to use more whole wheat than white flour. I thought perhaps we could come up with something yummy by combining the two. Here's the recipe I came up with. We really liked them a lot!

Sometimes whole wheat pancakes are grainy, so it depends on the flour you use. I've been using the Prairie Gold Whole Wheat Flour, and I really like it. It's ground super fine, so it not too heavy, but still gives that nice, hearty whole wheat taste. I purchase mine at Walmart or Hyvee most often, but I'm sure it's pretty widely available. But anyway, here's the recipe.

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Makes about 6 smaller pancakes (which are pretty filling. Fed my husband, me, and our always-hungry toddler perfectly)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
pinch of salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (often I don't have buttermilk, so I make it. For 3/4 cup, use about 2/3 cup milk, and make up the difference with some apple cider vinegar. Measurements don't have to be terribly exact).

Heat a skillet or griddle to medium heat (it  really just depends on what you're using. I usually use my cast iron skillet on a gas stove, which needs to be low-medium heat. You might have to experiment a little if you haven't done pancakes before). Once hot, spray or butter the pan/griddle so the cakes won't stick.

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the egg and the buttermilk and mix in thoroughly until you have a nice batter. It shouldn't be too thick (like cake batter). It should be about the consistency of pudding, more or less. You can add more buttermilk if you like your pancakes a little thinner, too. These were nice and fluffy. This is what my batter looked like:

Using a deep spoon or a measuring cup, make a little circle of batter in the middle of your pan (or several on a griddle). I think I did mine about 1/3 cup, more or less, but that's completely up to you.

Cook the cake until the sides look golden and the middle is bubbly, about 2 minutes.

 Use a spatula and flip the cake over, and cook the other side for about a minute more. If the other side is golden like the top, it's probably just right. Continue doing this until all the cakes are cooked (or you can probably store the rest of the batter in the fridge for a couple of days. It will probably need to be covered well, and stirred well when you go to use it again).

Finally, use some butter and pure maple syrup (or whatever you love on your pancakes), and ENJOY!

Blueberry Buckle

Molly and I had some time this morning to do some baking. I scored a really good deal on blueberries this week, and so I thought we'd incorporate those somehow. After searching Pinterest for a little bit, I came upon a delicious-looking recipe for blueberry buckle on this blog. For those of you that have never had blueberry buckle, it's kind of a delicious combination between blueberry streusel muffins and a blueberry cake. It's really, really good, and I hadn't made one in a long time. We decided to try that one out today.

I tripled her recipe because I needed a dessert to take to my mom's tonight, and I also thought I could bring some to church tomorrow. I also made a few minor changes, so here's my take on it. Enjoy! :)

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE: 

Makes a 9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 350 

Cake Batter: 

2 cup white all purpose flour (I used Hodgkins Mill, which is unbleached, but it's so much healthier)

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (I often just microwave mine until it's barely soft, since I tend to make things on the spur of the moment)

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2/3 cup milk (I think it would be delicious if someone tried buttermilk. I didn't think of that until later, though)

3-4 cups of fresh blueberries (I just used a dry pint or so)

Streusel Topping: 

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup brown sugar (her recipe calls for white, but I love brown sugar streusel)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 stick of cold butter, cut into pieces

First thing I did was rinse my beautiful, juicy blueberries off. Aren't they lovely? 

Then I had my Little Helper assist me in tasting the blueberries. I think she approved. :) 

After we tasted inspected the blueberries carefully, we moved on to the recipe. First we mixed the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl. I am often tempted to skip this step and dump the dry ingredients right in, but I didn't this time. There's a careful hand mixing process later. 

Next we made up the streusel. If you haven't done streusel before, just mix the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together, and then add the pieces of butter. You can used a pastry cutter or something like that. I just usually use my hands. Work the butter in until the mixture is nice and crumbly. 

Once that was done we set all of those bowls aside and started work on the wet ingredients. 

First, we creamed the butter in our kitchen aid until it was nice and smooth. Then we added the sugar and blended on medium speed until it was light and fluffy (just a minute or two). Then we added the eggs and vanilla one at a time, blending on slow, and mixed until they were incorporated. 

At that point, we took the blending bowl off of the mixer and added about half of our flour mixture. I worked it in gently by hand with a spatula, and added about half the milk. I repeated that with the second half of the flour and the milk, mixing gently until just incorporated (we're doing this gently so it stays nice and fluffy). It looked like this when I was done. 

Then we greased the pans lightly (in your case, the 9x13 pan), and gently spread the mixture into the pans. 

Then we added the blueberries

And finally the streusel. 

Molly and I both agreed it looked good enough to eat already! 

Finally we popped them into the oven for a good 40-50 minutes, until a fork or toothpick inserted in the middle came out clean. The house smelled absolutely wonderful! 

We are very excited to try this out tonight! Would be wonderful warm with some vanilla ice cream, I expect. ;)