Choc-a-lot chip cookies

I think it's about time I made something sweet don't you?

How about something stuffed to the brim with chocolate?

Let's think about this for a minute shall we? Large chunks of dark chocolate. Moist, soft, ooey-gooey tender goodness. I can hear fresh baked homemade cookies calling my name. Oh the aroma!

It might be surprising to learn that such an exceptionally decadent looking cookie can actually be healthy. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first one to point out that a cookie is still a cookie, but if you're looking for a little something something and don't want to blow things out of proportion with a sugar overload, these little cookies will do the trick.

They can even be made vegan by using brown rice syrup or maple syrup instead of honey. And can be made gluten-free with the use of certified gluten-free oats.

The cookies are crying to be dunked in milk!

I always love finding recipes that have been cleaned up. It's not easy recreating something that tastes so good to start with already. I mean, how do you bake a cookie without using butter, eggs, processed sugar, and all-purpose flour?

Well after a few trials (some of which were complete fails) I found that by grinding oats, almonds, and buckwheat, and using coconut oil or sunflower oil I could pull together some pretty amazing cookies. . .That's how!

You know how most cookie recipes start out by telling you to grease a baking sheet, and half the time you know you don't have to because the cookies have so much butter in them that they're practically self-greasing? Well that's the best part about these guys is that they don't come out really greasy.

Yeah. Eew. Dangerously delicious, but not very friendly towards your waistline.

These chocolate chip cookies will satisfy any sweet tooth without setting you back 5 pounds and they aren't full of any weird chemicals, enriched flours, or unhealthy fats like those packaged store bought cookies are. Just loads and loads of chocolate! Hey, they aren't called Choc-a-lot Chip for nothing!

Choc-a-lot Chip Cookies (makes 16-18 cookies)

Adapted from veganricha.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 tbsp warm water
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 4 tsp unpasteurized liquid honey or maple syrup
• 4 tsp unsulfured molasses
• 4 tbsp organic cane sugar
• 1 cup ground oats
• 1/2 cup ground raw buckwheat flour (ground from raw groats in a blender)
• 1/2 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
• A heaping 2/3 cup of dark chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F and prepare line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flaxseed, ginger, nutmeg and sea salt. Add warm water and next four ingredients through to and including cane sugar, mixing well to combine (I find a rubber spatula works best). Let this sit for 2-5 minutes.
3. While the wet mixture rests, grind up your buckwheat groats and oats in separate batches using a coffee grinder or blender.
4. Add the flours and mix well into a ball of dough. Then, add the chocolate chips and mix to incorporate. 
5. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill the dough.
6. Scoop tbsp of the dough onto cookie sheets and give them a little pat to flatten them.
7. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack (if you can wait that long).

*When grinding any grains into flour I always use my coffee grinder, because I find it does the best job. Especially when I only need small batches. A 1/2 cup does just fine in it.

*You can use sunflower oil instead of coconut oil in case of allergies.

*These can be made gluten-free with the use of certified gluten-free oats.

 

I don't know what it is about the texture of these chocolate chip cookies but they are to die for. Maybe it's the combination of everything in them. You'll just have to test out a batch, see for yourself and report back. :)

Shared at Fit & Fabulous Fridays.

Grandma's Classic English Scones

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee may be over but I can still celebrate by making scones and having afternoon tea in the garden.

This is an old recipe from my childhood that my grandma use to make all the time while I was growing up. My grandad sure did love them and so did I, among all the other wonderful things she made for us. She used to cut them as individual round scones, which is what I do now, but would sometimes bake them as a "ring" and then cut them into triangles.

When my grandma passed away, my grandad continued the tradition of making these scones. I think it was something like every weekend that he would make them specially for us. We would just be walking into the house and he'd be leading us to the kitchen saying with a big smile on his face, "come look what I've made you" in that British accent. He would be so happy.

This recipe is probably 4 generations old now. It's been passed down from my grandma's mum, to my grandma, to my mum, to me. It's something that will be made over and over again, and it's one of those classic things that just doesn't get old.

Now these are your classic British scones. A little bit sweet, and best cut in half and spread with butter or for an extra special treat maybe some pure strawberry and Devonshire (clotted) cream. They can be eaten warm or cold and are so easy to make you can whip them up in no time to enjoy with your cup of tea.

When making these make sure that your mixing bowls and ingredients are nice and cool so that your scones wont be too heavy or dry. Just like making pastry. You can customize these with any dried fruit or spices you like. If you don't like currants or raisins, try cranberries and orange zest or blueberries? The options are endless really, but I like these just the way I remember them from growing up.

Grandma's Currant Scones (makes 6 scones)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of self-raising flour, sifted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cold salted butter
• 1 large egg
• about 1/4 cup of 2% milk, more for brushing
• 1/2 cup of currants or raisins

For Serving:

• Fresh strawberry jam
• softened butter
• Devonshire cream (for that extra special treat with tea)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425* F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
2. Combine flour and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
3. Next, cut the cold butter into small pieces and add it to the flour and sugar. Mix until it resembles fine crumbs. Then beat in one egg.
4. Add milk and blend.
5. Mix in your dried fruits until just incorporated. 
6. On a clean lightly floured counter top, form the ball of dough into a large circle and cut out six 2" rounds with a cutter or glass, which works just as good. You can also free form your scones into 6 smaller balls of dough using your hands, just give them a little pat down on the tray before baking.
7. Arrange scones in two rows on the cookie sheet. If you wish you can brush the tops with a little bit of milk to get a glossy finish.
8. Bake for 12 minutes until lightly golden on top. Cool on a wire rack.

[note: these can also be made by hand. If you add 1 tsp of baking powder to the 2 cups of self raising flour, this will give you an even fluffier scone.]

Variations to Try:

• Cranberry Orange Scones:
• replace raisins/currants with 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and 2 tsp of grated orange zest.
• Lavender:
• instead of raisins add 2 tsp of chopped dried lavender and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract.
• Ginger Scones:
• replace raisins with 1/4 cup roughly chopped crystallized ginger and add 1/4 tsp of ground ginger to the flour mix.
• Blueberry Scones:
• replace raisins with 1/2 cup dried blueberries and add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract when you add the egg.

Store in an air tight container to keep fresh.