Easy Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate Bites

Eating healthy deserves a treat beyond an organic carrot. And it doesn't mean creamy, yummy desserts and snacks have to go by the way side.

This isn't necessarily new, but still worth a second look. A simple banana slice topped with nut butter and a little dollop of chocolate. If you are feeling really sassy, try topping with a little salt or cocoa nibs.

Eating these right away offers a decadent, creamy and satisfying bite. Store in the freezer if you enjoy frozen bananas.

Treat yourself to something healthy with these Fat and Happy Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Banana Bites.

Peanut Butter and Caramel filled Chocolate Bark

You may already know that my family is crazy about Holiday cookies, making well over 50,000 every holiday. Those cookies are simply amazing. But I was challenged to come up with a new recipe that was drippy, gooey and downright screen licking good.

Two layers of chocolate, a layer of peanut butter, a layer of caramel and a topping of toasted nutty goodness with deep bittersweet cocoa nibs. Yup, that should do it.

This is not a cookie for the tray. This peanut butter filled chocolate bark is going to leak gorgeous, gooey caramel everywhere. Hold off on cutting until you are ready to serve and enjoy fairly soon after cutting.

The Fat and Happy holidays are upon us, celebrate now before the-January-days-of-detox are here.

Classic Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

My family makes THE BEST CHRISTMAS COOKIES EVER! Hands down, they are the cutest, tiniest, most precious cookies you'll ever see. We make somewhere over 50,000 of them. I participated in Cookie Week again this year and it's honestly like going to math camp!

Manning two ovens at different temperatures, each cookie needing specific minutes on both the bottom and top rack, while also making 2, 8 and 14 batches of 11 different cookies and keeping the number of cups of flour based on the butter ratio - 2/3 cup x 8- all in my head??? Math is hard- let's go shopping!

But seriously, the time with the family can't be beat. We are all in it together and nobody leaves till all the cookies are baked...except for me since I live out of state and my plane departs on Thursday at 1pm.

I chose to share our family Gingerbread recipe for two reason:
1. It's delicious.
2. The recipe is great for cookies and walls (for gingerbread houses).

One night some friends and I took on the task of making a gingerbread house...in the form of Luke Skywalkers' boyhood  house on Tatooine. Luckily this recipe makes an incredibly large batch because we ate as much as we decorated with; dipped in buttercream frosting we couldn't resist!

Whether cookies or architecture - everybody loves gingerbread. Don't hesitate making these fat and happy delicious gingerbread cookies today.

Super Simple 4 Ingredient Flourless Cookies

Did you ever make bread cookies when you were younger, where you took a piece of Wonder bread, removed the crust, smooshed the dough into a shape and then baked it?

These cookies are a little like that; a real lowbrow kind of cookie. But one that will you get you through a midnight craving painlessly. Or one that can sub in for a cheap dessert when your assigned dessert guest didn't bring the dessert.

Did I mention these are gluten free too? A hell of a lot easier then working with xantham gum and potato flour. The chocolate cookie is slightly more work than the peanut butter cookie, but worth it.

Too me, the topping and optional ingredient is key. I've tried everything from basic chocolate chips and jelly to rice krispies and smashed potato chips. If you are making cookies at midnight, bold toppings are a must.

These kinds of cookies are a dime a dozen all over the internet. But now you have them at your fingertips.The base of each cookie is four ingredients, that number will increase if you add the options.

Take these cookies for what they are worth - the simplest form of cookie for emergency fat and happy moments.

Pumpkin Cookies with Orange Ginger Filling

There is something about this time of year - we all get completely possessed. I'm not talking about ghost and devils and Halloween, but rather pumpkins. Those tasty, crazy, fat, heavy, orange pumpkins - their vines wind right through our ears and overtake our brains resulting in pumpkin cravings for everything. Cookies, bread, martinis, facials and even pumpkin foot massages!

I'm not one to fight the cravings but rather feed into them; so here is one more fat and happy pumpkin cookie recipe for you.

Butterscotch and Peanut Butter Haystack Halloween Critters

 Halloween is for the kids. Sure there are those times that we dressed up as adults and had fun. And even that time we spent money on renting the real Batman and Catwoman costume, invited over 200 hundred of our closest friends and then spent 2 days cleaning up after- good times.

But the excitement and wonderment in the little eyes when they put on their first cape and make the ginormous jump from the couch to the floor- if only for a second, they really believe they are flying. It's that little wonderment that adults loose over time. Even the simplest decorations are fascinating when we are young.

Enter the haystack critter. These deceivingly decadent, rich and tasty cookie-like-creatures are just the thing to add a teeny bit of interest back into Halloween. A no-bake spider cookie with four simple ingredients, stirred together and plopped down on paper. You strategically place a few candy pieces to form a face, legs, antenna, a nose or whatever (eating a couple of 'eyes' along the way) and then sit back and wait for the haystack to harden. Simple.

Office mates love these too- you might find two of them battling it out with their alien-like monsters. Winner eats both! Put a little fat and happy back into your Halloween with Butterscotch and Peanut Butter Haystack Critters.

Recipe Swap: Ginger Molasses Frozen Cheesecake Nibs

What: August Recipe Swap
Original Recipe: Sorghum Molasses Cookies
Recreated Recipe: Frozen Ginger Molasses Cheesecake Nibs


This was nearly my first Recipe Swap fail. I was convinced that I needed to create a molasses beer cookie that had an oozing ginger center. I was so close to an amazing, porter based molasses cookie with a creamy ginger center that I could almost taste it. In fact, I did taste it ... a few times. It was so close, but I just couldn't quite get the recipe where it needed to be.


Imagine now that it's Sunday afternoon, just a few mere hours from when my recipe is supposed to be posted and I over tweaked my cookie recipe so much that these cookies now look like sad, flat little tortillas. So much for the puffy, gooey middle.

Pecan Caramel Shortbread Cookies

I'm not sure how it happened but shortbread is one of my favorite treats, ever! And why not - when done right it's buttery, flaky, melt in your mouth deliciousness. Plus, I love that shortbread can be 'dressed up' or 'dressed down' depending on the occasion; and just simple herb or nut swaps change the flavor with ease.

Today's shortbread cookies tout a lovely toasted pecan flavor which is not to be outdone by the soft, creamy, fluffy caramel filling. As if that isn't enough, each scrumptious sandwich is dipped into a lovely butterscotch, milk, dark or white chocolate - oh yum.

When you need a treat that will wow, these Pecan Caramel Shortbread Cookies will satisfy beyond belief. Take your shortbread to the next level with this Fat and Happy caramel filled cookie.


Tips and techniques: Make these gorgeous sandwich cookies small; the caramel filling and dipped chocolate with two layers of cookies is a lot to eat so the smaller the better. You can always eat two!



Chocolate-dipped, Caramel-filled Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

3/4 cup powder sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup pecans
1 cup chilled butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour

Pulse the powder sugar, salt and pecans lightly in a Cuisinart. Add in the butter, vanilla and flour, continue to pulse just until the dough comes together.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, shape as desired and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the shortbread batter from the fridge and carefully slice into thin cookies and lay on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Try a test batch first of one or two to see how thin you prefer your cookies, this will help you test the timing needed as well.  My cookies took about 8-12 minutes, they should be just golden brown on the underside.  Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cookie rack.

Sandwiching and Dipping the Cookies
Whipped caramel filling (recipe below)
2 cups melting chocolate

Once all the cookies are cooled and the caramel is whipped, melt the dipping chocolate; do this slowly over a double broiler. You can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but be very careful not to burn the chocolate. Only place in the microwave for 10 seconds at time and stir often.

Smooth 1-2 tablespoons of caramel filling between two cookies, this will depend on how big your cookie is. Set aside until all cookies are filled. Carefully dip one end of the filled cookie into the melted chocolate and shake off the extra.  Set the cookie on parchment paper until the chocolate hardens.

Fluffy Caramel Filling

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Melt the butter over medium heat, add in the brown sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Stir as needed. Carefully pour in the heavy whipping cream and whisk quickly. Allow the caramel to boil for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Once the caramel has cooled, use a hand beater to whip the caramel until fluffy. Fill the cookies as directed in the recipe above.

Broken-Hearted Chocolate Black Pepper Cookies

Valentines Day, many people shudder just at reading the words, much less speaking them. To me, it's overrated and an unfortunate way to have to tell someone you love them ... because you should be doing this every day, right?

Buying someone a dozen roses is the lamest excuse for a Valentines gift. Seriously, why would you listen to money-motivated companies telling you to buy inflated roses as your means of expression? If you really loved this person, you would put some thought into it. Or how about giving them a dozen roses in say, September just because you love them, not because a commercially exploited holiday says you should. All that said, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't turn down a dozen roses, should they be offered!

Cookies are a simple solution.  If you are in a happy relationship- forego the 'broken' and just give chocolate love. For those of you who definitely are NOT expecting a rose bouquet this year- why not have fun with this holiday. Let these cute, delectable chocolate black pepper cookies show your expressions for you. Complete with broken hearts, they are a conversation starter and if nothing else, will keep your cube-mates Fat and Happy. Try them with a glass of red wine, it really brings the black pepper to life!


Tips and techniques:  If you do not want to roll and cut out the cookies, simply form the dough into a log and roll in the sugar topping before wrapping in plastic wrap and refrigerating. Then take the log out and just slice into little circles.

The original cookie recipe came to me via my parents some years ago; I've recently found out this was a Martha Stewart recipe. I made a few slight modifications  by adding more pepper and also additions to the sugar topping, but props to Martha for sharing with all of us. 



Broken-Hearted Chocolate Black Pepper Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour (plus some for rolling out the dough)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 heaping Tbls finely ground coffee
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Coffee Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp finely ground coffee beans
pinch of cinnamon

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, pepper, ground coffee and the cinnamon; set aside. Cream the butter and sugar, add in the egg and vanilla.  Slowly add in the flour mixture, blend on medium until everything is combined. Tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap, place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Make the topping  by placing the sugar in a Cuisinart or blender, blend on high for a minute, this is to reduce the crystal size. Mix the sugar with the finely ground coffee beans and a pinch of cinnamon.

Remove from the fridge and cut into four sections. Working quickly with one section at a time, roll the dough out to desired thickness. Sprinkle flour under the dough as it is sticky and will get stuck to the surface. I like this cookie best thin and crispy so I roll the dough out to around 1/8". Try a couple and see what you like best.

Use a heart cookie cutter to cut out as many hearts as you can; place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Take a pairing knife and cut little rips in the heart. Or lightly hold the heart and just rip it. Sprinkle each cookie with a little of the sugar topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on a cookie rack.

Blizzard Baileys, Kahlua and Chocolate Scones

Chicago has been hit by a blizzard.  A real bona fide blizzard. On Facebook this morning I counted 5 different nicknames for this Blizzard of 2011: 
Snowtorius 2011
Snowpocalypse
Snowpocolypsamaggedon
Snowacan
Blizzaster



Last night there was thundersleet and thundersnow- it was actually lightening and thundering during the snow storm. This clip from Weather.com caught the action of both the thunder and lightening, check it out- it's cool!

So along with the snow was the horrendous wind that found it's way through our windows, under the doors and down the vents. It's been chilly in here. When I woke up this morning I put a little Baileys in my coffee to warm up. And then I thought how great a scone would be great with my coffee. Then I thought how great would it be if there was Baileys in my scone?  With Kahlua and chocolate too???

Before I knew what hit me the the oven was on and my hands were in a bowl of flour. I like to use applesauce in scones to keep the fat down, but do apples and Baileys really go together? And do calories count during a blizzard? After a few modifications to one of my classic scone recipes, the scones were nestled in a toasty oven doing there thing.

I'm just going to say it, sooo goood! Warm, moist, dense and fluffy all at the same time. The chocolate chips are needed to add depth to the Baileys and Kahlua so don't skip them. It's like a breakfast cookie, absolutely fabulous and a perfect start to a Fat and Happy snow day!

Tips and Techniques:  You can make these ahead of time, form them into shapes, lay flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, pile them into a freezer bag. When you are ready to bake, simply drop on a cookie sheet, brush with milk and bake. I added just a touch of protein to these scones by using cooked quinoa, you could easily substitute dry oatmeal instead but I would also add a few tablespoons of milk as well.

Secret Ingredient:  My friend Marianne brought me a secret ingredient a few weeks ago, as I thought about these scones this morning the first thing that came to mind was how that the crystallized honey would make a super topping in place of sugar. It gives a nice mild honey flavor that blends with the liquor. Thanks Marianne!


Baileys, Kahlua and Chocolate Scones

2 cups flour

1/3 turbinado sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbls cooked quinoa
1/4 - 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Tbls chilled butter
1/3 cup Baileys
1/3 scant cup Kahlua

3 Tbls olive oil
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
For topping (optional):  milk, crystallized honey or turbinado sugar, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and quinoa).  In a smaller bowl mix the wet ingredients (Baileys, Kahlua, olive oil, egg yolk and vanilla).  Cut the chilled butter into smaller pieces and add to the dry ingredients. 

Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the butter forms pea-sized pieces. Add in the wet ingredients and mix with a fork just to combine everything.  Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Remove from the frig, sprinkle a little powder sugar on the counter and pat out the dough to desired height (I go for roughly 1/2 inch).  Use a knife to cut the dough into triangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush the tops with milk or egg, then top with desired toppings (crystallized honey, turbinado sugar or cocoa nibs.) 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 16 minutes (depending on the size of your scones.)  The scones will be nicely browned on the bottom and lightly browned on top. The are best enjoyed the same day.

Christmas Cookie Tradition with the Family

This year for the holiday I took a week off work and went on a cookie retreat ... with my family.  I have fond memories of making Christmas cookies with my family when growing up.

Sure, everybody remembers the particular Holiday cookies that their Mom or Grandma made, but we didn't just make cookies, we embraced the cookie tradition with open arms. Hundreds of different types of cookies, 20 to 30 batches of each, took weeks to complete and yet only a moment to eat.

There's so many cookies that have been lost along the way; either they were too much work or newer flavors have replaced them. As a child I loved decorating the over-sized Santa cookies with red frosting for the suit, coconut for the beard and little silver dragrees for the eyes. Then there was the filberts, rolling three teeny-tiny little balls, placing them in a triangle in hopes that the balls will cook together and then topping them with a 1/16 of a maraschino cherry. Nobody liked that duty.

But we still make plenty of Christmas cookies that require patience and sleight of hand; our cookies are small little works of art and even still today my parents perseverance amazes me.

I haven't been a part of the cookie making tradition in a few years. Many of those years I was focused on my weight and had replaced such indulgences with workouts. And there were the years that I needed 'space' from the family, and the years that working outweighed family time.

Today, I look back and realize that the cookie making was more than just typical holiday baking, it was a vessel for together time, for communication, and for a way to show others you care. It was good old fashioned bonding time.

At one moment, as I emptied a new bag of flour into the flour bin (we had used 60 lbs to this point) I realized nobody had spoken in a hour. We were all engrossed in our tasks at hand. The kitchen was filled with noise of the mixers whirling, the sifter sifting and the oven timers beeping ... and yet it felt warm and comfortable, as if we were never closer.

The Holidays are over now and I have just a few cookie crumbs left in the freezer from it. But I have the memories (and a few extra pounds!) of a great adventure.The nieces and nephews played with the dough, dirty their little hands and decorated some of their first cookies - a tough rite of passage which must be crossed to officially become part of the tradition. A tradition that I missed for many years, but one that will have a new focus in the future.

Sure, it is true you can pick your friends but not your family...and I wouldn't want it any other way!
Happy Fat and Happy Holidays.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Studded Nut Butter Shortbread Cookies

Whew, that is a long name for a small, delicate cookie, but I wanted to get all the goods in the title. Here's the story- I have three kinds of desserts stacked in the freezer for Dave to snack on (pumpkin magic bars, biscotti and semifreddo), but he just plain prefers a cookie and isn't touching any of the other treats.

So Dave needs cookies but I'm on a detox from all dairy (even butter!) so creativity is a must. Using homemade nut butter as the base, left over from the Adult PB&J's last week, these are a version of my shortbread recipe with the addition of nut butter and both chocolate and peanut butter chips.  Oh- and did I mention the use of olive oil in place of the butter? Genius.

The result?  A delicate, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth, creamy, nutty, chocolaty experience. They even melt on your fingers for just a moment as you raise it to your lips. 

For some reason these remind me of a grandma cookie so I took a few photos of them assembled in Grandma's sugar jar- just seemed fitting. On that note, I think I'll go call her and let her know how fat and happy we are. You should do the same... right after you make these scrumptious cookies and put them in the freezer for your sweetie.

Tips and Techniques:  You can use store bought almond butter or peanut butter, they are going to be slightly stiffer than my homemade nut butter; if the dough is too stiff and crumbly, adding in an extra tablespoon of olive oil should help.



Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Studded Nut Butter Shortbread Cookies

aka Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

1 cup flour
1/2 cup powder sugar
pinch of salt
3 Tbls olive oil (butter flavored if you have it)
5 Tbls creamy peanut butter or home made nut butter (recipe for nut butter is below and at the Roasted Nut Butter sandwich posting here.
1 tsp vanilla
1 handful of peanut butter chips (roughly 1/4 heaping cup)
1 handful of milk chocolate chips (roughly 1/4 heaping cup)

Add the flour, powder sugar and salt to mixing bowl, stir to combine.  Mix in the olive oil, peanut butter and vanilla, use an electric mixer if needed. Add the chips last. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough onto the sheet; slightly smash with a small glass dipped in sugar.

Bake on parchment paper lined cookies sheet for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

This makes a nice small batch of cookies, about 30 using my smallest cookie scoop (#100); this scoop is slightly smaller than 1 tablespoon.

Roasted Nut Butter recipe

1 cup nuts (almond, pecan, walnut or mix and match)
1-3 tsp of sugar
pinch of salt
1-2 Tbls of pistachio, walnut or olive oil

Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and place in the oven just until the nuts begin to brown, 5-6 minutes, watch them closely as they will burn in a blink of the eye. Remove and set aside to cool slightly. 

Place in a blender with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Drizzle the nuts with the oil and blend on high. You will need to have patience and scrap the sides down often, adding small drizzles of oil as needed. If you add too much oil early on, you will end up with a runnier nut butter (that's what happened to me!)
 

Almond Cookies with Vanilla Ice Cream and Sour Cherry Sauce

Dave is the most wonderful, attentive and honest partner I could ever ask for, and a true sport! He keeps me in line. When I first met Dave, he was a lover of frozen, microwavable hot pockets. As his palette has refined, I've been challenged to 'up' my cooking.

Forced to 'test' many recipes, I now count on Dave to suggest refinements to make my recipes better.  So now when he says "this is the best dessert you've ever made"- he means business.

Sour cherries are a bright. bright red color, not nearly as deep as the sweet Michigan cherry.  They are meant to be cooked rather than eaten straight.

There is something about the flavor combination of the sour cherries and the almond cookies with the hint of chocolate that just puts this over the top. While the cherry and chocolate combination seems like a given - I got lucky on this one. 

Make this for your loved one as soon as possible! He/she will completely owe you for this it. Fat and happy favors, oh yea.

Tips and techniques:  Sour cherry season is a short one in Chicago, just a few weeks in June. If there is one recipe you take away from this Fat and Happy blog- this is it!  Set your alarm for next June and count the days until they are in season again.


Almond Cookies with Vanilla Ice Cream and Sour Cherry Sauce

Almond Cookie
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter + 3 Tbls

1/2 tsp salt
2 vanilla beans
3 cups almonds
1/2 cup + 2 tbls flour
2 cups finely chopped

Mix all the above together, just until combined.  Roll the dough into a log, roughly 2 - 3" in width. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge, slice into 1/2 inch slices.  Bake until lightly golden brown.  Can bake these cookies ahead of time and freeze until ready to use.

Sour Cherry Sauce

2 cups of pitted cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 lemon, juiced

Place all ingredients into a sauce pan, simmer until thick and combined. Strain through a sieve, using a spatula to push through all the sauce. Discard the remaining rinds.



Vanilla Ice Cream
2 1/2 cups cream
1 cup half and half
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean soaked in vodka for a day

Begin to warm the cream and half and half over medium heat.  Whip the yolks with the sugar until fluffy, pale and doubled in size.  Temper the eggs with the warm cream.  Now add the eggs into the cream pot, stirring with your whisk. 


Scrape the vanilla bean, add to the cream and eggs.  Use your whisk to help distribute the vanilla. Be sure to stir often with a wooden spoon. Cook over medium-high heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. (Run your finger on the back of a spoon, if it's thickened enough- you'll be able to draw a line through the custard.)

Remove from heat and cool in an ice bath, stirring often.  Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator overnight or for 24 hours.  This will produce a creamier ice cream.

Place in your ice cream maker and process according to manufacturers directions.  Home made ice cream does not last as long as the store-bought, preservative-laden kind; it's best to enjoy within a week.


Putting it all together
Chill plates ahead of time.  Melt chocolate pieces and brush a swipe of the melted chocolate onto the chilled plate.

Place one or two cookies on the plate.  Top with scoop of ice cream. Drizzle with the sour cherry sauce.
Serve immediately.

Koolotie Cookies (Anise Orange Cookies)

Kooloties ... Kahlaties ...Kalooties??  I don't really know the true spelling.  These are my Italian grandfathers traditional Easter anise cookies and I can't find reference to them anywhere.  That must mean it's a deep routed tradition that hasn't made it to the internet yet, how fun is that?

Let's get something straight off - you are gonna need to like anise flavor, a lot.  Sure, you can ease back on the amount of flavoring, or if you're like me, accidentally double it.  Easter is not the same without them for us; and this could be a new tradition for you and your family too.  New fat and happy traditions- they don't all have to be handed down by family.

Tips and techniques:  You can make these ahead and freeze them.  Enlist some help to get them all rolled out, it does take a few minutes to get them all done.


Kalooties, Easter Anise Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/8 cup Crisco
1 1/8 cup sugar
3 eggs
dash of salt
1 1/2 tbls of anise
1/8 - 1/4 cup of half and half

Mix the above well in a stand mixer.  Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
Zest of 2 oranges, juice of one

Add 1/2 cup of flour, and 1/2 tsp baking powder at a time, until the dough is less sticky and ready to bake.  This is going to be dependent on the weather and humidity.  I would suggest you'll need about 2 more cups of flour total.  But do a test batch- cook two cookies and see how they come out.  Add more flour if needed.

Use a cookie dough scoop, scoop out a hunk, roll out evenly on the counter, into about a 4 inch long tube, place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  If you are having problems rolling them, sprinkle a little flour on the counter.

Make a loop by crossing the right side over the left.
Mix up one egg with a tsp of water- brush on the top of the cookies.  Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees, or until they cookies begin to slightly brown.  Cool on a cookie rack.  Enjoy!  This makes about 4-5 dozen cookies, depending on how big you make them.

Homemade Choco Taco

There is a freezer vending machine at work which stocks ice cream bars, frozen tv-dinner type meals, and burritos.  By far the populist item is the Choco Taco.  In fact, these delectable old school snacks are so enticing that often the vending machine will sport a hand scribbled post it crying - "More Choco Tacos please!!"  

I'm not sure if it was the desire to fill that post it note request, or the challenge alone - but it was in my head to recreate that crunchy, chocolatey goodness of yesteyear and that's all I could think of for two straight days.  The result was stunningly delicious!   

Mine were mini, two bite morsels of a crunchy crepe/cookie-like cinnamon taco shell, painted with a layer of bittersweet chocolate on the inside and then filled with a homemade cinnamon ice cream, topped with crushed mixed nuts and finished with a chocolate drizzle.  Yum-O.  This is fat and happy that I want to share with everyone...after I'm full, that is.

Tips and Techniques:  I used a pancake waffle pan (I picked this up at Dominicks grocery for $12 have been struggling to find a real use for it.  This was it!)  Though you can make the shells in flat fry pan- the waffle texture does add to the final product.  If you own a waffle maker, try that too.  Just remember the shell needs to be quite thin so not to overwhelm.  To save time you could purchase ice cream rather than make your own (if you really had to.)

Crepe-like Waffle Taco

1 1/4 Tbl melted butter

1/3 cup Powder sugar

1/2 cup (scant) buttermilk

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp vanilla

pinch of cinnamon

1 tsp coco powder (optional)

2 -8 Tbls of water

Mix all the above ingredients with a wooden spoon until lumps are gone (expect for the water).  Add water as necessary to thin out batter.  The batter needs to be quite runny- you may want to test cook one taco to decide if it is thin enough for you.  

If you do use the pancake waffle pan, brown on one side and flip.  use a fork or spatula to push the crepes down into the groves.   Remove from pan and mold over something thin and round- I choose chopsticks.  The crepes will crisp up quickly.  Allow to cool.

Melt about 1/2 cup of bitttersweet chocolate.  Carefully paint the inside of the shells with the warm chocolate.  This will help to protect the shell from getting soggy once the ice cream is inside and it can cover any holes that might be showing through.

Assembling the Choco Tacos

1/4 cup crushed mixed nuts (I crushed a variety of salted almonds, cashews, pistacios and walnuts with a rolling pin)

1/4 cup melted bittersweet chocolate

Softened ice cream (preferably cinnamon)

Take one taco shell, carefully fill with ice cream and push nuts on top.  Return to freezer immediately for about 30 minutes.  Melt chocolate, remove tacos from freezer and drizzle with the chocolate.  Serve immediately or return to freezer until ready to serve.

Ice cream filling tip- You can do this a few different ways- you can put softened ice cream in a pastry bag and fill it like you would frosting.  Or you can press softened ice cream in a pan, freeze and then cut out half circles. Or you can just fill the tacos using a spoon.  Find what works best for you- just work quickly and drop everything back in the freezer when needed if the ice cream is melting.

Pumpkin Butter Biscotti

 A few weeks ago I made pumpkin butter, a lot of it.  Who know how much two little baking pumpkins would produce!  Now I'm looking for ways to use up this pumpkin butter - not that we aren't enjoying it just as it is on simple toast and biscuits, but there is something to be said for diversity.  Plus, I haven't been making any treats for Dave lately so this was the perfect opportunity to transform pumpkin love.

There are thousands of biscotti recipes out there and everyone has their own preference whether it's hard and crunchy or softer and chewier - my preference is for the way biscotti was originally created.  It should be a hard substance meant to withstand long travels and for dunkin'.  So what makes mine better than the others?  I like it.  You make yours' your way and I'll make mine my way.  One big difference can be the use of actual butter; the butter will make a softer biscotti as well as less cooking time and the cookie will not last as long.

I'm not saying this is the end-all-be all biscotti recipe.  I think each flavor requires tweaking; what works for this pumpkin butter biscotti may not work for an anise biscotti.  I also think you could substitute apple butter for the pumpkin, or use a pumpkin puree.  Taste the dough though, to see if it needs extra spices- I made my pumpkin butter quite heavy on the ginger for that extra kick! Oh, and I used pearl sugar on top (a strange ingredient sent to be by loyal readers!) as a tasty and decorative topping.

One of the other reasons I made up this recipe is for Dave to have an optional quick breakfast bar in the morning. To keep it on the healthy side, I used oats, whole wheat flour and pecans.  Since there is no butter in this recipe- it's not a bad option. Sure there is sugar, but call it a trade off!  How often can you use one food item as a breakfast item, a bread or side dish, an appetizer or a dessert? It's a rare fat and happy transformer treat!

Tips and Techniques: Store in the freezer for a fast snack, side or dessert anytime!  The biscotti are easier to handle if you make two small loafs out of the dough rather than one.

Scrumptious Pumpkin Butter Biscotti with Chocolate and Pecan Chunks
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup oats (use the old fashioned version, not the quick cooking)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin butter (or pumpkin puree)
1 Tbls Soy Cream (or regular cream)
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt

crushed or chopped pecans (roughly 1/2 cup)
chopped chocolate (I prefer bittersweet, but you could use basic semi-sweet chocolate chips), roughly 1/4 cup
Pearl sugar (for topping decoration)

Sift all the dry ingredients into a big bowl.  Mix together the egg, vanilla, pumpkin butter and soy cream, stir into the dry ingredients to combine.   Add the pecans and chocolate.  The dough will be really sticky.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour on the counter.  Lightly roll/knead the dough into the flour. Let me repeat, the dough is super, super sticky- do the best you can, just to incorporate the flour.

Cover a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.  Divide the dough in half and form 2 logs on the pan.  Sprinkle with pearl or raw sugar, more nuts or even more chocolate.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the biscotti is firm in the middle.  Remove from oven, let rest for 15 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 225.  Slice the biscotti, lay each piece back on the parchment lined pan.  Return to the oven for about 1 hour.  Test the cookies, you might want to take them out early for slightly chewy cookies or leave them in longer for the extra crunchy cookies.