Organic Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

So Easy!

I loved when my mom would make these kind of cookies when I was growing up, but somehow I never got the recipe when I started baking on my own and I never made them. Then, when I started this quest to eat healthier and use organic and Non GMO ingredients, I thought that I would have to give up all of my favorite treats. Needless to say, I am so happy to find recipes that I can make that are quite similar to my familiar favorites and still be able to use my newly favored ingredients.

This recipe uses fresh ground peanut butter. I discussed the awesomeness of that in the post for peanut butter cookies.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Hormone Free Butter (1 stick)
1 Cup Organic Sugar
4 Tbsp Organic Non GMO Cocoa
1/2 Cup Almond Milk
3 Cups Organic Oats (not quick)
1 Cup Fresh Ground Peanut Butter
1 Tsp Organic Vanilla Extract

Getting Ready:

1. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper, or just put out 3 of the papers about the size of cookie sheet onto the counter 
2. Spoon peanut butter into one cup with spatula and set aside
3. Put butter into large pot and cook at medium heat to melt
4. Get out all other ingredients so that you are ready to put them in 

Directions:

1. Add into melted butter, sugar, almond milk, and cocoa
2. Stir constantly until it boils and then boil for about 1 minute
3. Remove pot from heat and mix in 1 cup of oats at a time 
4. Add vanilla and peanut butter and stir until well mixed
5. Drop spoonfuls onto the wax paper
6. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes to harden into cookies

Makes about 38 cookies depending on size

I was so excited, they taste just about like my mom's! (Nothing ever really tastes just like hers unless she is here to make it. I haven't quite figured that out.)

Organic Peanut Butter Cookies

My Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies

These are by far the best peanut butter cookies I have ever had. I was so happy to find this recipe as it introduced me to fresh ground peanut butter (you should be able to find it in your health food stores or even some grocery stores). My brother and I used to get excited about opening the new jar of creamy peanut butter, the smooth, untouched goodness and the awesome aroma. That does not even begin to compare to the absolute perfection of freshly ground peanut butter. It is a sublime ratio of tiny crunchy pieces of peanuts mixed with a thick creamy peanut butter. And that fresh taste in these cookies is splendiferous (ok, I had to break out the thesaurus to describe how wonderful these are!) And they are so fast and easy to make!

As with some other recipes on this blog, you may want to double the recipe as it does not make a whole lot. 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Freshly Ground Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Organic Sugar
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
1 Organic Cage Free Egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Beat peanut butter in large bowl (it flies out) with a mixer on high
3. Add sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and beat 30 more seconds
4. Add egg and beat until just mixed
5. Form balls with the dough and place on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart
6. Press a fork into the balls to make a criss-cross 
7. Bake 14 - 16 minutes

Makes 12 - 15 cookies depending on how big you make them

Enjoy!

Organic Buttermilk Pumpkin Banana Pancakes

Pumpkin Goodness in a Pancake

This is another one of my half invented recipes because I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. I got a recipe for Pumpkin Banana Pancakes from the Natural Grocers, but upon closer inspection, it called for 6 eggs which seemed excessive, and no flour. I decided I was not that adventurous yet, but I liked the idea of Pumpkin Banana Pancakes, so I started looking at different recipes and kind of put a few together and then added my own substitutions. My family was brave enough to try my creation, and to my delight, they liked them. My husband said not to change anything. You can go to the recipes that I looked at here and here, and let me know your ideas. 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/8 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1/3 Cup Honey
1 Banana

Getting Ready 

1. Put 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil in a small saucepan and simmer over a low heat. As soon as it is melted, turn off and let sit until you are ready to use. 
2. Set out the eggs and pour the buttermilk into a measuring cup and let sit so they are not quite so cold. (The coconut oil will harden again if mixed with really cold ingredients.)
3. Mash banana. I put it in a ziploc bag, sealed it, and mashed it up with my hands. Then, it's easy to pour out of the bag with no mess. 

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
2. In another bowl, mix together the vanilla, buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, coconut oil, honey and banana. 
3. Combine all together in the first large bowl and stir well. It will be lumpy because of the banana. 
4. Set your griddle to 350 F, or you can cook them in a skillet on the stove. 
5. Optional - I like to put a little butter (organic, non hormone) on the griddle before I pour on the pancake batter. 
6. Cook the first side until little bubbles form and the edges look cooked, then flip and brown the other side. 
7. Enjoy with the topping of your choice. 

My sweet five year old likes to cut shapes in hers and put powdered sugar on them. She ate the first one so fast, I didn't get a picture of it (and not just because of the powdered sugar, I made a different recipe once with almond meal and she didn't like them even with the sugar).