Clarity

I've gotten more into yoga this past year and usually do power yoga because I feel like if I'm going to put on workout clothes I at least want to get a good sweat in! This past weekend I thought I would try a hatha yoga class thinking it would do all the things its supposed to do, achieve inner peace, mental clarity, emotional balance... NOPE. I sat there thinking about everything and anything BUT that! A friend of mine was telling me about her experience in an Ashram she attended in India. For the 7 days she said she thought about every single boy she ever dated, every single movie she ever saw, hummed in her head every single song she could think of...haha okay so these methods don't work for everybody! Whirl of the mixer, clicking sound of the cookie scoop and the smell of fresh baked cookies.We all have our things that give us mental clarity and inner peace, mine just happens to involve a mixer, chocolate chips, butter, flour, sugar and a 375 degree oven.

Clarity Cookies aka Loaded Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Makes 24

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup evaporated cane juice sugar (can use white sugar)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup toffee bits
1/4 cup toasted coconut
1/4 cup rice crispies ( I used brown rice crispies)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Beat together butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla then applesauce
3. Mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed butter mixture
4. Add in oats, raisins, chocolate chips, toffee bits, toasted coconut and rice crispies
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden

Chocolate Chunk Brownie Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Brownies, two of the most popular baked goods of all time, I really can't think of two better things that should be put together!! I played with the combination and in the end decided not only to fold chunks of brownie into the cookie dough but chocolate chunks as well. Halfway through baking I added a mini brownie on top just to make this cookie even more glorious! It's just how I like my chocolate chip cookies, soft and chewy in the middle with a slightly crispy edge, with the added fudginess and chewiness of chocolate brownie chunks and a hint of pure dark chocolate. Warm from the oven with a cold glass of Almond Milk (even better than milk) and I am in my very happy place!

Brownies
6 tbsp butter, softened
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 x 2'' baking pan.
2. Melt butter and chocolate together, let cool slightly. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
3. In a mixer beat sugar, eggs and vanilla together until pale. Add chocolate mixture, scrape down sides of bowl and add flour mixture. Mix just till combined.
4. Pour batter into greased pan and bake 40-50 minutes.
5. Let cool completely and place in freezer for 15minutes. Cut 1 1/2 cups worth of bite size brownie chunks, cut the rest into larger chunks to place on top of the cookie.

NOTE** Usually you would almost want to under bake your brownie, but since we are folding this into a cookie dough, we want the brownie to be firm and cooked all the way through**

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 370 degrees F. In a mixer cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture.
2. Add in chocolate chunks. Fold in brownie chunks.
3. Drop 4 tbsp size dough balls onto cookie sheet lined with silpat or baking paper. Bake 6 minutes, add a brownie chunk on top of each cookie and bake another 6 minutes, just until golden around the edges.

Chocolate Toffee Cookie Cake

So it was my friend Julie's birthday last weekend and she is a big lover of baking, especially cakes! She's just starting out and I have promised her a lesson in cake decorating but in the meantime, just knew for her own birthday I had to make her a special cake! I had asked her what her favorite flavors were and the only thing she told me was CHOCOLATE. A girl after my own heart. If there is one thing I love most in the world it's chocolate chip cookies so it only seemed right that I incorporate it with another love of mine, moist chocolate cake! I was afraid the chocolate buttercream might soften the cookie layer overnight, but after biting into a piece of cake the cookies were still crispy and chewy. I figured I mine as well throw toffee in too, since I'd already taken it to that sugar level! Plus I loved the contrast of all the browns and gold, I was pleased how it all came together. I know this is where I'm supposed to tell you the recipe on how to make the cake but unfortunately all these recipes come from the bakery I used to work at, Crave so I can't reveal them to you! One of the best places I've ever worked my old bosses really knew how to treat their staff. Not only extremely nice, also very generous with staff meetings catered with good food and monthly staff gifts, a VIP Cowboys Stampede party, always stocked fridge and freezer with food for us to eat, free massages..I could go on! I have so many good memories from working there. My ol bosses deserve every bit of success they have had and recently were named 2 of the top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs of Calgary! If there are a few things I've learned from Crave, it would be how I would treat my employees, run an insanely successful business and how to ice a cake!

Ready to be assembled!

Rolling out the mini cookies, making sure each one had a chocolate chip (I would feel ripped off if I got a cookie with no chocolate chip in it, wouldn't you?!)

Middle layer of the cake-Chocolate Buttercream, Toffee Bits and Crumbled Chocolate Chip Cookies

After being out of the bakery for sometime now, I was relieved to know I can still ice a cake! I still got itt!

Finished on site

Fully Loaded P.B Chocolate Chip Cookies

I couldn't bare to name these "everything but the kitchen sink"cookies. Who wants to eat a cookie like that? That could contain everything and anything! These little gems contain everything that I think goes well with peanut butter, including toasted coconut, rolled oats for a chewy texture, chocolate chips (of course!) and a hint of cinnamon. I've been looking for a cookie that makes me feel satisfied, so I don't have to eat 5 of them to kick my craving (oh wow I sound like an addict...okay I admit, I am a cookie addict!). So I came up with this recipe and I think these just may do the trick! I used sprouted spelt flour, unrefined sugar, agave syrup, unsweetened coconut (which when toasted brings out its natural sugars) and natural peanut butter. Oh and if you noticed in the background I have my books spread out on the kitchen table, I'm studying right?

Fully Loaded Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(This recipe makes approx 20 cookies, double recipe if you want more!)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup unrefined sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tbsp agave syrup (can skip this if you don't have it and add a bit more sugar or use honey)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (warm in microwave slightly)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup sprouted spelt flour (or regular spelt flour or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut (toasted)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixer cream butter, sugar, peanut butter, agave and vanilla. Add egg and mix.
2. In a separate bowl combine rolled oats, sprouted spelt flour, toasted coconut, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix into wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips
3. If using an ice cream scoop, slightly pat down dough. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until edges and the top turn slightly golden brown.

Double Chocolate Banana Cookies aka MUFFIN TOPS

I told you I was on a banana kick...I think I went a little overboard and bought one too many, they ripen too fast before I can eat them all. Not a problem! All I had to do was google banana recipes. I was entrigued when I found a recipe for banana cookies, I like bananas! I loove cookies! SOLD.
Of course I like chocolate even more so I took the concept of the recipe and made up my own. After sampling them with a friend, I realized they aren't cookies at all! Yes, same cookie making procedure, but the end result tasted like a muffin top! Even cakier than a muffin too. What's better than a muffin top!? My friend was reminded of a Seinfeld episode about the muffin top, where the muffin top bakery gives away their bottoms to the homeless and they get offended. I had to youtube it to see for myself and ohh mann is it hilarious!! See for yourself. Top of the muffin to youu!

Double Chocolate Banana Cookies/Muffin Tops
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup agave syrup (or use maple syrup/honey)
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup Robinhood nutriblend flour (or 1/2 cup whole wheat, 1/2 cup white)
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup flaxmeal
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chocolate chunks, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Cream butter with sugars and agave until fluffy
3. Add in egg then mashed banana
4. Mix together dry ingredients and add into banana mixture, just until combined
5. Add in chocolate chunks and drop onto a lined cookie sheet
6. Bake for 12-15 min or until tops are set and aren't soft in the middle

Midnight Baking:Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Yesterday night I got home from a friends and not being tired just yet, I came up with the brilliant idea that I wanted to make cookies! It being 1:00 in the morning, I grabbed a pillow and stuffed it in the crack of my roommates door so not to wake them…I measured everything out and then proceeded to turn on my extremely loud Kitchen Aid mixer. How loud do you ask? You know that annoying sound of your neighbor’s lawn mower that seems to go off at hours way to early for any human being to be awake? That’s what mine sounds like! Now I know what you’re thinking, how inconsiderate of me! But hey, my roomies crank the blender for their smoothies at 5:30 in the morning everyday before work, so I think we’re even! It was all a fantastic idea until 1:45 rolled around and I was standing over the oven waiting for batch number three to come out and getting extremely sleepy…but it was all worth it in the end! I substituted some things such as using spelt flour instead of whole wheat flour, adding baking soda for a little extra rise and adding ground flax seeds in for texture and those good ol omega 3’s. For an even healthier version I think next time I will try using all spelt flour, no white flour and even cut back on the sugar. It tastes just like every other fabulous double chocolate chunk cookie so I definitely suggest you try making these! Just maybe not at 1 in the morning...

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(Adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food you Crave)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or whole grain spelt flour)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (flax meal)
1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 ounces dark chocolate chunks

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.In a mixer cream butter and sugars. Add oil, egg and vanilla.
3. In a seperate bowl combine flours, cocoa and salt. Slowly incorporate into wet mixture. Add chocolate chunks.
4.Bake until cookies are just set, about 12 minutes.

Gotta love the twiced baked cookie: Chocolate Cherry Almond Biscotti

Who doesn't love a good biscotti? They store longer than the average cookie and are oh so good dunked in a hot cup of your fave beverage. I am a huge cookie fan, and I'm always in search of the best chocolate chip cookie...so far my fave has been the addition of brown butter but I'll get to that another time! At the bookstore a couple weeks ago I came across a cookbook by Ellie Krieger host of the food network show Healthy Appetite. As a registered dietitian she does a take on foods you crave..in a healthier way. Now who wouldn't want that!? Try it for yourself...

Adapted from: The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger
Chocolate Cherry Almond Biscotti
2 1/2 cups nutri blend flour by Robin hood (white flour and wheat bran)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 canola oil
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, finely chopped
1/2 cup raw almonds, finely chopped
1/4 cup dark chocolate, finely chopped

1.Preheat oven to 350.
2.Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. In a separate bowl beat sugar, eggs, oil, orange zest and vanilla until well combined.
3.Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Add in cherries, almonds and chocolate.
4.Shape into a log 10 inches long and 3 inches wide. Bake for 25 min. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.
5.Using a serrated knife cut log on a diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place on baking sheet cut side down, bake for 10 min then turn cookies over and bake another 5-10 min until golden.