cooking ala mel

Molasses Crinkle Cookie Dough Bites

June 14, 2011

Remember those chocolate cookie dough bites I posted last week? Every single time I passed the freezer, I pulled one out to munch on. They barely lasted me a few days.. it’s definitely a good thing that they’re protein packed healthy little bites! I’ve been missing them dearly – it’s just not the same without having a little treat every few hours! But then I saw these raw gingersnap cookie bon bons and knew I had to make something like them. My favorite cookie (molasses crinkles) in cookie dough bite form?! Heck yes.

I did my own spin off on these, adding chocolate, using different sweeteners.. the flavor is so spot on. Because they’re softer, they’re just like having a molasses crinkle. This made a bigger batch than the chocolate chip cookie dough bites, but I think they’ll last about the same time..or even less. They’re that good.

Aren’t my little measuring cups adorable? My sister got them for me for Christmas. 🙂 These little bites are going to be my snack for the ride back to my parents’ for the wedding. Let’s see if they last the whole way (it’s three & a half hours).

Molasses Crinkle Cookie Dough Bites

2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup almonds

1/3 cup walnuts

2/3 cup rolled oats

2 t cinnamon

1/4 t cloves

1/2 t nutmeg

1 t ginger

sea salt, to taste

2 t ground flax seeds

2 T molasses

1 medjool date

1 packet truvia

1 1/2 T milk

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Combine the cashews, walnuts, almonds and rolled oats in a food processor and grind into crumbs. Add in the spices and flax seeds and pulse to blend. Add in the molasses, date and truvia and mix until well incorporated. Add in the milk slowly until the dough comes together enough to form into balls. Either fold in or pulse in the chocolate chips – I like to pulse so they get chopped into smaller pieces. Form into balls and place in an airtight container. Keep them in the freezer or fridge and snack on anytime!

Whole Wheat Strawberry Mini Muffins

June 13, 2011

Because I’m leaving tomorrow to prepare for my sister’s wedding and I needed to finish my strawberries… Because Alex needs breakfast for the week… Because my strawberries were on their last leg… Because there was only one blueberry muffin left… I made these strawberry muffins today. But really, who needs a reason to make strawberry muffins? Especially when they’re mini.

On Sunday (yesterday), I made berry pancakes for breakfast. There were blueberry, raspberry and strawberry pancakes stacked up nice and high, and they were full of protein, fiber and the like. And they were so delicious. Once I perfect that recipe a bit more, I’ll surely be sharing it. But anyway. The strawberry pancakes were like little bites of heaven. That combination was absolutely amazing. Sure, the raspberry was good, and so was the blueberry, but the strawberry knocked both of those out of the water. I think it was the ripeness of the strawberries. So of course when debating what kind of muffins to make next, it had to be strawberry. I wanted that flavor again.

Now, for this recipe, I used about the same as for the blueberry muffins, but I added a few spices in to amp up the flavors. These are healthy muffins, but you wouldn’t know it by the taste! Perfect for quick breakfasts.

Because I wanted to actually use liners this time, and I don’t have any regular sized cupcake liners, I made mini muffins! They’re so adorable. And I love that I can now eat three instead of just one!

How cute are these?! Make them! And make sure you use extra ripe berries – it really makes a difference! Pop ’em in the freezer in an airtight container and you’ve got snacks/breakfast for at least a week!

Whole Wheat Strawberry Mini Muffins

yields about 3 1/2 dozen mini muffins

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg
1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped into pieces
1 T + 1 t ground flax seed
3 T water

1/3 cup agave nectar
6 packets truvia (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1-5.3 oz. container plain greek yogurt (a bit more than half a cup)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 t almond extract
1/2 t vanillaIn a small bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flax seeds and water, until thick and foamy. Whisk in the truvia until well combined. Add in the greek yogurt, applesauce, extracts and agave nectar. Stir until well incorporated. Add the strawberries to the flour mixture and toss lightly to blend together. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined – do not overmix!
Scoop with a small spoon into a lined & greased mini muffin tin and bake at 350ºF for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Spinach Arugula Strawberry Salad

June 12, 2011

I am loving berry season right now. I haven’t been without strawberries, raspberries and blueberries the entire time we’ve lived in this apartment. Now, I know it’s only been about two weeks, but it’s still something to be excited about! I am a berry fanatic. I’m fine eating them on their own, but I’ve been looking for more uses for them..I made blueberry muffins, and next I’ll probably do some strawberry muffins. I’m sure blueberry/raspberry/strawberry pancakes will be made at some point. If only I had a waffle iron. But these are all sweet things. I need savory sometimes, too. Enter in this salad.

Nutty arugula, the more mild spinach, toasted walnuts, balsamic marinated strawberries..this salad is phenomenal. I was never that big of a fan of fruit on my salad. It sort of weirded me out. But I’m totally a fan now. Let’s all put more berries on our salads.

I found this salad on shutterbean. I absolutely adore Tracy’s site. You should totally check it out. There’s a lot of yummy food..and decorating tips..and lots of pretty things. But anyway, back to this salad. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly because Alex didn’t want fruit on his salad, so I just made a single serving.. I used our two Mistos to make my dressing by just spraying a bit of balsamic and a bit of olive oil. It was delicious, but I bet it’d be even better if you actually made the dressing you’re supposed to. I did marinate the strawberries. They’re delicious. Don’t be afraid of balsamic on strawberries. So good. And I toasted walnuts instead of pecans. Yum yum. But anyway. Make this salad. I’ve adapted the recipe below.

Spinach Arugula Strawberry Salad

1/2 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced

2 T balsamic vinegar

2 T olive oil

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

about 3 1/2 cups arugula, washed, dried & trimmed

about 3 1/2 cups spinach leaves, rinsed & dried

1/2 cup walnuts

Toast the walnuts on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes at 350ºF. Marinate the strawberries in 1 T of the balsamic vinegar for 5-10 minutes. Mix together the olive oil, other T of balsamic, salt & pepper in a small bowl. Sit aside. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach, arugula, walnuts, dressing & strawberries. Serve and enjoy!