Category Archives: Baking

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Cookies

I just can’t even deal right now.

For over a year I’ve been thinking about this recipe that I found on Pinterest. All my life I’ve loved peanut butter cups in a big, bad way, but I rarely buy them because 1) I usually prefer baked goods to candy and 2) Reese’s didn’t make the dark chocolate variety until fairly recently. In fact, before Reese’s started making dark chocolate peanut butter cups, I threatened frequently (like probably once a week) to write in requesting the dark chocolate variety. Well, now I’ve made dark chocolate peanut butter cups, but in a cookie and with PRETZELS. WHAT.

A few weeks ago I saw these Salted Chocolate-Pretzel Peanut Butter Cookies on Oh, Ladycakes, and I haven’t been able to get the idea of “pretzel flour” out of my head since. Eventually I started thinking about how great it would be to roll cookie dough in this pretzel flour…and then I remembered the peanut butter stuffed cookies. Let’s just say that things got crazy.

I knew I wanted to incorporate melted unsweetened chocolate, because it’s so much richer and more satisfying than cocoa powder alone could ever be. That being said, I still added cocoa powder and chocolate chips for even more chocolate flavor (overachiever, I know). Then I fluffed peanut butter and powdered sugar together, stuffed it all in a cookie, and rolled it in pulverized pretzel crumbs…and then I died of joy.

I could chalk this combination of ridiculousness up to hormones. Or the fact that The Beast was out of town and I could make the kitchen as messy as I wanted without judgment or guilt (and boy-oh-boy did it ever get messy). It’s my nature to make excuses, but really…take my weakness for salty sweet things and make it your strength, because if you have dark chocolate peanut butter cup pretzel cookies in your hands, is there anything you can’t accomplish right now?

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Almond Butter Oatmeal and Cherry Cookies

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Oh 3pm, you’re so predictable. All other hours of my workday at least provide some variety to my thought processes, but not you, 3pm. You’re all about the antsy, boredom, will-this-day-ever-end cravings. No matter how much I stuff myself with a hearty and nutritious lunch, you’re going to make me twiddle my fingers until I find something delicious for them to grasp, aren’t you?

The form of these cravings changes day-to-day. I used to want chips, and then I went through a phase where I would just spoon peanut butter out of the jar (note: dangerous), but lately I’ve been all about sweets. Specifically, I want a baked good. At 3pm. Every damn day. Sure, a decadent midday baked good is fine every-so-often, but everyday? Get your head out of the sugary, cotton candy clouds, Katie.

I do, however, heartily believe in the power of an afternoon pick-me-up. Sometimes you just neeeed that boost to get through the final couple hours of the workday. Which brings me to these cookies. I made them on Monday night when I realized I shouldn’t deny myself the baked goodness, but perhaps I could make a healthier option than what’s in the cupboards at work (i.e. Famous Amos).

These have everything I love in a cookie: thick, chewy, and full of texture, plus they’re packed with maple syrup and almond butter, which are two of my favorite things. I’ve been eating them around 3pm at work this week and they definitely help me appease the late-afternoon ants in my pants.

I only recently began baking with spelt flour, and I think I’m in love. It’s a whole grain flour, but it’s high in protein, easy to digest, and packed with nutrients. The flavor is nutty and similar to whole wheat, but I find it slightly more mild, which can make a big difference in the taste of your baked goods.

To boost the benefits beyond spelt, I used a small amount of coconut oil for the fat, then added applesauce, peanut butter, and maple syrup for extra moisture and flavor. The oats add fiber and texture, while the dried cherries bring some tartness to the mix.

These cookies are vegan, but if you’d rather use a regular egg than a chia/flax egg I’m sure that would be fine. The other ingredients can also be tweaked to your liking; swap out the almond butter for peanut butter (or any other nut butter), replace the cherries with other dried fruits, nuts, or chocolate chips (which I MUST try next). Obviously, if you try any different combinations, let me know!
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Maple Oat Walnut Scones {Whole Wheat}

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When label certain things as “off limits” you inevitably want them more. I know this is common knowledge, but I’ve learned it the hard way. When I gave up gluten, for example, I ended up “tweaking out” (my sister’s words) while watching others enjoy fresh, right-outta-the-oven pizza. For my own sanity, and the well-being of those around me, I ended up inhaling the chewy, gluten-filled dough that day, which was only 3 1/2 weeks after starting my gluten-free lifestyle. Whups.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been an on-and-off caffeine addict since college. I’ve given it up a few times for a month here and there because I liked the idea of being naturally awake without the need for caffeine. Caffeine-free Katie never stuck around for long, until a little over a year ago. I’ve had headache problems most of my life, but last year I was having upwards of 3 migraines every week. A coworker with similar migraine issues recommended I give up caffeine. At first I laughed and dismissed the idea; “Have you SEEN the thermos I bring with me everyday?” I thought of that caffeine-filled thermos as my friend…My morning friend that kick-started my day, and made me feel like I could deal with the ridiculousness that sometimes comes with my job.

Eventually I realized that friend could be a big pain in the head…literally. After reading up on the caffeine-migraine connection, I decided getting off “the sauce” might help my situation. Over the following months I celebrated my decrease in headaches, but another side of me mourned the loss of my morning friend. To ease the pain of my loss, I found decaf tea I enjoyed, drank more water, and optimistically waited for my “natural awakeness” to kick in.

It never did.

Fast forward to about a month ago, and my caffeine-free enthusiasm reached an all-time low. I’d walk into the kitchen at work and just sniiiiiiiff the coffee-scent from the pot that sits next to the water-heater I use for my stupid tea. My relapse started innocently enough; I’d grab a cup of black tea every few days, and maybe a really small cup of coffee, only when I absolutely “needed” it. Then, my mom and dad gave me a Caribou gift card for Easter, so I decided that meant I should probably pick up some coffee on my way to work. After all, it would be a waste to use such a kind gift on something like decaf tea.

You get where this is going. I’ve had caffeine every day for the past week and a half, and for the majority of those days my caffeine has been in coffee form. I’m so bad! I’m so screwed!…but the punishment migraine hasn’t come yet. I’ve told myself that as soon as I have to suffer the repurcussions I’ll need to stop, but until then? Stop and smell the roasted beans.

So anyway, these scones aren’t helping my problem. I always associate scones with comfortable mornings, acoustic music, and coffee, because whenever I wait in line at a coffee shop the pastry case just STARES ME IN THE FACE. Most of it I can talk myself out of buying, since I make a mean muffin, and I bet those ridiculously-large cookies are dry anyway, but oh-my-gaaaaawd the scones. Especially the Starbucks Maple Oat Pecan Scone. It’s just so buttery and delicious and covered in drizzle! Unfortunately, if I force myself out of my scone trance, I remember that it’s also full of gross things that I would never put into anything I bake at home.

Although there is nothing wrong with buying a scone at a coffee shop occasionally, I decided last week that I needed to learn how to make my own. After all, if I’m going to keep drinking coffee, and therefore continue to crave calorie-laden scones, I might as well make sure they’re not full of a bunch of chemicals. See? I can be logical sometimes.

These scones are just as buttery and satisfying as the Starbucks variety, but they’re 100% whole wheat, nearly free of refined sugar (except the tiny bit of glaze on top), and completely void of scary, long, unpronounceable ingredients. In other words, they are a GOOD decision, which I can only assume completely negates the delicious, warm, caffeinated BAD decision that they always must accompany.
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Veggie and the Beast

A Story of Food, Love, and Compromise

Category Archives: Baking

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Cookies

Almond Butter Oatmeal and Cherry Cookies

Maple Oat Walnut Scones {Whole Wheat}