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Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

May 1, 2018

I have been looking for a little sweet treat that was both delicious and moderately healthy. I emphasize moderately. Basically, something that I could eat for breakfast and not feel totally guilty. 

Well, I think I found just what I was looking for in these raspberry oatmeal bars!

What makes them a tad healthier than your garden variety oatmeal bars is that they are made with almond meal instead of flour and I made my own raspberry jam with chia seeds, so it has absolutely no sugar! I’d say that almost qualifies as a breakfast food. 

How to Make Them

These oatmeal bars are very easy to make, even considering you have to make your own jam. Technically, you don’t have to. You can just use a regular raspberry jam. But I like the idea of making my own because I can control the sweetness of it. And it’s much easier to make than you’d think. 


In a small sauce pan, bring frozen raspberries, lemon juice, and honey to a simmer. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes until it has thickened slightly. Then remove from the heat and stir in the chia seeds. After about 20 minutes, the mixture will thicken even more, but won’t be quite the consistency of a normal jam.

While the jam thickens, move on to the oatmeal part of the bars.

Combine almond meal, oats, brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl, then add cubes of cold butter. 

Use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it forms a coarse crumble.


To assemble the oatmeal bars, first pat half (or more than half) of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of a square pan. Then pour some or all of the jam on top. Lastly crumble the rest of the oatmeal mixture on top. You don’t need to form a solid layer, just sprinkle the rest overtop and pat down gently.

Pop the pan in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the oatmeal crumble on top has turned a lovely shade of golden brown.

After they come out of the oven, let them cool on the counter for at least an hour. I would recommend making them at night then leaving them out until the morning. It will ensure that the jam has settled making them easier to cut. 

I know it will be hard to leave them be, but it will be worth it, I promise. The jam layer will be slightly more solid and not drip out everywhere, and the crumbs on top will be nice and crunchy. 

Your reward will be these perfectly crumbly and sweet raspberry oatmeal bars. I happen to love that the raspberry layer isn’t overly sweet, so it perfectly balances the sweeter and nuttier oatmeal crust. Of course, feel free to substitute your favorite store-bought jam or swap out the raspberries for another favorite berry!

Supplies and Recipe

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/ Filed In: Bars and Brownies, Desserts, Eat, Other Sweets New
Tagged: almond meal, bars, chia seeds, healthy, low-sugar, oatmeal, raspberry

Apple Pie Overnight Oats

October 16, 2017

Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day. Not only does it get my day started off on the right foot, it is also the only meal where it is socially acceptable to eat sweets. (Think about it, muffins are just breakfast cupcakes and pancakes are literally pan cakes!) While I will happily take full advantage of the pancake/waffle section of any brunch menu on the weekends, during the week I do try to be a bit healthier in my breakfast choices while still satisfying my 24/7 sweet tooth. 

Which is why I love this new(ish) overnight oat trend! It takes a good ol’ breakfast standby (oatmeal) and turns it into something that could almost be dessert. Or in the case of these apple pie overnight oats, it takes a favorite dessert and turns it into a respectable breakfast.

I should say, a very respectable breakfast. To make these apple pie overnight oats, I didn’t use a single gram of sugar. I did use honey and maple syrup to sweeten it up a tad, but if you are watching your glucose intake, you could cut them out completely. 


First, I mixed together the applesauce and the apple pie spice in the bottom of a jar. Then I poured in the milk. In this case, I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can use whichever milk product you prefer. Lastly, I poured in the oats and mixed them in with everything else so that everything was evenly distributed.

I popped the jars into the fridge so that they would be ready for me in the morning!

The oats are delicious on their own. But to really conjure up that apple pie flavor I made an apple topping that is basically just apple pie filling, minus most of the butter and all of the sugar. 

The apples on top also added just a bit more sweetness to the oats which really made me feel like I was eating dessert for breakfast. Except unlike the muffins, pancakes, or waffles I have most weekends, this breakfast is actually pretty dang healthy.

One other benefit of overnight oats that I forgot to mention is that you can make a bunch up ahead of time; then, in the morning you can grab your oats and go! I have found that the oats stay good in the fridge for three or four days. So I make up a couple jars on Sunday night, and I have breakfast planned for the rest of the week! 

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/ Filed In: Breakfast, Eat, Other Sweets New
Tagged: apple, apple pie, cinnamon, healthy breakfast, maple syrup, oatmeal, overnight oats, Savory Spice, sugar free

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

February 24, 2017

What is it about baked blueberries. I mean, they are great all on their own. But baked into a muffin, cupcake, or pie and they are fantastic! You think it has something to do with the flour, sugar, and butter it’s baked in? 

Yeah, me neither. 

Well, these blueberry oatmeal cookies are no exception. In fact, they may be my new favorite blueberry baked good. Ever. Move over blueberry muffin, there’s a new star around here!

Despite what you may be thinking, there isn’t anything all that special about these cookies except the blueberries. I started off with my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, and instead of adding cinnamon, raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, or anything else you might add to oatmeal cookies, I added some fresh lemon zest and fresh blueberries. 

After the blueberries were folded into the dough, I scooped them out using my favorite cookie scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet. 

[PSA: If you aren’t covering your baking sheets with parchment when you bake you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice. Not only to they ensure that your cookies will lift right off, but you don’t have to clean your baking sheet afterwards (unless you really want to)! I just just crumple up my parchment and throw it away!] 

Then I baked these cookies just like normal and 15 minutes later they came out of the oven looking and tasting delicious!

They kind of reminded me of a blueberry muffin top, which as you know is the best part of any muffin. They are crunchy around the edges and soft in the middle. The blueberries burst with flavor every time you bite into them. And the lemon zest just makes everything taste super fresh. 

I think I ate half a dozen of these blueberry oatmeal cookies before I stop myself from eating any more. I hadn’t actually baked these for me, I baked the cookies for a friend of mine who recently had her first baby! These blueberry oatmeal cookies are especially great for new, breastfeeding, moms because there is no chocolate (and, thus, caffeine), and the oatmeal is really good for breast milk production (so I am told by Google). 

But don’t wait until your friends have babies to make these cookies. You should make them immediately and thank me later. 

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:133]

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/ Filed In: Cookies, Cookies New, Eat
Tagged: baking, blueberry, cookies, oatmeal, oatmeal cookies

Kitchen Sink Cookies

January 13, 2017

In case you didn’t hear, this past weekend the South got hit with a bit of snow. If you live in the North East or Midwest, you would laugh at what we consider snow. But here in the South, we go a little crazy.

I stopped by the grocery store the night before the impending snow to stock up on some essentials: butter and eggs. If I am going to be stuck inside all weekend, you better believe I will be doing some baking!

I made a lot of things that weekend, but my favorite were these amazingly random cookies! I didn’t have enough chocolate chips for a full batch of chocolate chip cookies, but I did have a little bit of everything else. I pretty much threw everything except the kitchen sink in these cookies…

…coconut flakes, oats, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and peanut butter chips.

Hence the name.

I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie as a base, then added in all the goodies and hoped for the best! 

Because these cookies needed a little something more (obviously), I added some flaky sea salt to the tops them. All chocolate chip cookies should have some sea salt on top, if you ask me. There’s nothing better than that salty sweetness. 

 


And despite the the completely random mix of ingredients in these cookies, they turned out amazing! Somehow all those flavors actually go together. Who would have thought!?

I will definitely be making these cookies again. Probably tomorrow.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:116]

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/ Filed In: Cookies, Cookies, Cookies New, Eat
Tagged: chocolate chip, coconut, cookies, oatmeal, peanut butter, white chocolate

Peanut Butter Chocolate Overnight Oats

July 25, 2016

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Overnight Oats

Lately I have turned to making my own overnight oats as a quick, yet healthy breakfast option that I can just throw in my lunch bag on my way to the train in the morning. My first few attempts were pretty bland and, frankly, not all that good. In search of something a bit more palatable, I turned to my all-time favorite flavor combination: peanut butter and chocolate. 


When I make these peanut butter chocolate overnight oats, I actually make a big batch and portion it out into 4 jars so I have breakfast for most of the week. I start with the peanut butter oatmeal. I mix together old fashioned rolled oats (not quick/instant oats), milk (I use whatever nutmilk I have on hand), honey, and peanut butter powder. 


Next is the chocolate chia seed pudding. For this, I mix together chia seeds, milk, coco powder, and stevia or honey. Both the oats and the chia seed pudding need to sit overnight so that all the moisture is absorbed. What I am left with is thick and creamy peanut butter oat meal and rich and chocolatey chia seed pudding. Then I spoon about a quarter of each into a small jar and keep them in the fridge until they are ready to be eaten. 

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats with Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I don’t know about you, but I am in a frenzy running out the door to work in the morning. Which is why I love these peanut butter chocolate overnight oats. They keep in the fridge all week. They are a mix of complex carbs and healthy fats that keep me full until lunch. And not to mention, they are delicious!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Overnight Oats

And for those weeks when I am trying to be extra healthy, I add protein powder to the oats which really makes them a complete breakfast. I will definitely be experimenting with more flavors of overnight oats. They have quickly become my favorite week day breakfast. 

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:60]

/ Filed In: Breakfast, Eat, Other Sweets New
Tagged: chia pudding, chocolate, healthy breakfast, oatmeal, peanut butter

Cranberry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookie

November 30, 2015

Cranberry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all of the treats, cookies, and candies that are around all the time. If you hadn’t figured it out already I love just about any cookie, candy, brownie, truffle, etc, so this is probably no surprise. 

To kick off the Christmas cookie making season I wanted to start with something a little different. Oatmeal cookies aren’t always associated with the holidays, but when you add in some green pistachios and red dried cranberries, they take on a much more festive look. 

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies-10

But they don’t just look festive. They taste delicious. The cranberries are tart and chewy. The pistachios are salty and crunchy. And the white chocolate balances them both out with their sweetness. 

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies-3

The recipe is pretty simple. Other than the extras, it starts with your basic oatmeal cookie recipe. If you have a favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, you can start with that as the base then add in the chocolate, cranberries, and pistachios. If you don’t have a favorite oatmeal cookie, I highly recommend the one I used below. It makes a delicious, crumbly, soft, with crunchy edges oatmeal cookie. 

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies-9

So if you are looking for a fun alternative for a cookie swap or holiday party, I recommend these cookies! I promise you won’t be disappointed!

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/ Filed In: Cookies, Cookies New, Desserts, Eat
Tagged: Christmas, cookies, cranberry, oatmeal, pistachio

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Hey There!

Hey there, I'm Lindsey. I'm a number cruncher by day and a home cook and baker by night. While I love to eat healthy and find fresh and healthy alternatives for my favorite foods, I will never turn down dessert! Life is all about moderation, right?

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