Halloween Candy Compost Cookie

Whether you are reading this recipe pre-Halloween or post-Halloween, I'm sure you are drowning in some kind of fun size candy mayhem. I used all my will power to keep my house clean of candy during the month of October, but then I broke down and rushed to the store for a bag of Halloween candy after deciding on making these cookies. 

I came up with the idea for these cookies after polling you all on insta last week. My baking itch was scratching and needing to be healed. I polled ginger cookies vs. some kind of compost cookie situation. Compost cookies won in a landslide, so here we are (I made ginger cookies too, because why not, but they were ugly and don't deserve to be posted).

Compost cookies are what they sound like. Basically a dump of every ingredient you can get your hands on. This time, Halloween candy being the spotlight. You want to use chocolate based candies for this. Although after the fact I thought that a few candy corn would have been cute added to the mix. But no one really likes candy corn so sorry bout ya. 

A mix of Milky Way (OG and Midnight), 3 Musketeers, and Twix got chopped up and added in. Along with pretzels, chopped pecans, butterscotch chips (my fave) and coffee grounds. *Pro tip, make sure and reserve a few of each ingredient to dot the tops of the balls of dough with. This way you can see them on top of the cookie after they bake instead of hiding. As seen below: broken pieces of candy bars and pretzels atop dough balls. A sprinkle of Maldon salt on top is also necessary, as always. 

Halloween Candy Compost Cookie
yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup pretzels
1-2 Tbsp. coffee grounds (I went the full 2 b/c i'm all about the coffee flavor)
1 cup + 1/2 cup halloween candy, chopped ( i used a mix of Milk Way, Twix and 3 Musketeers)
Maldon Salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

In an electric mixer, cream your sugars and butter on medium for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.  Scrape the sides then add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture into the electric mixer and mix on low until the dough has come together. Stir in 1 cup of the candy, the coffee grounds, butterscotch chips, pecans and pretzels. 

Roll 2 tablespoon size balls. Place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart (8 balls per sheet). Now take the reserved 1/2 cup of candy and dot the top of each ball of dough with a chopped piece of candy and a sprinkle of Maldon Salt. This ensures for a pretty cookie with a peek of what's inside! *Important step* Freeze the balls of dough for about 5 minutes prior to baking. This will help your cookie from spreading out too thin. 

Bake for 12 minutes then allow to cool. 

Halloween candy is already wonderful as is, but why not bake it inside butter and sugar to make it even better???

Happy Halloween!

Annie

Triple Chip Cookie Pizza

Back by popular demand...another cookie pizza recipe! This time loaded with THREE different kinds of chocolate chips; semi-sweet, dark, and white!

Cookie Pizzas are becoming my go to party/celebration food. I've made them for a handful of birthdays, watch parties and a housewarming party. The nostalgia of cookie cakes really makes people freak over them. And if you spent 5 minutes at the University of Oklahoma you without a doubt had a taste of a Cookies & Cards "cookie pizza."

A few weeks ago I spent the morning with my girl Katie of KGC photography. You may remember her from this post. We got together for turmeric lattes, photography and baking. Baking a cookie pizza that is. 

Not to toot my own horn, but I can make a mean dessert. But Katie knows how to shoot it to make it even prettier than it tastes! 

This cookie pizza recipe was for a special bestie/roomie's birthday so it got a decoration of multi-colored sprinkles. And since just chocolate chips seemed too boring, white chocolate and dark chocolate got added to the mix. Not that just chocolate chip cookies are bad, because we all know I have a thing for Perfect CCCs. In fact, this pizza recipe is adapted from my CCC recipe!

A cookie bigger than my stomach is the best kind of cookie. Find my other cookie pizza recipes here, here and here. 

Triple Chip Cookie Pizza

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
sprinkles (optional)

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
splash of milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a large mixing bowl or round object, about 10 inches in diameter, trace a circle on the parchment paper. Flip the parchment paper over so you don't get any pencil or pen marks when you spread out the dough.

Cream butter and sugars in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract.  Add flour, baking powder and salt, and mix on low until the dough comes together. Add your assorted chocolate chips, reserving a few of each kind, you'll understand why in a second. Give it all another stir.

With clean hands spread the dough out on the parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the dough out, filling the circle shape you drew. Before baking, press a few of each kind of chocolate chip into the top of the pizza. This ensures for an extra pretty cookie! Bake for 10-12 minutes. Start on the low end. The key to yumminess in this cookie pizza is for it to be slightly underdone! You want to take it out just before it starts to brown. Then let it cool completely.

While the pizza cools, make your glaze. Using a hand mixer or whisk, whisk powdered sugar and vanilla, and a splash of milk until smooth and glossy. Add a touch more milk if you need to. It should be the consistency of Elmers glue. Drizzle the glaze over the top in a swirly whirly pattern of your choice. Top with sprinkles if you prefer. 

Cut with a pizza cutter and store in a pizza box. 

Annie

photos by KGC Photography

Banana Chip Savory Snack Mix (Whole 30)

Whole 30 snacks are hard. I had this conversation with my sister last week and a friend who is also doing whole 30 right now. Meals are easy, but sometimes you just get a big craving for a handful of crackers or pretzels or some kind of carby snack. This whole 30 approved savory snack mix is so satisfy for someone on whole 30 and for the average joe. Just be careful, it's highly addictive. 

My good friend Chelsea, who actually got married this past weekend, first introduced me to Bubba's Fine Foods Snack Mix. She is a trainer, so I'm always so interested in what she is eating or snacking on. One day at the gym she was eating out of a Bubba's Snack Mix bag. When I read the ingredients I was shocked at how simple and healthy they were. Just banana chips, cashews, pecans, with spices like turmeric, paprika, apple cider vinegar etc. I was sold, but also sold on recreating the mix on my own. Because let's be honest, the bag you buy at the store is $7 for a bag of air...

Savory Snack Mix (Whole 30) 
yields 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup raw pecans
1 1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cup banana chips (unsweetened)* 
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Onion powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. liquid aminos**
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil 

Directions:

Preheat over to 325 degrees. In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Toss and mix until nuts and banana chips are all evenly coated. 

Bake 15-20 minutes, toss halfway through. Let sit to to dry out a bit and cool before eating. Store in a Ziplock or air tight container. 

*Most banana chips you find at the store are sweetened (you don't want that for this recipe). I ordered a bag of unsweetened from nuts.com. If you can't find unsweetened, plantain chips would be a good replacement. 

**Liquid aminos are a whole 30 approved version of soy sauce or tamari. You can use either in place of the aminos, but I suggest picking up a bottle! Keep some in your pantry and you'll never need soy sauce again!

You can buy Bubba's Fine Foods online or locally at Uptown Grocery. But, I urge you to try my recipe! It's identical (and you get more!!). Perfect snack for traveling, the 3PM slump, watch parties or game nights!

Annie 

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Cookies

Forget September 22, the day after Labor Day marks the start of fall in mine and most people's minds. I was at Whole Foods the other night and pumpkins are already out, the PSL made it's seasonal debut, and I am unapologetically sharing my first pumpkin recipe of the fall!

This recipe doesn't scream pumpkin but it does scream fall. Pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and the secret ingredient, paprika, makes for a kickin' cookie (I had to). I originally made these a few weeks ago and everyone who tried them deemed that they must be remade once cooler weather crept in. Hello cooler weather, hello double chocolate pumpkin seed cookies!

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Cookies
yields about 32 medium cookies or 18 large cookies, adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. paprika
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
1⅓ cups granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup dark chocolate (you can use chips or buy a bar of dark chocolate and chop it up)
Maldon salt

Directions:
Place your pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and place on the upper rack of the oven. Then heat your oven to 350°. This is the best trick my mom taught me. Nuts and seeds brown perfectly in the same amount it takes for your oven to preheat. (About  8–10 minutes). Toss occasionally until golden. Let cool.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and paprika in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Reduce speed to low; add dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing until well blended after each. Stir in chocolate and pumpkin seeds.

If you want medium cookies use a cookie scoop (about 2 Tbsp.) if you want large cookies use an ice cream scoop (about 1/4 cup). Large cookies will be more bakery style, but for portion control reasons I go medium size. You can see both sizes pictured below. Place large cookies 3" apart and medium cookies 2" apart. Sprinkle with flakey Maldon salt and bake, rotating pans halfway through. 17–20 minutes for large cookies, 9-11 minutes for medium cookies. 

Happy pumpkin baking!

Annie

Lemon Turmeric Energy Bites

If there is an event that involves me, then you know there will be treats. I had so much fun hosting a private Beyond 500 class for friends and followers last Sunday. I wanted to bring something sweet to reward everyone for the hard workout, but I didn't want to blow all the work we would be doing in the class. Energy bites (not energy balls, I refuse) were the perfect post-workout treat. 

Lemon Turmeric Energy Bites
yields 20 bites

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
6 oz pitted dates
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
Put all ingredients into your food processor and process until everything comes together, about 3-5 minutes. Stopping and scraping down the sides every minute or so. You want to make sure the nuts, seeds and dates are finely processed and it comes together like a dough.  

Using a tablespoon size cookie scoop, portion out the dough and roll to form balls. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Each bite is only 85 calories. 

With protein from the cashews and chia seeds, natural sugars from the dates, and an energy boost from the lemon and turmeric, they make for the perfect pre-or post-workout snack. 

Annie