Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

I try to live by something like an 85/15 rule when it comes to food. Meaning that 85% of the time, I want to feed my family (and myself) the most healthy and nutritious foods I can possibly get them to eat. The other 15%? Well, sometimes you just need to splurge a little. :-) To be clear, this recipe is a 15%er.

But also, true confession time: I don't really get the whole pumpkin craze. I know. I know. I should probably hand over my white girl card. I just don't care for all of the pumpkin-y stuff like a good yoga-pant-wearing white girl should. Can't help it. I'm telling you this just to let you know that I didn't actually taste these cookies, but everyone in my family gave them a big thumbs up, and the container I sent to a social event last night came back empty. So. I trust that they must be pretty good. ;-) Here's the recipe in case you'd like to check it out.

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 package instant cheesecake pudding mix

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup (half a stick) softened butter

1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (canned is fine)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 10-oz. bag cinnamon chips

Instructions:

1. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, pudding mix, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3. In mixer bowl, combine both sugars, butter, oil, pumpkin puree and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat after each until smooth.

4. Add dry mixture in 3-4 batches to mixer bowl, and blend after each addition until well-combined.

5. Fold in cinnamon chips.

6. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking stone, and bake for 9-11 minutes, until golden brown and set. Cool for 3-5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Pots de Creme

One of my most favoritest friends in all the world is here visiting this week. And pots de creme is one of her most favoritest desserts. So I made some. Hers is the giant one. I hope her husband isn't mad, 'cause he's here too, and I only made him a little one. (But I told him he could have more than one.) :-)

These are adapted from a Ree Drummond recipe, not because it needed to be adapted. Her version is perfectly delicious. But I just wanted to try a variation. This one is delicious too.

Also, this is stupidly easy to make. Like almost embarrassing to share. Don't tell your friends the entire situation takes about 3 minutes and 27 seconds to prepare. It will seem way less impressive.

Ingredients:

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

4 eggs, at room temperature (I won't pretend to be a scientist and tell you the details of why, but it's important that the eggs are room temperature so that the finished product is super creamy)

a pinch of salt

a dash of cinnamon

8 oz. strong very hot coffee

1/2 cup heavy cream

generous dash of stevia

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

1. Roughly chop chocolate (or just dump into blender if you're using chocolate chips). Add 4 eggs (at room temperature--'member how we talked about that?) and blend until pretty well combined. Toss in a pinch of salt and a dash of cinnamon and blend for a few seconds more.

2. Remove insert from blender top and slowly drizzle in hot coffee while blending. The coffee will melt and emulsify everything together. (Oh man. So good.) Once it is all nice and melted and creamy and shiny, pour into serving dishes of your choice. (Make sure you use a really big one for your guest of honor.) Chill for at least a couple hours.

3. When ready to serve, put heavy cream, vanilla and stevia (to taste) into mixing bowl and mix at high speed until firm peaks form. Top each pots de creme with a heaping dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon. 

This is the most elegant 3 minute recipe I know. Enjoy! 

Breakfast Parfait

Does anyone have a freezer full of blueberries at the end of summer? I hope so, 'cause this recipe is perfect for blueberries! I made this for breakfast this morning, but it would be just as good for dessert or really an any time snack. And all of the components can be made in advance so that you can build the end result any time you like in just a minute or two. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

For Lemon Ginger Blueberry Sauce:

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 teaspoon stevia

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger

1 pint blueberries (fresh is great, but frozen works too)

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

For cream*:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon stevia

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

*Alternately, you could serve the sauce with sugar free frozen yogurt or just plain yogurt without the cream whipped in.

Recipe for granola here.

Instructions:

1. Combine sugar, stevia, and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Add water and melt mixture together over medium heat. Add grated ginger and blueberries and bring to boil, stirring frequently until blueberries burst and sauce thickens.

2. Remove from heat and add lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining blueberries.

3. Add heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon stevia to mixer bowl. Beat at high speed to desired consistency. Remove cream from bowl and set aside.

4. Add Greek yogurt to mixer bowl and beat at high speed to desired consistency. Fold whipped cream into yogurt. (If you'd like, you can whip the cream and yogurt at the same time, but I find that each mixture gets a bit fluffier if you do them separately and then fold together.)

5. To serve, layer cream, then granola, then blueberry sauce and repeat.

Perfect Cookies

Like literally perfect. I know people say things like that all the time. "This is the only ______ recipe you'll ever use again." Maybe. But I like variety. So probably not most of the time. However. This truly is the only cookie recipe I have used in at least 5 years. Because it is incredibly delicious, but also completely adaptable. So you can have your deliciousness and variety all at the same time. It's kind of like magic. I'll explain. . .

The basic recipe calls for 1 package of instant pudding and 1-2 cups of mix-ins. (Is your imagination dancing yet?) The recipe I use most often includes vanilla pudding plus 1 cup white chocolate chips and 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. But let me help you get your brain excited. What about cheesecake pudding plus dried blueberries and white chocolate chips? Or chocolate pudding plus milk chocolate and peanut butter chips? Truly, the possibilities are endless! (And I haven't even mentioned my favorites yet. I'll tell you about those in more detail later. ;-)

But you get the idea. And here's a tip. These work so well for freezing the batter in individual scoops so that you can bake 1 or 2 or 6 at a time rather than the entire batch all at once. This is especially helpful if you like variety. Make a different recipe each week in the month or two leading up to an event or a houseful of company, and then you can create a "sampler" platter in a matter of minutes. Just throw 3 each of 4 different kinds into the oven for 9-12 minutes. Your guests will be so impressed! 

Here is the basic recipe:

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 package instant pudding mix (vanilla)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened (NOT melted)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and pudding mix in small bowl. 

3. Beat butter, oil both sugars and vanilla in large mixer bowl until well combined.

4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Gradually beat in flour mixture in 3-4 batches, making sure dry ingredients are well-incorporated after each addition.

6. Stir in chocolate and white chocolate chips. (And I mean, maybe this is just me, but I'm guessing no one would be mad if you accidentally spilled a few extras in there.)

7*. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto parchment paper lined baking sheet or (my favorite) well-seasoned baking stone. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes until golden brown.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 2-3 minutes before attempting to remove from pan. 

*You can also spread the entire batch of batter evenly into a pan and bake 20-25 minutes for a delicious homemade cookie cake.

Almond Meringue Bark

Ok, I have a confession. I really wish that I could eat dessert after every single meal, or sometimes even instead of some meals. Not gonna lie about it. Specifically chocolate. Like all of the chocolate. Almost any kind of chocolate or even several different kinds all at the same time. I don't understand on any level the phrase "too chocolatey." There is no such thing. 

Sadly, I don't eat dessert with every meal (or even every day), because I'd rather not weigh 600 pounds, which I surely would if I ate as much chocolate as I wanted to. But simple, lighter recipes like this one help me satisfy my sweet tooth pretty often without wrecking a healthy eating plan. 

Almond Meringue Bark

Ingredients:

1/2 cup slivered almonds, divided (*pre-toasted if you prefer. See note below.)

1 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup coconut sugar

4 egg whites

pinch salt

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Add 1/4 cup almonds and 1 teaspoon coconut sugar to food processor or blender and process until consistency of cornmeal. Chop remaining almonds and set both aside.

3. In a separate bowl or in a stand mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Combine 1/4 cup coconut sugar and cocoa powder in small bowl and slowly add to egg white mixture a tablespoon or so at a time (while continuing to beat) until it reaches stiff peak stage. Do not overbeat.

4. Gently fold in almond meal until well-incorporated, being careful not to flatten the meringue.

5. Spread the mixture onto lined baking sheet in a thin layer and sprinkle chopped almonds and mini chocolate chips evenly over the top.

6. Bake for 1 hour. Then turn off oven (do not open) and allow meringue to dry for at least an additional hour as it cools.

7. Remove from oven once cooled and crisp, and break into pieces to serve.

*When I make this, I like to toast my almonds in a dry pan before processing/chopping because I like the added flavor, but this is completely optional. The recipe works fine either way.

It's also important to note that any level of moisture is a huge enemy of this recipe. It's best to bake it on a clear, dry day, and it's critical to store it in an airtight container. It will become chewy if it picks up too much moisture from the air. But if that does happen, don't throw it away. You can put it back in the oven at about 200 degrees for about 30 minutes (and then turn off oven while it cools and dries out again) to get it back to crispy. Just please don't serve it chewy or soggy. That would be such a sad day. ;-)

(Adapted from a recipe by Claire Robinson on 5-Ingredient Fix)