Parsnip Snickerdoodles

After spending a good few hours driving around to different stores with the mr looking at all sorts of appliances mostly stove, all I wanted to do was bash my head against a dish washer. But then I would have to choose one to bash against and I can't seem to do that.  Agh, I hate shopping, especially for something that I really need and cost a lot of money and I don't want to screw up.

It's all about the stove, the main tool in the kitchen. I want it to be awesome, pretty, super functional. It needs to be able to not break (I break ovens) when I crank the heat way up. I don't want or need anything fancy like infer red censors or a led touch pad(that is just more things for me to break), I just want a simple, easy to clean, power house that will do my bidding and not look like shit. Oh, and not be a million bucks.  And that there lies the problem. Those un-fussy powerful ovens are the super duper expensive ones. Yup. I am all over the place with this and it's got me overwhelmed. To top it all of, there is a deadline. The stove needs to bought and in the house but the end of next week.

What I am hoping for now is that appliance fairy from the super duper expensive oven store comes by my house and drops me a stove for the reason none other then I want it. Mahaha. Dreams.

When the shopping trip ended the mr dropped me off at home to do a few things while he went back to the house and painted trim. My plan was to sort through bills, research ovens some more( so much researching) and clean the car(its stinks). As soon as I walked into the house I realized something. I haven't been home at this time in like a month. There is sunlight, I can open the door cause it's warm out, and I just didn't really give a crap about doing anything. I took a look around my tiny loft and with my tiny kitchen and tiny oven. My tiny oven, no fancy, no gadgets, not even very powerful, but has baked and roasted and boiled so so many things. That's when I decided that I wasn't going to do anything that I came home to do, I was just going to bake something, spend a little more time in my tiny, one wall kitchen. And so that's what I did. Parsnip snickerdoodles. The idea popped into my head a few weeks back and I just so happened to have a few parsnips left in the fridge (I was saving them for my dinner but I figured the mr deserved cookies), so there really was no question. I was making cookies. After the past few weeks I think we all need to bake some mother F-ing cookies.

Cookies came out fantastic, the house smelled amazing, and I got to just chill for a bit, not thinking about new ovens or bills or money, just watching the cookies bake. It was nice.

The stuff. Gonna need a parsnip or two along with some flour, sugar, coconut oil, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, cream of tarter, and cinnamon.

First thing is to soften the parsnip. Chop it up and place into a pot with about and inch of water and steam until fork tender. Once done, toss into a food processor to puree it all up.

Parsnip puree for the cookies ans enough left over for a quick snack.

The measured puree goes back into processor with sugar, vanilla, and coconut oi and get pulsed all together until combined.

Then the rest of the dry ingredients go in.

Pulsed until a nice dough forms.

A ball of cookie dough awaiting a cinnamon sugar bath.

Make little balls of dough them coat them in the cinnamon sugar and place on a cookie sheet.

I give the cookies each a little squish with my fingers cause thy are not going to spread much.

And into the oven they go.

Minutes later and out they come.  Cinnamon sugar Parsnip goodness.

Nothing beats not doing the things that need to be done them baking a pile of cookies.

-C

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Parsnip Snickerdoodles

makes 2 dozen

• 1 large or 2 small parsnips (1/2 cup pureed parsnip )
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Grab parsnips, chop into chunks andtoss into a pot with about an inch of water. Stick on stove on high until water boils then down to a simmer with a lid on pot until the parsnip chunks are fork tender.

Dump cooked parsnips into food processor and blend until smooth. Scoop out puree, measure a 1/2 cup (any extra is a snack) and add it back to processor. Add in coconut oil, sugar and vanilla and pulse until combined. Add in the cream of tarter, baking soda, salt, and flour and pulse it all together until a a dough forms. Dump dough onto counter and bring together.

Preheat oven to 350.

iI a small bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon. Take small lumps of the dough and roll into balls. Roll the balls all up in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place onto a baking sheet with a little space between them. With your hand or a fork if you want,  smoosh the cookie somewhat flat. When the sheet is full, place into oven to bake. Cookie should take about 9-10 minutes or until slightly rised and the bottom is a light golden brown.

Remove cookie from oven, place on a rack to cool, then you know, eat them.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

One of the mr's little brothers really likes peanut butter cookies. He is always asking me to make them for him so this past weekend, for his 24h birthday, I did just that. Peanut butter chocolate chip birthday cookies,  Just for him. (I know, I am the best)

After rushing home the evening before to make this awesome cookies for the boy, I waited until a decent time the next day and I shot him a text.. "Happy Birthday! Where are you?, I want to bring you cookies!". That was at noon. I get a text back around 3... "just woke up, I'll come get them later." (Sleeping until 3pm.. that must have been a crazy ass birthday morning!)

Well guess what. That little shit didn't come get the cookie that I made all special like for him so now the mr has slowly been picking them off. And the mr. says that these cookies are like magic. That they are so freaking good, probably the best peanut butter cookie he has ever had.  (he doesn't usually say things like that about cookies so the really must be amazing)

So if you are reading this Qui.. you have a a few magic cookies left...but I can't promise anything after tonight.  The sister is coming over for dinner and I'll just give them to her for dessert..........

The stuff. Rolled oats, peanut butter, brown sugar, sea salt and chocolate chips. Also a bit of baking soda, some vanilla extract and a bit of water.  You need no flour, eggs or butter, these cookies are all about simple goodness.

Notes. Chunky or smooth peanut butter is cool here and you can use natural or skippy.. the skippy cookie will just be a bit sweeter. And the sea salt. If you don't have sea salt, add a teaspoon of table salt to the cookie batter. The sea salt is for the tops of the cookies and you should NOT use table salt for that.

Start by sticking the oats into a food processor and blending until your oats become oat flour.

Then dump everything else in (water first), EXCEPT the chocolate chips.

And pulse until it all comes together into a yummy peanut butter cookie dough.

Dump the dough into a bowl and now mix in the chocolate chip.  Once you do that, stop eating the dough and stick the bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to slightly chill.... 

After the bout in the fridge, grab your dough and scoop out like sized balls of dough and place them on baking sheet. Give each ball a smoosh (use a fork or your fingers) and sprinkle the tops with a small little pinch of sea salt (again, if you don't have sea salt, so not use table salt... just skip this)

And into the oven they go...

Only until slightly golden brown and just starting to look almost done..... that's when they are done (about 8 minutes)

Let the cookies cool for a minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to finish.

Super awesome and super duper duper good. Made with love and good intentions for a little shit... but left to be eaten by others

But really these are so easy and fast to make. I'll probably just end up making the boy a new batch. (again, so nice)

Have a super duper day!

-C

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

Make about a dozen

• 1 cup old fashion oats
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 heaping cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 ish cup chocolate chips/chunks (the tiny chips work the best)
• flaked sea salt (optional)

Note. Flaked sea salt is a perfect finish for the cookie but if you don't have it or don't want to use it, add a teaspoon of table salt to the cookie batter but don't sprinkle the tops with it.

Place oats in food processor ans blend until it turns into flour. Add in water, pulse, then add in the rest, EXCEPT the chocolate chip.  Pulse until a dough forms. Dump the dough into a bowl and now mix in the chocolate chips.

Stick the dough in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes.... In the mean time, do the dishes and a little cookie dance.

Preheat oven to 350.

With a scoop or spoon. scoop out your preferred sized cookies onto a baking sheet. Give each cookie ball a little smoosh with either a fork for a pattern or just your fingers. Sprinkle each smooshed cookie with a pinch of sea salt.

Stick the cookies in oven and bake for 8-9 minutes, until just barely golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool for a minutes then remove from sheet to cool on a wire rack.

Place a cookie or two on a plate, stash the rest away (or else you will eat them all) grab a nice cold glass of some milk situation or a pipping hot cup of coffee and sit down with a good book or even a smutty magazine (no judgment here), read, eat cookies and be happy.

Enjoy!

Lemon Strawberry Jam Cookies

My little twin brothers birthday was yesterday, and when I say little, I mean younger, cause these dudes are not small and 18 isn't little. But really, all I can think is "What the F**K. When did that happen?"  It seems like just yesterday that I was baby sitting these kids, watching Rugrats and Toy Story on loop. Playing with mr. lemon head, blowing bubbles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. All the boxes of mac ans cheese, cups of chocolate with a little milk and the fruitthat needed to be cut up in order for them to eat it. They were so cute and sweet and they loved their big sister (me) so much Now when I see them, if they decided to come out of their rooms,  they talk about which colleges they want to go to, their jobs, girls (if I pry) and things that I have no need to listen to (sports, video games, stuff boys walk about). And because they are bigger then me, I usually get roughed up a little when ever I see them.(I kind of deserve it cause when they were babied I dropped them each at least once) They are pretty much all grown up, although they still drink too much chocolate milk, still like their fruit pre-cut, and I think that they still secretly watch Toy Story on loop.

Never to old for Toy Story.

The cookies were made for their birthday. I was going to make a cake, but my mom was on that with 2 ice cream cakes and another regular one(just in case two was not enough) and I was not about to do a cake to compete with boxed ice cream cakes from the grocery store. I know my family, they liked their carnival ice cream cakes.  But one of the twins asked me to make him a special dessert, something with lemon. So I made him these here lemon cookies and I added strawberry jam because I wanted to and it felt right. Look at me being the best sister.

But just because it's not your birthday you can still have these cookies. It's citrus season so everything should be citrusy and bright and it's just the right amount of time between Christmas cookies and now so you can make these cookies no problem. Just don't eat them all at once.

The stuff. Flour, baking powder and soda, and a little salt. Then earth balance, a chia egg, vanilla, turbinado sugar, a lemon and some strawberry jam.

Sugar, earth balance, vanilla, and the chia egg go into the bowl.

And cream it all together.

Then the dry ingredients get mix together into a bowl with the zest of the lemon then dumped into the wet with the juice of the lemon.

Mix together until a stiff, but soft dough forms.

Roll dough into little balls and with an object of your choosing (I used a chop stick) squish the cookies down a bit in a starburst like pattern then push the center of each cookie in a bit to create a little well for the jam to go.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet and fill the centers with jam and into the oven they go!

And after a good few minutes in the oven, remove from baking sheet and set to cool for a least a minute (never eat super hot jam.. you will be sorry)

And there you have it, Happy Birthday Cookies! Or just cookies, but happy cookies non the less!

Have a great weekend!

-C

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Lemon Strawberry Jam Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup turbinado sugar

• 1/2 cup room temperature vegan butter

• 1 large lemon (zest and about 3 tablespoons of juice)

• 1 chia egg (1 tablespoon ground chia seeds and 3 tablespoons water)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• about a 1/3 cup of strawberry jam (or any flavor you want)

In a large bowl, cream together the earth balance, sugar, vanilla and chia egg. In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt and the zest of the lemon. Dump the dry into wet and mix together along with about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice until a dough forms.

preheat oven to 350

Roll dough into little palm sized balls then give them a little squish to slightly flatten them. With a chop stick or fork, press lines around the center of the cookie then take your finger and push in the center a little to create a small well.  Place cookies on a baking sheet and fill each well with about 1/2 teaspoon jam. Place in oven and bake for about 10until the cookies have puffed up a little and the jam has spread. Remove one from sheet ans if the bottom is golden brown, then they are done. (The tops do not brown much) They may seem a little under baked, but once they cool, they will be perfect.  Remove the rest from baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

Eat cookies.