Keto Cowboy Cookies

Photo from All Day I
Dream About Food

Just about every recipe I make from All Day I Dream About Food is fantastic. Sometimes it's not the recipe, but me (insert egg recipes here). Her "sweet" recipes have all hit it out of the park for me. She focuses on low carb/keto recipes, which helps when you want something sweet, but need to watch your sugars. 

I started a new medication (Osempic) and one RARE side effect is an increase sweet tooth. Guess who got that rare side effect (**raises hand**)? So I've been struggling with not eating chocolate like it's got no sugar in it. I started the search for alternatives and the "sugar free" candies are ok, but not great. 

I saw this recipe a couple months ago and thought I'd give it a try. Finally yesterday, my sweet tooth demanded I make there. And boy am I glad I did. 

Almond flour is not my favorite. It usually has a too gritty texture that I don't enjoy. Almond Flour in a cookie seems to be different and edible. 

These are amazing! I had all the ingredients and so I made myself some cookies. Sherrie was over last night (she's gluten free) and said these were pretty good for low carb and gluten free.

One small secret...I didn't have sugar free chocolate chip cookies. So I used mini semisweet chips, and fewer than the recipe called for. So there is some sugar in this recipe, but not as much as you'd have if you made real chocolate chip cookies. 

You'll notice the recipe calls for gelatin to make the cookies more "chewy". I like a crunchy cookie, but I decided to see what the gelatin would do. And I gotta say, the cookies turned out crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside. 

Keto Cowboy Cookies

Recipe from All Day I Dream About Food

Makes 24

• ¾ cup butter softened
• 1 ¼ cup brown sugar substitute
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• 2 tablespoons grass-fed gelatin optional, adds chewiness
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips, sugar-free

In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium high. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.

Add the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until just mixed together. Stir in the coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips.

Form the dough into 2-inch balls and space at least 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with silicone or parchment paper. Press the balls down with the heel of your hand to about ¾ inch thick. These cookies will spread so give them room!

Bake at 325ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, switching the pans and rotating them halfway through. Let cool completely on the pans.

EXPERT TIPS

These keto cowboy cookies like to spread so make sure you give them plenty of room on the pans. If you prefer thicker cookies, try adding another ¼ cup of almond flour and don’t press them down too much.

The gelatin is entirely optional, but it does give the cookies that perfect chewy but crisp texture. The edges get crisp on the pan while the centers stay chewier.

This makes a big batch of big cookies! But you can easily cut the whole recipe in half for twelve large cookies. You can also make the cookies smaller, if you prefer.

Chocolate Protein Balls

On occasion I like to have a more sweet, healthy, snack on hand than a savory one. And I've been trying to use up items in my pantry. The only ingredient I didn't have was the Almond Butter. 

It's an easy recipe to throw together and is absolutely delicious! 

I cut this in half because 1) 30 balls are a lot and 2) I didn't have enough old fashion oats. I ended up with 15 balls exactly! And after tasting one I wish I would have made 30. 

My dough was a little dry, so I added a bit more almond butter. I didn't read the part of the recipe where it says to add more honey, but I think I got the same result. 

Chocolate Protein Balls

Recipe from Chelsea's Messy Apron

Makes 30 balls

• 1 1/2 c old fashioned or quick oats
• 1/2 c dry roasted and lightly salted almonds
• 1 1/2 T unsweetened Dutch Process cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 c  + 2 T  honey, separated
• 1/2 c almond butter
• 1/2 c miniature chocolate chips

BLEND OATS: In a high-powered blender or food processor, add the old fashioned or quick oats. Pulse or blend until it resembles flour. (You may need to stir it around to get all the oats to be fully blended). Add the blended up oats to a large bowl.

BLEND ALMONDS: Add the almonds to the processor or blender and pulse until they resemble a flour. Do not blend too long or it turns to almond butter. Add to the bowl with the ground up oats.

*The measurements of oats and almonds should be the measurements BEFORE blending, no need to measure after blending.

MIX: Add in the Dutch process cocoa powder, vanilla, 1/4 cup honey, almond butter, and miniature chocolate chips. Add pinch or two of salt if desired or if your almond butter/almonds aren't salted. Using electric hand mixers, mix ingredients together and then knead the mixture with your hands until a thick dough forms (kneading also helps incorporate chocolate chips better). If everything is not coming together nicely, add in remaining 2 tablespoons honey (I usually always add in this extra honey, but every once and a while the almond butter is exceptionally wet and extra honey isn't needed). IF dough is too wet, add additional powdered oats. (Dough will vary depending on actual ingredients used)

ROLL INTO BALLS: Roll mixture into balls, each ball of dough should be 2 teaspoons in size to get around 30 balls.

STORAGE: Store in an airtight container (in fridge, freezer --delicious!, or at room temperature.)

Chocolate Banana Muffins

So one day at the grocery store I bought some bananas. They were greenier than I like so I let them sit to ripen.

I blinked and then I had these bananas. 

I'm not a fan of bananas that are this ripe. Dad loved them this ripe. The browner the better. And as I'm watching my sugars these aren't the best to eat for that purpose. 

So naturally, I need to make banana bread. Which I know the logic is missing there, but what's a girl to do? I wasn't going to throw them out. And if I put them in the freezer I'd forget about them I'm sure. 

I didn't want to make my normal banana bread and thought this would be an opportunity to try a new recipe. 

I made three small changes to this recipe. 

1. I swapped the sugar out with allulose (low carb sugar)

2. I swapped the chocolate chips out for sugar free chocolate chips

3. I didn't have Greek yogurt so I used sour cream

All minor changes. These were good muffins. In all honesty, chocolate muffins are really chocolate cake to me. So they are more for after dinner treat than breakfast. 

I gave 4 away to Janet and Kathy and will freeze the rest and take them out as I want them.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Recipe from Love From the Oven

Makes 12

• 1/4 c butter softened
• 1/2 c vanilla Greek yogurt
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 1/3 c  all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour if desired
• 2/3 c dark cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 c milk
• 1/2 c chocolate chips semi-sweet recommended, but milk or dark chocolate also work well

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Puree, mix or blend bananas until smooth. Add in butter and yogurt and mix until well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Stir in sugar until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix white whole wheat flour, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add in milk and stir until just combined, do not overmix.

Scoop into a muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store loosely covered or in refrigerator.

Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'll be forever on the search of a low carb cookie that actually tastes like a real carb cookie. I should give up this search I think. 

These are just ok. I was worried they'd be too eggy (which is gross to me) but they didn't. They aren't crisp and, in fact, the author of the recipe says that they are supposed to be cakey. I like a crisp cookie for the most part. 

I used Lily's Dark Chocolate Low Carb chips. These are my favorite. They're spendy, but worth it. 

If you're looking for something sweet and want to keep it low sugar / low carb, this might be a treat for you. 

Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from The Big Man's World

Makes 12 cookies

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar I used a brown sugar substitute
• 1/3 cup butter salted and melted
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup chocolate chips of choice optional

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold through the chocolate chips.

Using your hands, form 12 small balls of dough and place on the lined sheet. Press each ball into a cookie shape and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges looks slightly golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 15 minutes, or until the cookies can be moved easily. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Just about every recipe I've tried from the blog "All Day I Dream About Food" has been exceptional and delicious. These donuts are no different. Baking low carb is hard for me. I'm not a fan of the texture Almond Flour usually leaves behind. By adding some Whey Protein powder into the recipe, it changes up the texture perfectly. 

I linked the brands I used to the ingredients below. These have been tested by me and the ones I find the most tolerable when eating low carb. None of them leave any sort of chemical after taste - which I find common in many low carb sugars for some reason. 

The peanut butter glaze is what makes these donuts. I made mine thinner than she did according to the photos on her blog, but I also like a glaze to be loose and run down the sides. More glaze than frosting. If you prefer frosting, don't make it as thin. 

The hardest part of this recipe was determining when they were done. Her instructions say "when they are firm". I find that quite ambiguous. So do like me and give it your best guess. Letting them sit in the pan helps them continue baking too in case you bring them out sooner than "they are firm". 

The number of donuts you get will differ on how thick you make them. I got 12 and I filled the donut tray up to about 3/4 of the way to the top. I wasn't sure how much they'd puff up so I went a bit conservative. 

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Recipe from All Day I Dream About Food

Makes up to 12

Donuts

• 1 ¾ cups almond flour
• 6 tablespoon Swerve Granular
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoon unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs room temperature
  
• 6 tablespoon butter melted
• ⅓ cup water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

• ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water to thin as needed
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts for decorating

Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 10 wells of a 12 well donut pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, water, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. If your batter is overly thick, add a little more water, a few teaspoons at a time. It should be scoopable but not pourable.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, filling the wells about three quarters full. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, or until set and firm to the touch.

Remove and let cool completely in the pan before flipping out onto a wire rack.

Glaze

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter on high in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, you can melt them carefully in a small saucepan over very low heat.

Whisk in the sweetener, whipping cream, and vanilla. If the glaze is very thick, whisk in the water a few teaspoons at a time until a dippable consistency is achieved.

Working quickly, dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the glaze and place on a baking rack to set. If the glaze thickens up too quickly, you also spread it onto the donuts.

Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and let set, about 20 minutes.

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Eating lower calorie and less sugar is easy for me for lunch and dinner. Breakfast, not so much. I need a lot of protein at breakfast and I'm not a fan of eggs. Therefore, I'm constantly looking for something different. 

I've made some Keto chocolate chip muffins before that were, dense, but delicious. They fit what I was looking for. 

I stumbled onto these on Ambitious Kitchen's blog and knew I had to try them. I whipped up a batch this morning and had one for lunch. Y'all, these are (also dense) but so dag-gum delicious. The banana and peanut butter together. Yummy! 

What I didn't do: I didn't put in mini chips, but swapped them out for sugar free chocolate chips. You really can't tell the difference. 

What I did do: 

• I added about a tablespoon sugar replacement (I use Swerve). I didn't have pure maple syrup but only the Wholesome Yum Sugar free maple syrup and I thought I might need some more sweet. It added exactly the right amount of sweet. 
• I also used sugar free peanut butter (Jiff) instead of what she has in her recipe.

Make these muffins. You won't regret it. I'm freezing some, handing some over to Janet and Sherrie and keeping a couple out for me for breakfast tomorrow.

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen

Makes 12

Wet ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium ripe bananas)
• ¾ cup (192g) natural creamy or crunchy drippy peanut butter (just peanuts and salt)
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup (78g) pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ tablespoon dairy free milk of choice (I like almond milk)

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup (92g) gluten free oat flour (you can make your own -- see the full blog psot)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup (60g) mini chocolate chips (dairy free, if desired, plus 2-3 tablespoons for sprinkling on top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Line a 12-cup muffin liner with muffin liners and spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray to prevent muffins from sticking to liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, eggs, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk of choice until smooth.

Next stir in the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Evenly divide batter into muffin liners.

Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Transfer muffins to wire rack to cool and enjoy! Makes 12 muffins.

Keto Chocolate Chip Muffins

In all the recipes I've tried that calls for Almond Flour, I've generally not been a fan. Especially bread of any type. I keep trying them though hoping that I'll stumble on a recipe that is good. 

I have found one! Yipee. 

This recipe is simple and delicious, even with almond flour. It's also the first time using sugar free chocolate chips. I had Hershey sugar free chips on hand, so that's what I used. I am amazed at how good they are. 

Overall, this one is going into the "favorites" list for this year. If you're looking to lower your sugar intake and maybe eat something low carb, I highly recommend these. 

A serving size is one muffin. 200 calories, 6.3 g carbs, 3 g fiber and 10 g protein. Not too shabby. 

Keto Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe from All Day I Dream About Food

Makes 12 muffins - maybe. I only got 10 out of this batch

• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 large eggs
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup Swerve Brown lightly packed
• 2 ½ cups almond flour
• ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder (can sub egg white protein)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp mini keto chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard metal muffin pan with 12 parchment paper liners. You can also use silicone liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add the sweetener and whisk until well combined, breaking up any clumps with the back of a fork.

Add the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and stir until well mixed. Stir in ⅓ cup of the chocolate chips

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffins cups and top each with a few more mini chips. Bake 18 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Remove and let cool in the pan.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe has been in my "Weekly" folder for a couple of weeks. I finally decided to make it to get it

out of that folder and into my belly. It'll make a lot so most of them will go into the freezer.

These cookies are tasty. There is a lot of texture going on in these cookies and I'm a fan of that. 

I wouldn't put in a cup of cocktail peanuts whole next time. I'd chop them up and put in maybe 1/2 a cup. The whole peanut makes it difficult to eat sometimes. If you can have difficulty eating a cookie.

These are reminiscent of Lone Ranger cookies which have all of this stuff minus the peanuts and add rice crispies, peanut butter and coconut. So it doesn't sound like they're similar, but I promise you they are.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe from The Mom 100

Makes 36 cookies

• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
• ½ c creamy peanut butter
• 1 c dark brown sugar
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla powder see Note
• 3 c old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¾ c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 c bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 c salted cocktail peanuts

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly spray two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown and white sugars until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scarping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat on low speed to just combine. Stir in the chips and the peanuts until they are evenly incorporated.

Place the batter in ¼ cup scoops on the prepared baking sheets. Press down into cookie shaped disks. I like to bake them one at a time, but if you want to bake both sheets at once, you might want to rotate them and switch the racks midway throughout the process. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until browned on the edges, then let them sit for one minute on the tray before transferring them to wire racks to cool. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Andes Mint Cake Mix Cookies (156 of 150)

I love Andes Mints. They're my favorite after dinner treat when you go out to restaurants. That said, mint can get overwhelming so the thought of making these cookies had me worried. 

First, you can find Andes mint pieces in the baking aisle now. This saved me from having to chop up the mints. I did cut mints in half for the top of the cookies. 

I didn't follow how they did the cookies with the mints underneath. I mixed the mint pieces into the dough and then plopped 1/2 of a mint on top after they came out of the oven.

Tonight is the Cookie Exchange Sunday dinner and I thought these would be perfect for that event. 

Andes Mint Cake Mix Cookies

Recipe from Dinners, Dishes and Desserts

Makes 24 cookies

1 (15.25 oz) box devil's food cake mix (just the dry mix)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 whole large eggs

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

40 Andes mint candies

Start by breaking 24 of the Andes mints in half, and then stack 1 half on top of the other. Chop the remaining mints into small pieces.

In a large bowl mix together cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips.

Scoop balls of dough and shape around the stacked Andes Mint candy. Place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are set. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Place the chopped mints onto the baked cookies. Let them cool completely and the chocolate to set up before storing.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Break 24 of the Andes mints in half. Stack 1 half on top of the other. Chop the remaining mints into small pieces.

In a large bowl mix together cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips.

Scoop balls of dough and shape around the Andes Mint candy. Place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are set. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Place the chopped mints onto the baked cookies. Let them cool completely and the chocolate to set up before storing.

Store in an air tight container

Crunchy Chocolate Peanut Butter Stacks (126 of 150)

Photo from Savory Sweet Life Blog

Tomorrow is book club and its my turn to bring a dessert. I usually like to find something different, but this time I just ran out of time. Traveling and this !@#$%^ cold made me lose time for planning. Instead I found this simple "recipe" - its simple and meets the number one criteria...its gluten free. 

I put "recipe" in quotes because it doesn't feel like a recipe with only three ingredients. I tossed in a tab of butter with this too. Not sure why, but it felt right. We'll see if they stand up now. 

Crunchy Chocolate Peanut Butter Stacks

Recipe from Savory Sweet Life

Makes 12

1 ½ c chocolate chips

½ c natural creamy peanut butter

3 c Corn Flakes cereal

Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat this until the chocolate chips are smooth. Add peanut butter and stir until well combined. 

Fold in Corn Flakes until the flakes are evenly coated. 

Drop the mix by the tablespoons on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 

Allow mounds to cool and harden in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Or if you're experiencing snow (like we are in Seattle) and your refrigerator is packed (like mine), stick them in your car.

Chocolate Keto Frosty Low Carb Shake (108 of 150)

Its still hot here in Seattle. I needed a treat that was cold and not full of calories. I realized that I didn't exactly follow the recipe when I made this. I'm not sure why, maybe I assumed. 

I mixed all the ingredients together in a Bullet blender. I find that helps break down the cocoa powder and the sugar so it's not gritty. 

After I zipped it, I put it in an ice cream maker. I bought a single server ice cream maker and it really does the trick. After running it for 20 minutes, the texture was like a frosty. 

I added a tablespoon of Kahlua to it too so it wouldn't freeze rock solid and gave it a little flavor.

Chocolate Keto Frosty Low Carb Shake

Recipe from Low Carb Yum

Serves 1

• 6 T heavy whipping cream
• 5 T unsweetened almond milk
• ⅛ tsp sugar-free vanilla extract
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp Truvia or 2 T equivalent sugar substitute

Start whipping cream with mixer until soft peaks form.

Slowly add remaining ingredients.

Continue beating until stiffer peaks form.

Put mixture in freezer.

After 20 minutes, remove from freezer and stir with fork to break up frozen areas around edges.

Keep checking mix every 20 minutes and stir until it’s cold enough and the right consistency.

No-Bake Nutella Oatmeal Cookies (92 of 150)

The Pantry Goat was over for dinner last week and she brought me this HUGE tub of Nutella. So, since I had so much Nutella I figured I'd make myself some cookies. 

Now, if you've been following along you know I'm trying to eat healthier and, well, cookies don't really fall into the healthy category - especially no bake cookies. So, to make this lower in carb, I swapped the 2 c sugar with 2 cups Swerve sugar.

I also didn't put spoonfuls on parchment paper. I put the whole kit and kaboodle in a lined 9x9 pan. Its quicker and easier.

No-Bake Nutella Oatmeal Cookies

All Recipes

Makes 24 cookies

• 2 c white sugar
• ½ c butter
• ½ c milk
• 4 T cocoa powder
• ½ c chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella®)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 c quick-cooking oats

Combine sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat until they are a smooth liquid. Bring to a rolling boil; continue to boil for at least 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate-hazelnut spread and vanilla extract until dissolved. Return the pot to the still-warm burner, or the lowest setting on gas stove, and add oats. Mix well.

Leave the pot on the warm burner while you drop cookies by heaping spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let set and serve.

Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle (Recipe 35 of 150)

Occasionally a recipe gets posted by a friend on FB and I think, "I must make that for book club." This is one of those recipes. The book club ladies love chocolate and I love feeding them chocolate. 

I made quite a few modifications to this recipe. Mostly because I'm a doof and didn't check my ingredient list enough and didn't have some of the items.

For starters, I didn't have Bailey's. I always have Bailey's and was sure I had some. But alas, no. So I figured I'd just use Kahlua. Which I also always have. But no, that was out too. Who am I? I ended up with used some random bottle of Cream de Cocao. Where I got that from is a mystery?

The second change I made is I swapped regular powdered sugar with low carb powdered Sugar (Swerve). I try to cut the carbs where I can. 

The final thing I changed is, we have a glute free book clubber and I couldn't find the GF Oreo's. I almost always find them when I need them so I was surprised when I couldn't. So instead I used some other GF chocolate wafer cookies. They worked well as a substitution. 

So with my changes, this dessert was quite delicious. 

Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle

Recipe from Spaceships and Laser Beams

Serves 4

Cheesecake

• 16 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup Bailey’s Irish Cream

Chocolate Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream chilled
• 2 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• Additional
• 20 Oreo cookies

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and sea salt together until combined. Add ¼ cup of Baileys and continue beating until smooth and fluffy.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until it doubles in volume and begins to thicken. Add in 2 tablespoons of Baileys, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Continue beating until the mixture has thickened and stiff peaks form.

Place the Oreo cookies into a gallon-size plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin to form small crumbles.

Place the cheesecake mixture into a piping bag and the whipped cream mixture into a second piping bag.

Beginning with the cookie crumbs, layer the cookie crumbs, cheesecake mixture, and whipped cream mixture into four lowball glasses. Repeat with a second layer of cookie crumbs and cheesecake mixture.

Put an open star piping tip (e.g., Tip #1M) on the whipped cream piping bag and pipe a swirl on the top of each glass. Sprinkle with a few remaining cookie crumbles and serve.

S'mores Cookies (Recipe 150 of 150)

Tomorrow is the December Sunday dinner. As is tradition, we are having a cookie exchange. I like to make a new cookie, and a cookie that is a little different. Enter S'more Cookies!

This is a fun cookie to make. It really is very simple. They smell amazing while they are cooking. I haven't tasted one yet because, well, there's only 12 for tomorrow's dinner. Though I suppose I should taste one just in case they're gross. Unlikely, but it seems like the right thing to do. 

Hold on.

Phew. Ok. They're DELICIOUS! The toasted marshmallows on the top really is what makes this cookie. So good. 

The only thing I did different is I didn't bother buying large marshmallows for the top. I figured the small ones would work just fine as well, and they did. When you put them in under the broiler DO NOT WALK AWAY. They go quick.

I just reread the recipe and realized I didn't put the honey in! They still taste great, but honeyless.

S'mores Cookies

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Makes 12 large cookies

• 1 c salted butter, melted
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c honey
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c graham crumbs
• 1 T kosher salt (yes one tablespoon)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 c milk chocolate chips
• 1 c mini marshmallows
• 2 milk chocolate bars
• 6 large marshmallows, halved

Mix the butter, sugar, honey, vanilla and egg in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, graham crumbs, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry mix to the wet mix and combine thoroughly using a spatula. Fold in the milk chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.

Using a 1/3-cup scoop, roll the mixture into 12 large balls. Place onto 2 parchment paper-lined sheet pans, spacing them evenly, and push a square of the milk chocolate bar into the top of each. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove the cookies and switch the oven to broil, letting it preheat for a couple minutes.

Add a halved marshmallow, cut side down, to the top of each cookie. Return to the oven and broil for 1 to 2 minutes to toast the marshmallow toppings. Remove and let cool slightly before enjoying.

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins (Recipe 125 of 150)

I have a ton of muffin recipes. I like muffins, but usually the recipes make too many and I get bored with them before they're gone. 

Today's recipe says it makes 20. I only made 12. No ONE needs 20 double chocolate muffins in their house. My plan is to freeze them, then take them out as I want them. 

I made one mistake with this recipe. I missed putting in the baking soda. I thought 2 tsp baking powder was a lot with no soda, but just missed seeing the soda. They seem fine. A little dense, but tastes fine. 

I almost didn't add the cinnamon because I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon. I only added half of what the recipe calls for and I wish I hadn't included it at all. 

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

Recipe from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

Makes 20

MUFFINS

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 c brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 c sour cream
• 2/3 c milk
• 1 c mini chocolate chips

CHEESECAKE LAYER

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 large egg

TOPPING

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

TO MAKE THE MUFFINS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside

Beat brown sugar and butter together until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and sour cream. Beat until smooth.

Slowly add the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixer, alternating between the two.

Fold in chocolate chips. Set aside

TO MAKE THE CHEESECAKE LAYER

Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth.

Add egg and beat until fully incorporated. Do not over mix.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Place a spoonful of the muffin batter into the bottom of each liner. Top with cheesecake layer. Top with the remaining batter.

Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until a tester comes out mostly clean.

Remove from oven and let cook for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Tops (Recipe of 46 of 150)

They look like cookies, but I swear
they are muffin tops.

Banana bread is one of my favorite breads. I don't make it too often because I will eat the entire loaf. And that is never good. I have a favorite banana bread recipe from my sister-in-law in St. Louis. She gave it to me a thousand years ago and the best bread pan every. She swore if I used that pan and her recipe I'd never over cook or under cook a banana bread recipe. She was not wrong. 

This recipe is good. It would be better without the chocolate chips, or maybe fewer of them. The chocolate chip ratio to banana bread is too high, IMHO. 

I bought a muffin top pan when I saw this recipe, or one like it, and I gotta say, I'm hooked. I really only like the top of muffins so this was perfect for me. I should have cooked them a little longer, but whatever, they're still good. 

I'd make this recipe again, but without the chocolate chips. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Tops
Recipe from Kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com

Makes 12 muffin tops

• ½ c butter softened
• ½ c granulated sugar
• ½ c light brown sugar packed
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ c buttermilk room temperature
• 1⅓ c mashed bananas very ripe
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ⅔ c mini chocolate chips either milk or semi-sweet

Preheat the oven to 350°

Spray your muffin top pans or cookie sheet with a non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium-size mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and creamy.

Mix in the eggs, bananas, vanilla extract, and buttermilk until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir by hand until thoroughly combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin top cups ¾ full. (if using a cookie sheet, drop 1-2 tablespoonfuls of batter, depending on the size you want, to make each top.)

Bake on the center rack of the oven for approx. 15-minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin top comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for 10-minutes, then place pans on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Bailey's Peanut Butter Cuppa Coffee

As 2020 winds down I decided to double, triple check that all the recipes I've tried this year are on the
blog.  I have a much bigger project to make sure all the recipes are on this blog, but that's another story for another day. 

I found that this recipe hadn't been added. I likely forgot it because it was Thanksgiving and I was focused on food. We made this for the Apple Cup that never was. Thanks to COVID the Apple Cup was cancelled. We still got together and we still ate and we still drank. 

This takes a little prep and is SUPER Sweet. I did not add the amount of alcohol it asked for, seemed like not enough, so I doubled it. 

Bailey's Peanut Butter Cuppa Coffee
Recipe from Bailey's

You can find the recipe here.

Serves 2

• 1 3/4 ounces Baileys Original Irish Cream
• 1 cup hot coffee
• 1 cup hot milk
• 8 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped and melted
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• Whipped cream, for garnish
• Shaved chocolate, for garnish
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, for garnish

Combine Baileys Original Irish Cream, hot coffee, hot milk, 8 melted peanut butter cups and peanut butter in a blender.

Blend until combined.

Pour into mugs and garnish with whipped cream, shaved chocolate and whole peanut butter cups.

This recipe will serve 2 and contains no more than 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol per serving. If you choose to make your own drinks, Pour Vous! can supply the main ingredients. However, if you prefer to have your drink made to order, stop into Safari’s Brick Oven and Grill and ask for a Baileys Peanut Butter Cuppa’ Coffee.

Easy Double Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Photo from
SweetCdesigns

Lesson 1 of cooking...read the instructions BEFORE you get started. I did not for this recipe. I assumed it was just like every other muffin, cookie, cake recipe I've ever made. Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Mix dry and wet together...voila. 

Well, let's hope they turn out ok cuz I did not follow these instructions. In fact, reading them now they are a bit confusing. 

Further, I neglected to read the baking instructions. I popped them in at 425 for 6 minutes and they weren't done. So I put another 6 minute timer. THEN I read the instructions. Ugh.

I also did not refrigerate the batter...oh boy...these are going to be interesting.

Easy Double Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Recipe from SweetCDesigns

Makes 6

• 2 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c cocoa powder
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 extra large eggs
• 8 T unsalted butter melted
• 1 c plain yogurt or buttermilk (JW: I used buttermilk)
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Toss the chocolate chunks into the dry ingredients to coat the chocolate chunks in flour (which will help them not sink to the bottom of the mix when baking!)

Make a well in the middle and add in eggs and vanilla, whisking vigorously.

Using a large spoon, mix rest of ingredients in to muffins until large clumps are gone and batter is consistently mixed - but do not overwork muffin batter.

Cover batter and refrigerate for one hour to overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full.

Bake at 425 for 6-10 minutes, until muffins have puffed slightly above muffin liner.

Reduce heat to 350 (DONT open oven when you do this) and bake until sides of muffins are slightly crunchy and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (after about 25-30 minutes total baking time.)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream

I've had a hankering for ice cream lately and I slightly over did ice cream this last week. I still want something ice creamy but not so heavy. 

This was a rich, but not overly sweet delicious (n)ice cream. Make this dessert. You won't be disappointed. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream

Recipe from Wholesum Yum

Serving size 1/2 c

1 13.5-oz can Coconut milk (full-fat)

1/2 c Peanut butter (creamy, no sugar added)

1/3 c Coconut oil (measured solid, then melted)

1/4 c Cocoa powder

1/2 c Powdered allulose (or any powdered sweetener*)

1 pinch Sea salt (optional - to taste)

Puree all ingredients in a powerful blender or food processor, until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2 or 2 quart (2 liter) glass freezer safe container. Cover and freeze for 30 minutes, then stir well, especially stirring away from the sides into the center. Cover and freeze for 30 more minutes and stir again. Cover and freeze for 2-3 more hours, until firm.

Chocolate peanut butter nice cream is the best consistency after freezing for 3-4 hours. If storing for longer, simply thaw on the counter for about an hour to soften before eating.

Salted Chocolate Cookies

I am not a sweet person...as in I don't crave sweets. Though recently I've felt the need to bake. Which is at complete odds with my lack of cravings for sweets. 

These are tasty - the salt adds such a nice balance to the sweet.

I didn't make them as big as the recipe so I ended up with 18, not 12.

Salted Chocolate Cookies

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Makes 12

nonstick cooking spray

1 c all-purpose flour

Photo from AllRecipes.com

¼ c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

½ c butter, cut into chunks

¾ c semisweet chocolate chips

⅔ c brown sugar

½ c white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 T sea salt, or as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt in a bowl.

Place butter in a saucepan over low heat and cook until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Remove from the heat.

Combine brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Pour a small amount of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and stir until well combined. Slowly add remaining chocolate mixture, stirring constantly so the eggs don't curdle. Fold in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Drop 6 large scoops of batter about 2 inches apart onto each of the prepared baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven until cookies have spread and flattened to a diameter of 4 1/2 inches or larger, and the tops are crinkled and puffed, 12 to 14 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt.

Place baking sheets on a wire rack and cool for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove cookies with a spatula onto serving platter.