Monday, July 24, 2017

Cookies for One...or Two

Jan here. Last week I mentioned how our family has changed. Within eight months, two of our four children got married and another one moved out of the house. With only one of the children living at home (working full time and school full time...he doesn't have a chance to move out!) we are almost empty nesters.

One advantage of this stage of life? We get
to visit our favorite places without working
around multiple schedules. :)

So I've been looking for some single-serving recipes. But the problem? I'm trying to stick to the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating (alternating higher carb and higher fat meals), but hubby loves his carbs and fats all mixed together. Preferably in things like pies and cookies.

The solution? I'm taking some of our favorite recipes, or some of my favorite THM recipes, and turning them around to make both of us happy.

This week I tried these "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" cookies. These are huge, and satisfying for either a snack or a dessert. Or breakfast. They're great for breakfast!

Each of these recipes makes one cookie, because when there are only two/three of us, we really don't need four dozen cookies hanging around!

Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Single Serve Cookies


Normal recipe:

ingredients:

1 egg
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
pinch baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

And now is where it gets fun - choose 3 - 4 Tablespoons of your favorite mix-ins:

mini chocolate chips
flaked coconut
oatmeal
hulled hemp seeds
chopped nuts
raisins or dried cranberries
etc. - use your imagination!


Low-Carb recipe (basically the same as the normal recipe, but with low-carb ingredients):
By the way, this version is also gluten-free.

ingredients:

1 egg
1/4 cup Trim Healthy Mama baking blend or substitute (check Pinterest for recipes)
1 Tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter
2 teaspoons Trim Healthy Mama Super Sweet, or 3 envelopes Truvia
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
pinch baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 - 4 Tablespoons mix-ins - if using chocolate chips, choose a stevia-sweetened brand like Lily's. If using coconut flakes, choose a kind that's unsweetened.




For our cookies, I added chocolate chips and coconut flakes. I should have added more! 

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, then transfer the batter to a baking sheet.



Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes.



The normal ingredient cookie on the right was soft and cake-like. After trying this cookie, my husband said that I should have added oatmeal. :)

The low-carb version on the left was delicious. Not as light as the normal version, but still yummy. 

I'll keep experimenting as we go, but I'm encouraged by the results so far. Who says being empty-nesters has to be boring?

In other news, "An Amish Courtship" releases next week!

You can pre-order here!






Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com






15 comments:

  1. Congrats on your historical release! I still haven't read an Amish book. Now is the time!

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    1. Gasp! You haven't read an Amish book...not one? I'm gobsmacked!!!!

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    2. LOL! That's fair, Mary Jane. I still can't get all the way through Pride and Prejudice! But I do enjoy your books :)

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    3. It just never appealed to me! But I really do need to branch out in my reading. I read my first contemporary Western when I read Ruthy's Home on the Range, so it would be fitting if Jan's book is my first Amish!

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  2. The cookie on the left really does look like it could pass for breakfast!

    I don't know why I always thought you had 3 children, Jan. I must have missed one son in there somewhere. So 3 sons and a daughter?

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    1. Yes, that THM version is so similar to the muffins I make for my breakfasts - and so filling - that I'm putting it on my breakfast ideas list!

      And yes, four children. So thankful for all of them. :)

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    2. Okay, that's funny because for the longest time I thought 3 too, Cate... SO WHO HAS SHE BEEN HIDING ALL THIS TIME?

      Inquiring minds want to know!

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    3. I've remembered that because I remembered she has LOTS of kids, only not as many as Ruthy or Virginia! LOL

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  3. Love the idea of a breakfast cookie! My daughter is always looking for healthy on the go breakfast recipes. She prefers an extra fifteen minutes of sleep to making hot oatmeal in the morning. Kids! But with a few tweaks to accommodate her allergies this would work really well. Sesame butter instead of peanut butter...egg replacer instead of egg and she can go to town on all the extras. Thanks Jan!

    Loved An Amish Courtship -- congrats on its release.

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    Replies
    1. This would be a great on-the-go breakfast, and she can make it the night before! Grab and go!

      And I'm glad you enjoyed Samuel and Mary's story. It was fun to delve into Samuel's character after he was an almost-antagonist in The Prodigal Son Returns.

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  4. Jan, the one on the left looks more up my alley--chunky and maybe crunchy. Looks so good! I love the idea of a single serve recipe. Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I liked the one on the left, too...at least when I was planning to eat healthy. I tried a small bite of the other one - it was like eating a cupcake! So if you're not concerned about extra carbs, that's the one to go for!

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  5. My husband lost tons of weight on THM, but I wasn't as successful. Am considering trying it again--and that cookie looks a good incentive to me! Love the idea of a cookie for breakfast! :)

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    1. Hi Laurel!

      I haven't lost a lot of weight on THM, either, but I feel much healthier, and that's a big incentive for me to continue.

      And that cookie is calling me...it's almost snack time!

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  6. I am so impressed by both cookies. And look at the difference! Recipes are such an amazing science, Jan!

    I will admit that cookies are one of the things I (bends closer and whispers softly....) can't mess with.

    They are too special.

    Too amazing.

    They make me happy.

    Like REALLY happy, like when the farm is flooding and an editor doesn't recognize my genius and a little kid is sick or sad and the dog ate the chicken bones out of the garbage that the farmer forgot to take out (even when asked about 17 times. Exaggeration? Hmmm.... Most likely not. ;)

    Cookies and God are my go-to mainstay.

    I can't change them.

    I can't give them up.

    I just LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

    It is possible that I need an intervention, my friend. ;)

    But on the other hand, it has been so busy here this summer, building and annoying people and working, that we're balancing love of cookies with increased outdoor activity. (That means work... in case you didn't read between the lines.)

    I do love add-ins to cookies, though, and coconut is sounding mighty good right now, my friend. Mighty good!!!!

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