Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Brownies

These brownies are delicious. And they're not just delicious in a, "they're delicious for a healthy dessert" kind of way, but just in a, "they're tasty yum yum" kind of way. They happen to be gluten-free, dairy free, low in sugar (they're mostly sweetened with honey), and low in fat (and that fat comes from eggs and good for you almond butter!) And-bonus-they don't even have any weird ingredients. In fact, if you don't have almond butter you can just use peanut butter or any other kind of nut butter. EASY!

I seriously almost don't even know why I would make regular brownies because these are THAT good. Like...super chocolatey and gooey and soft. They're not bitter. They're not gummy. They're not lacking in sweetness. The only real difference you can notice is that you can taste honey (although Michael said he didn't taste it, so I might just be more sensitive to it?)--but when warmed up you can barely detect the honey either!

The almond butter lends the fat (but in a healthy fat kind of way) and structure to the brownies and helps them taste rich and decadent (you barely taste it, almond butter has a subtle flavor-it just helps these be fantastic), honey and just a little bit of brown sugar sweeten them, and unsweetened cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips make them oh so chocolatey without all the sugar but with all the antioxidant goodness and tastiness!

Game changer-that's what these brownies are.

Healthy Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I need sweets in my life. NEED 'EM! So, I'm trying to make some healthier dessert recipes to satisfy my sweet tooth but keep me on the wedding diet bandwagon. This recipe is the new year's first endeavor.

First let me tell you a depressing tale: I made these cookies. I went to take them out of the oven. I slipped. Half the cookies slid onto the oven door. Kayle held back tears and salvaged the crumbled cookies (after safely putting the intact cookies out of harm's way). So....ya know...try not to be clumsy like me. 

Seriously. I am SO clumsy. Like, growing up, I used to routinely run into the walls of my house (which I'd lived in my entire life). My mom used to joke about it and I'd tell her "the walls move!", but it was so commonplace that I had to holler everytime I'd bump into something or trip, etc., "I'M OK!" to reassure my mom. Because...yeah. It happened a lot. And nothing has changed. I routinely have bruises and random little cuts (and occasional big ones-still remember when I got stitches from trying to make a sandwich a little while back?). And, a couple months ago, I fell down the stairs. It was a dumb case of "oops, missed the step!" and then I landed on my toe and the stupid thing is STILL NOT HEALED. Like...it's not broken (I had it x-rayed) and I've been buddy-toe'ing it and just when it was seeming like it was about to get better, a couple weeks ago it got bad again. Out of nowhere. I didn't even hit it! So I'm frustrated about it. And my clumsiness. And none of this has anything to do with cookies except that they make me feel better. 

--and for the record, since writing that....it now isn't hurting anymore. I think I may have developed one of those things that hurts when the weather is bad....oh man...I'm old.

SO! Cookies!

There are a few things that make them healthier:

1. Oat flour (instead of all purpose flour)--oats are gluten-free (usually), contain fewer carbs than wheat flour and have more protein and fiber! Which is great-and it's super easy to make. Just grind some oats until it has a flour consistency. TA DAAA!
2. Very minimal sugar (especially compared to regular cookies).
3. No butter-so these are dairy free and low-fat. Coconut oil is used as the healthier fat option for this recipe.
4. Dark chocolate chips for antioxidants! And...because it makes life worth living :)

The end result is a slightly nutty, definitely coconut-y, kind of oatmeal cookie textured, slightly crumbly, chewy, yummy cookie! And you can eat them for breakfast. Which I think we all agree is the dream.

Healthier No Bake Cookies

 Low fat.

No added sugar.

Gluten free*.

These are not words I would normally associate with tasty, delicious, no-bake cookies.

But all of that has changed!

*gluten free if you use gluten free oats.

No-bake cookies have a special place in my heart from my childhood. I loooved 'em. Still do!

And really, you'd think...how unhealthy can they possibly be? It's just like chocolate, pb, and oats, right?

Um...I guess not?

It's ok all, THESE no bakes are pretty much just chocolate, pb and oats (and like...honey, a smidge of coconut oil, and vanilla. All pretty good stuff!)

You may notice that my cookies don't seem super coated: I've made an adjustment for that in the recipe. I had too many oats apparently. It's ok though, they were still super delish. A bit crumbly, but still full of that familiar chocolatey peanutbuttery flavor. 

Plus-they're an awesome way to avoid turning on the oven in the hot summer weather! Wins all around!

Grab a glass of milk and dig in!

Peanut Butter Oat Balls

I have an irrational fear (ok...I have many. But today we're just discussing one).

I am terrified of having a child with a peanut (or any nut) allergy. Because...um...would I have to give up peanut butter? I CAN'T DO IT GUYS! I CAN'T! I don't even know what I would feed my childrens. So...this is a very real fear that I think about a lot (because I'm neurotic.) And it's so sad because some kids can't even be NEAR peanuts. And it's like...how can they go out in the world? In Disney World, my brother and I were snacking on some peanuts before Fantasmic! when a mother asked us to please stop eating them because her son (who was in line near us) is allergic. Apparently she had an Epipen just in case but...still. Like....she has to try to make sure no one eats peanuts around her kid. That is rough. So..I'm scared.

(and I hope no one with nut allergies or children with nut allergies take offense to this, I'm merely recognizing the challenges I imagine you must face)

Anyway. Currently, there's nothing in my life impeding me from my beloved peanut butter. Which is good because...not only is it gosh darn delicious, it's pretty darned healthy (if you use the right kind any way). So with the assistance of that magical spread, you can make healthy little treats that taste like cookies or candy.

My kind of healthy eating.

This recipe is SO. GOOD! The perfect breakfast or snack: they're bite sized, chewy, full of filling fiberlicious things like oats and flaxseed, and they have tasty chocolate and peanut butter. WIN. They're miraculous little bites. You can take them on the go for an easy breakfast or quick treat. BUT WAIT-there's more!

It takes like....10 minutes to make these yummy little balls of goodness. And there's no baking. You just mix em up, roll them into balls, and eat or store them! THE END. It doesn't get any simpler. So. You're smart people. You're probably going to go make these now, yes?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oat Muffins {HEALTHY}

Muffins get kind of a bum rap in the breakfast world.

Not that people don't love em...oh no...people LOVE muffins. But everyone says they're not healthy, it's cake for breakfast, sugar, carbs, blah blah blahhhhhh. Well, worry no more my friends! You can eat THESE muffins and not have your annoying best friend who's going to grad school for nutrition and food science giving you a hard time about it (wait...is that just me?). REGARDLESS-muffins. Healthified. Oh yeah.

These muffins taste healthy. But like...in a good way. In a hearty, filling, makes you feel good about yourself kind of way. There are oats, whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, peanut butter....and....well....ok....chocolate chips. BUT you can omit them if you really want. But like...dark chocolate is an antioxidant. And really, there are NOT a lot of choc chips in this recipe.

Really. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Scout's honor.* (I really was a Girl Scout so you know that's legit.)

The only problem I have when I make muffins is....there's 12. For just me and Michael. And we can each really only eat like 1 a day soooo it's a smidge difficult. But no worries, these beautiful muffins did not go to waste-I gave a few to the parents of a little girl I babysit, and Michael and I managed to finish off the rest. :D

Of course you can always freeze leftover muffins. Or, if you have a big family, do not worry because these will get gobbled up before you know it! Perfect for breakfast or a nice healthy snack!

Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

I don't know about you but I'm a BIG supporter of cookies for breakfast. Oh yeah. However-in general I really try not to eat sweets in the morning. It seems like the first thing you eat for the day is somehow the most important?

That's the beauty of BREAKFAST COOKIES. They're meant for breakfast, and are totally healthy-ish so no need for the guilt and worry :P.

And, there's another bonus to breakfast cookies (for me anyway):

I don't feel like I need another sweet/dessert. That's good for my day. So...ya know...woot.

These breakfast cookies are PERFECT! Full of peanut butter flavor, they also have oats, whole wheat flour, flaxseed meal, AND they're made with coconut oil-not butter! If you wanna be uber healthy you can omit the chocolate chips. Buuuut....whyy? Why omit the delish chocolate chips? I certainly could not do it.

So, make these, and enjoy the most important meal of the day :D

Peanut Butter Coconut Flour Pancakes (Edward & Sons Review)

Names. 

What is in a name? 

They're funny little things. Take my name for instance: Kayle. It's a weird name. For one thing, you may not be aware, but it is pronounced Kay-lee (rhymes with Hayley). My mom heard it when she was pregnant with me, and liked it. But at the time it wasn't a common name. The main spelling she knew of was the traditional Irish spelling, Kayleigh. But my mom thought that would be too difficult for a kindergartner to attempt to spell. She'd also heard of it being spelled Kaylee. But my mom's middle name is Lee, and her sister's middle name is Kay, so she didn't want people to think it was 2 names (like Bobby Jo or Mary Ann)-she wanted to be clear it was one, fluid name. So she took off the extra "e". She didn't anticipate how many people would call me "Kale". Or "Kyle". Or Kayla, Kylie, Callie, etc. etc. Don't even get me started on how many ways my name gets misspelled...there are like a bjillion ways to spell Kayle. (And let's not even get into my last name...oh boy. For the record, it's pronounced Bolone-ya...like the city in Italy, Bologna.) Now, let's think about Michael. My boyfriend. His name is Michael. NOT Mike. When people call him Mike I get very confused and weirded out. Some people are Mike's. Some people can be Mike's AND Michael's, but my Michael is just...Michael. For some reason shortening it to one syllable entirely changes my perception of him and his name. And then there comes naming a post, naming a recipe. You want the name to be descriptive, and really tell you what it is...but you don't want it to be too long. It's a tricky line to walk. Names have so much meaning on so many different levels, that can completely alter how we perceive something...if my name had that extra "e"...I wouldn't feel like the same me. Mike is not my boyfriend. And these pancakes are delicious...whatever you call em.

Now...do they taste like a peanut butter cup? Um absolutely not. They taste like pancakes with a faint hint of peanut butter...and if you use chocolate chips then chocolate. Anyway, I've never used coconut flour, but when I found myself with some amazing Edward & Sons Organic Coconut Flour at my disposal, I knew I needed to play with it! I'm looking forward to using it more, so if you have any recipes using coconut flour, share away! I'd love some ideas!

Coconut flour is awesome for a few reasons: one of which is it's a great gluten free replacement for wheat flour. It's also low in fat, high in fiber, and generally tasty and healthy!

The texture of these pancakes, due to the coconut flour, is definitely different and something to get used to. They're a little thicker and more...grainy isn't quite the word but something like that. It also is delightfully hearty and imparts a nice, subtle, coconut flavor. Which lends itself really well to the subtle sweetness of these pancakes. Because generally, these pancakes are pretty darn good for you: low in fat and calories, the amount of sweetness or sugar is entirely up to you (they can even be sugar free if you don't have much of a sweet tooth), and ya know. All that good stuff. Of course then I need chocolate chips and to smother them in peanut butter but...I mean...would I be me otherwise?

4 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Pancakes

First of all-hurray! The blog is now parked at it's new domain www.cookingactress.com but don't worry, if you type in the old cookingactress.blogspot.com that will still work, it'll just redirect. As of right now if you type in just cookingactress.com (no www.) that will not work, but I'm hoping to rectify that. Anyway, if anything doesn't work normally, if you're not getting my posts in your RSS feeds, emails, etc. or if any links stop working, just let me know, drop me an email (cookingactress@yahoo.com), whatever! Thanks guys :)

Update: putting in just cookingactress.com should work now! Yay! Again, let me know if there are any problems!

If I told you you could make healthy, tasty pancakes using only eggs, banana, and baking powder, you'd be like "Oh my crap! Let's get on board!" right!?

Um...well...you can make healthy pancakes using only eggs, banana, and baking powder.
It won't be easy. And it's gonna taste very strongly of...well...eggs and banana, but...you can do it.

Unfortunately for me, I actually don't like eggs. So end of the day, these poor pancakes didn't get eaten (Michael wasn't home, plus he doesn't like bananas). Luckily-I didn't use many ingredients to make em. 

Anyway, let's rewind. I'm not saying you should write these guys off. You just need to know what to expect. If you're cool with bananas and eggs, then we're off to a great start. You also just need to be very careful when cooking these, letting them cook a little slower and fully before flipping (and making sure to make small pancakes and using 2 spatulas, because these are very fragile and flipping is difficult). 

Once you follow those steps, you do have some pancakes that are pretty good-and you can feel good about eating! They're definitely worth trying. Like that dress you see at the store that normally wouldn't be your style but something about it is like clicking in your brain-you might as well try it on.

Avocado Brownies with @ZulkaSugar

Alright guys! Today is the last day of my little unofficial Zulka Pure Cane Sugar week! If you wanna read more about it, check out Monday's post. Essentially, I've just been posting healthier sweets made with the pure, unprocessed deliciousness of morena sugar.

So, I'm always semi-suspicious when I see a recipe for like brownies or some such with something weird and healthy in place of, say, butter. But when I saw the photos from the post featuring these avocado brownies, and read the author's passion over how delicious they were I figured-why not?

Um, well, they weren't bad.

They were um...kind of gummy in texture? And you were aware of something different in the flavor.

This doesn't mean that you won't necessarily like them-you may. I didn't mind them, they were kinda just like "eh" to me. I tried to pawn some off on one of the kids I babysit, but her family were not big fans (so then I had to redeem myself by bringing them these cookies the next week. They were much happier.)

The moral of the story is-avocado is not a miraculous replacement for butter or oil. But it's something to try.

Gooey Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Bars (gluten free, dairy free, low fat)

Ok ok! I know, this is crazy! I post on Mondays, not Tuesdays. But, this week is a little different. 

Today I'm participating in a very special cause.

Today we are joining together to help raise awareness for Heart Disease. Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic lost her Mom to heart disease when her mother was 47, and Kim was 15. Each year on the day her Mom passed she shares stories and photos of her Mom. This year she joined forces with Jen of Juanita's Cocina, whose life was also touched by heart disease when her stepfather had a heart attack. Jen's stepfather is alive and well more than a decade later, and for that, Jen is thankful every day. The ladies got in touch with other bloggers to ask them to share their own stories about how heart disease has touched their lives. So today we share stories and recipes from our hearts to yours, in memory and honour of Momzie, Kim's Mom. We hope you will share your stories with us today as well.

I was so honored when I was approached about participating-my heart totally goes out to Kim today, I can't even wrap my head around life without my mom, and to all of you who have lost loved ones to heart disease. I knew that I had to be a part of this. Heart problems run in my mom's side of the family-some of my great-grandparents passed from heart attacks or other heart problems, my mom has had many cousins with heart problems (including an especially tragic story of her cousin who was extremely healthy, a pilot, and unexpectedly died of a heart attack at, like, 30), and one of my uncles has had heart surgery (triple bypass?). But, the most close to home, for me, is my grandfather, my mom's dad. He is the only one of my grandparents that has passed, and he'd had health problems for my entire life. Various factors led to his passing, but the earliest issues that I can recall him having were with his heart. When I was little my grandpa had a heart attack, and subsequently open heart surgery (I thought he had a bypass of some kind too, my mom can't remember and thinks it may have just been splints). It was especially scary for me as a young child, and I recall it being fairly touch and go for awhile. My mom is mostly fine, but she does have slightly high cholesterol and blood pressure. There's not a lot of health problems that run in my family, but I have always known that this was it: the thing for me to keep an eye on for myself and my family-I need to take care of this little hummingbird heart of mine. And so do we all.

Hearts are kind of amazing, right? They have such a big important job-it's the least we can do to just take care of the ole ticker.

One part of being heart healthy is eating right. I realize that eating healthy and my blog don't exactly go hand in hand but...they don't not go together either, you know? I even had that post with a round up of the healthiest recipes from the blog. Now, in some ways eating healthy for dinner and breakfast and for all the meals isn't that hard-throw in some veggies, don't smother everything in butter, voila! But...we still need to have dessert you guys. Dessert makes life worth living. So I am here to give you a delicious, decadent, fabulously addictive dessert that you will LOVE, and your body will love it too :).

First of all, omg this recipe is simple. You mix everything up in 1 bowl, then bake it all up in a dish. Easy peesy-cookie bars are awesome like that. These are easy transportable, so it's super simple to bake some of these up and share the goodness with loved ones or at some kind of event! I've already told you they're delicious-rich, gooey, the perfect balance of peanut butter and chocolate and sweet and that awesome heartiness you get from oats.

And you're wondering-but how are these healthy? These babies are gluten free (so long as your oats are gluten free). They have no butter (all the "fat" comes from the peanut butter and moisture from the applesauce) and only have egg whites (no yolks)-so they're dairy free, and low fat, and I assume low cholesterol (admittedly, that's not my area of expertise). And we all know dark chocolate is like...practically as good for you as broccoli*.

*(except not really)

Anyway, if you are being good boys and girls and being healthy and taking care of yourselves-you deserve some of these bars. And you like...won't even be being bad. Health food should always taste so good ;).

Healthy Oatmeal Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 I don't know about you guys but after yesterday I feel...

well...fat.

I ate a bunch.

So I figure, let's share a healthier recipe today, shall we?

I mean...they're still cookies. 

It's not like I'm all like "Oh hey guys here's a recipe for roasted squash and kale and stuff"

Baby steps, you guys, baby steps. 

(Um...I really wish that I wanted to eat stuff like that though. Why can't I feel about veggies the way I do about cookieeees?!)

These cookies are like super simple to put together.

And they taste pretty darn delish.

Chewy, nutty, chocolatey, tastiness.

Healthy and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nuts

 Sometimes you want cookies, but you don't wanna feel guilty about it (if you're the kinda person who does that). That's where these cookies come in. They're HEALTHY!

Maybe this is my way for apologizing for giving you that totally not healthy breakfast "muffin" on Monday. Because honestly? These cookies are probably a much healthier breakfast.

Either way, let's not worry about it. Let's eat cookies and glare at people who look at us funny and then say "Um...these cookies are healthy. Kthanksbye."

When you're eating these cookies, you will not feel like you are eating something healthy.

This will not feel like a sacrifice.

All you're gonna know is that these cookies are chewy, and have delicious chocolate chips and (in my case) peanuts, and that you love them and would like to eat a bunch. 

But guess what? There are about 8 tbsp. of sugar in these babies. TABLESPOONS.

And no butter, just 2 tbsp. of wonderful healthy coconut oil.

Oh yeah and they're gluten free-nothing but wonderful, filling oats.

This is insanity. These are so yummy, I have no clue how it's possible. But it is. You need to have these in your life.

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, you know, sometimes I try to be healthy.

Sometimes.

Not like in a, "Oh yes let's eat a bunch of vegetables* for lunch." kind of way, but in more of a "well...these cookies aren't quite...unhealthy."

Obviously.

These are one of the first recipes I'd bookmarked, back when I was stalking sites like "Eating Well" and before I'd discovered what a food blog was. I gotta say, though, this cookies hold up! I tweaked them a smidge according to some comments I read and my own personal tastes and needs, so feel free to play around with it some yourself, too. These cookies really are quite delicious and comforting-they don't taste much different than any other oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. They're just a little better for you :) 

My kind of healthy.

*(As I type this, I have just come back from a 9 hour Green Giant promotion, telling kids to eat more vegetables. The irony is not lost on me. Also-I'm sleepy. I worked a lot these past couple days. Zzzzz)

Whole Wheat Butter-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Friday! Have some cookies:

I don't know if you remember, but way back around last Christmas-time, I made some peanut butter cookies. Those peanut butter cookies were special because, they had no flour and NO BUTTER! I know, it's insanity! Apparently, peanut butter was all the butter those cookies needed. They were great. 

But...they've been replaced. 

By these.

These cookies still have no butter, but they are made with WHOLE WHEAT flour. So...if  you're doing the gluten free thing, then these aren't for you. BUT if you love firm on the outside, gooey on the inside, delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies made with whole grains and no butter-then these cookies are for you!

Michael and I were both big fans of these. One of the fatal flaws of the flourless/butterless cookies I've already posted was that they were too flimsy, too gooey all over. These are a perfect balance. And, still healthy(ish)! Oh AND they're super quick and easy. Everybody wins! Yayy!

Chocolate Chantilly

While the weather is still warm, I'll share a delicious, refreshing (yet decadent and rich) no bake dessert for you. And it takes like...no time at all. And very little effort. But seems super fancy and like you went to culinary school and stuffff.

This recipe is revolutionary. It takes 3 ingredients. No baking. Just ice water. The result is a beautiful, velvet-y textured chocolate mousse that melts in your mouth. I don't even know what else to say about it. And to be frank, I'm a busy bee right now! So I shall not delay any longer, to the recipe!: