Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

I made these cookies this week and I'm already trying to find another excuse to make them again! They're the perfect treat during this chilly weather! These cookies go great with the holidays and will be great for gifting! The recipe is simple and yields about a dozen and a half to two dozen cookies depending on the size you make them.

You will need:

1  1/3 cup rolled oats

1  1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1  1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup craisins (dried cranberries)

2/3 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

To start:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the egg, vanilla, brown sugar, honey, applesauce, and butter. It's best to use an electric mixer for this. 

3. Next, add in the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually mix in the flour with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. 

4.  Fold in the oats until evenly distributed.

5. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon (a spatula would be best) mix in the cranberries and pecans.

6. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and spoon the dough onto the pan in 2 inch circles about 2 inches apart. 

7.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are solid.

8. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before packaging.

I hope you found this recipe useful! Happy cooking!

Coconut Crepes

I just recently a recipe for crepes (see here), but the other day I was feeling creative and decided to jazz them up a bit!

You will need:
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1  1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. imitation coconut extract
3 eggs
3 tbsp. of melted coconut oil (Melted butter will work fine)
Additional sugar for sprinkling.

To start:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Pour the milk into a medium sized measuring bowl. You'll want to let the milk sit out for about 10-15 minutes before adding oil. Add the coconut, vanilla, eggs, and oil and whisk with a fork. When hot oil comes into contact with cold milk, the oil thickens and ruins the consistency of the mixture.
3. Pour the dry ingredients in with the wet and whisk until there are no lumps.
4. Grease a small frying pan and turn your stove to medium heat.
5. Once the pan is heated, pour about a 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Tilt the pan until the batter is spread over the whole pan.
6. Let it cook until you can see it solidifying and the edges are slightly brown. Sprinkle some sugar over the surface of crepe then, using a spatula, flip the crepe. Sprinkle more sugar on the other side.
7. Once the crepe is fully cooked on both sides (it should look a lot like a flour tortilla), flip it once more to make sure the sugar melts on both sides.

These coconut crepes are absolutely heaven! They don't even need any toppings because they are already so sweet! Not a fan of coconut? Not a problem! You can use whatever kind of flavouring you like! Almond, coconut, or strawberry extract can all be found on the baking aisle, among other flavours. I hope you found this recipe helpful and enjoy your crepes!

Happy cooking!

Crepes, ooh la la!

I absolutely love making crepes! They're basically just French pancakes. They're very simple to make and delicious to eat! This recipe makes 12-14 crepes, depending on the size of your pan and how thick you make them:)

You will need:
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1  1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
3 tbsp. of melted butter
Additional sugar for sprinkling.

To start:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Pour the milk into a medium sized measuring bowl. You'll want to let the milk sit out for about 10-15 minutes before adding butter. Add the vanilla, eggs, and butter and whisk with a fork. When hot butter comes into contact with cold milk, the butter thickens and ruins the consistency of the mixture.
3. Pour the dry ingredients in with the wet and whisk until there are no lumps.
4. Grease a small frying pan and turn your stove to medium heat.
5. Once the pan is heated, pour about a 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Tilt the pan until the batter is spread over the whole pan.
6. Let it cook until you can see it solidifying and the edges are slightly brown. Sprinkle some sugar over the surface of crepe then, using a spatula, flip the crepe. Sprinkle more sugar on the other side.
7. Once the crepe is fully cooked on both sides, flip it once more to make sure the sugar melts on both sides.

You can eat these plain or with toppings! Some like jam or chocolate sauce, but I drizzle honey over them and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over that. You can serve them with fruit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! They're simple to make and so tasty! I hope you found this recipe helpful and easy to understand.

Happy cooking!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Hello! I'm so excited about this new raisin bread recipe! I've made it three times already this week. Its so sweet and has a warm taste. I've gifted it a few times and have gotten great responses! It's a fairly simple recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

You will need:

1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup oil (or melted butter)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. of cinnamon
1 tsp. of baking soda
1  1/2 tsp. vanilla
a pinch of salt
1  1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup of raisins
OPTIONAL: Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling.


To start:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix the brown sugar, applesauce, egg, and oil together on low speed.
3. Next, blend in the cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Use a rubber spatula to smooth out any clumps that might form.
4. On medium speed, blend in the flour.
5. Mix in the raisins on low/medium speed.
6. Grease a loaf pan. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the sides and bottom of the loaf before pouring the batter. Once batter is poured, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top as well.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Happy Baking!

Vanilla extract or imitation?

So what's the difference between imitation vanilla and vanilla extract? About three dollars. I was at the store one day and the little bottle of vanilla extract was $4! I saw a much larger bottle of imitation vanilla for about $1.50, so naturally, I bought both. I tried each of them in some sugar cookies and found that I preferred the imitation! It was sweeter and had a lovelier aroma. I also tend to put more vanilla than recipes call for, so having such a big bottle for such a reasonable price made me feel better about that habit. Unless you just can't live without pure vanilla extract, I recommend imitation vanilla 100%.

Happy cooking!

Glazed Brown Sugar Banana bread.

If you love banana bread, this is the recipe for you! It's sweet and delicious and a favourite in my house! It's pretty simple to make.

You will need:
1. 3-4 bananas (mashed)
2. 1/3 cup + about 3 tbsp. melted butter
3. 1/2 cup granulated Sucralose (Splenda)
4. 1/2 cup + about 5 tbsp. brown sugar
5. 1 cup flour
6. 1 tsp. baking soda
7. 1 large egg
8. 1 tsp. vanilla

To make:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a small loaf pan.
2. Cream bananas and 1/3 cup butter together in a large bowl.
3. Beat in egg, Splenda, vanilla, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Once mixed add in baking soda.
4. Mix in the flour one half cup at a time.
5. Pour your mixture into the loaf pan and set to bake for 30 minutes.
6. While its baking melt the 3 tbsp. of butter and mix with 5 tbsp. of brown sugar. If its too runny, add extra sugar, if its too thick, add more butter. This is your glaze.
7. Once the 30 minutes are over, spoon the glaze to the center of the loaf and spread it. It will run down to the sides on its own, so don't spread it too much.
8. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

It's great with coffee or tea, as a breakfast or desert, morning or night:) I hope you found this recipe helpful and easy! Happy Cooking!