Cookies
Oatmeal Lactation Bars
Researching how to improve a mommy’s milk supply has been interesting. There are many great websites out there that have done extensive research and I found so much good information. I liked the blog called Very Well, with articles written by Donna Murray, RN, BSN and reviewed by a board certified physician. Remember to always consult your doctor and/or lactation consultant before taking any herbal supplements.
Here is another recipe that Bekah and I tried. (We adapted the recipe from a blog called Mary Makes Good.) It tastes a bit like a yummy oatmeal muffin in a bar form. Although the recipe calls for chocolate chips, we both decided it would be extra tasty if you added a cup of raisins. Check out yesterday’s post for great information on Brewer’s Yeast and other herbs that can stimulate milk production for nursing moms.
Oatmeal Lactation Bars
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour/meal
- 1/4 cup hemp hearts (hulled)
- 4 tablespoons brewer’s yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup raisins
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine the flax seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat until fluffy.
- Add the soaked flax seeds, eggs, molasses, and vanilla and mix until well blended.
- Whisk together the whole wheat flour, almond flour, hemp hearts, brewer’s yeast, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Add the dry ingredients in two parts while mixing continuously on a slow speed. Mix until just combined.
- Add the oats, chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Lactation Cookies
Bekah was doing some research for improving breast milk supply and found some awesome recipes for Lactation Cookies. We decided to try a few and wanted to share two of our favorite ones with you. This first recipe has been adapted from one we found on a blog called Simplistically Living. There are many recipes out there and the common ingredient in the cookie recipes we looked at was brewer’s yeast. You cannot substitute the brewer’s yeast for anything else. (We bought ours at Sprouts.) This is a prime ingredient for this recipe and is one of the recommended ingredients that increases your milk supply so make sure to include it.
Brewer’s yeast is used to make beer, and people have taken it as a dietary supplement for many years. Brewer’s yeast is made from a fungus, and it is highly nutritious. It contains iron, protein, and B vitamins, as well as chromium, selenium and other trace minerals. Brewer’s yeast is also believed to be a galactogogue, used by nursing mothers to help make more breast milk. A galactagogue (pronounced gah-lak´tah-gog) is an action, herb, food, or medication that can jump start your production of breast milk or increase the amount of breast milk that you make. The word itself is a combination of the Greek terms “galact-” meaning milk, and “-ogogue” meaning leading to or promoting. (A galactagogue is also called a galactogogue, lactagogue or a lactogenic.) Some of the foods used as galactagogues include oatmeal, barley, green leafy vegetables, garlic, brewer’s yeast, and brown rice. When added to a healthy well-balance diet, these milk making foods are believed to promote a healthy amount of breast milk.
If you are interested in reading about other herbs that have been researched and shown to help …
Read MorePB Banana Cookies
In honor of my friend who just had a baby who loves these cookies…
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
For some of our friends and loved ones, the days of delicious chocolate chip cookies like grandma used to make seem to be a long ago luxury, never to be enjoyed again. During this “Clean Eating” month I have been searching for an option for those who need to be gluten free for whatever reason when it comes to their clean eating desserts. I started by researching recipes for homemade gluten free flours and found two that sounded quite reasonable. I will share both of them with you and the sites where I found them so you can do your own evaluation. In the end I happened to have one bag of “Bob’s Red Mill” Gluten Free All Purpose Flour on hand so I used it today in my recipe for the sake of time and convenience.
I adapted a recipe I found online from Michelle@MyGluten-freekitchen.com
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if Gluten Free flour blend you are using already has xanthan in the recipe)
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter melted
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperate
1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt. In your mixer bowl, put cream cheese and melted butter and begin to mix. Add brown and white sugar and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add the flour mixture and blend on low until just mixed. Add the chocolate chips and mix in by hand. Cover the cookie dough with saran wrap and …
Read MoreBanana Peanut Butter Cookies
Molasses Crisps
Every year I host a Christmas Cookie Exchange with my friends. It is a great way to connect over hot chocolate and goodies and I look forward to it all year long.
This year I decided to use a classic Baby Bear Stew recipe from our cookbook and it was a hit!
- ¾ cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar (plus extra for rolling)
- 1 egg
- 4 tsp molasses
- 1¾ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cloves
- 1½ tsp ginger
- Cream shortening and sugar.
- Add egg and molasses.
- Sift dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.
- Roll into 1 inch balls or use a small cookie scoop and roll in sugar to coat balls.
- Place far apart and bake for 12-15 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
What is your favorite holiday cookie?
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Cranberry, Date and Orange Crumbly Bars
Are you looking for a new twist to the typical fruit bar? This recipe is delicious and nutritious and full of fiber. You can take these to your next summer picnic for a tasty dessert or snack or serve them as a breakfast bar for a high energy “running out the door” breakfast. Store them in a tupperware in the refrigerator until ready to use but once you pack them to go they do not need to be refrigerated and they will be gone before you know it!
Ingredients
2 cups chopped dates
1 ½ cups fresh orange juice
1 cup dried cranberries
1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
3 cups oats
3 cups flour (I used a combo of whole wheat, white-wheat and almond meal flour)
1 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups butter (I used 1 cup butter and ½ cup coconut oil
1 Tablespoon water
In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup orange juice and dates and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir often so dates do not stick. Add remaining ½ cup orange juice, ⅔ cup dried cranberries and orange peel. Stir and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. Cut in butter/coconut oil until a coarse crumbly mixture results. Press ⅔ of the crumbly mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread cooled date, orange, cranberry mixture evenly over cookie crumble base. Add remaining ⅓ cup dried cranberries to the oat mixture with 1 Tablespoon of water and mix thoroughly, to make topping. Sprinkle topping over date mixture and press down lightly. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden on top. Cool and cut into bars. Makes 24-30 …
Read MoreRanger Cookies Refreshed and Revitalized
Growing up in a family of excellent cooks was fun and there was always some party or family gathering which required menu planning and food preparation. I often times volunteered to be in charge of the baking because I had learned how to bake at a young age and it was something I could do on my own.
Ranger Cookies were one of my favorite cookies to bake. 
Ingredients
1 cup coconut oil (original recipe calls for 1 cup shortening)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups oats
2 cups crushed Kashi sprouted Grains cereal (original recipe calls for Wheaties)
1 cup coconut
Cream coconut oil and sugars, in kitchenaide or with hand mixer.
Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly.
Add vanilla and stir well.
Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Add oats, crushed Kashi cereal and coconut and mix well.
Drop by spoonfuls (2 inch cookie scoop) onto greased cookie sheet.
Press down with hand or with glass dipped in sugar.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.
These cookies freeze well. Makes 40 cookies
These Ranger Cookies pack a delicious crispy goodness with a satisfying coconut surprise crunch. The cookies freeze well and stay fresh for days in an airtight container. They travel well and are a perfect cookie to send in a care package. Today I refreshed the old favorite by substituting coconut oil for shortening and Kashi Sprouted Grains Cereal for the Wheaties in the original recipe.
Since the original recipe is one of our extended family’s all time favorites it was featured in the original Baby Bear Stew Family Heritage Cookbook. (featured in our December Passion Perspective …
Blonde Brownies
I love to bake. Growing up, we always had baked goods ready for guests and parties. Besides the famous “Weisser Cookies”, blonde brownies were the other favorite from the renowned Baby Bear Stew Cookbook. (Baby Bear Stew will be sold here soon). But for now, we will let you in on a Baby Bear Stew specialty. So here is another one of the family favorites.
Blonde Brownies
Ingredients:
2/3 cup melted margarine
2 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Grease a 9×13 pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter
3. Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar
4. Add the eggs
5. Sift dry ingredients and add. Stir until well blended
6. Add the chocolate chips and nuts.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cut into squares like brownies.
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Christmas Cut Out Sugar Cookies
What could possibly be more FUN than decorating a batch of Christmas sugar cookies with 3 two years olds?
One mandatory activity on the agenda this week while 5 of the 6 grand kids are visiting was to bake and decorate the famous Christmas Cut Out Sugar Cookies that I have been making with my girls for the past 25 plus years. So here is the secret recipe!
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