Peppermint Swig Sugar Cookies

Peppermint during Christmas time has me like!  The sad thing is, my family doesn't like Peppermint at all!  Like, 2 of my boys won't even eat candy canes, or mint gum, and hates peppermint toothpaste!  Where did they come from?!?!?!  Certainly Not Me!!

 These Swig style Peppermint Sugar Cookies are simply divine!  Like I would put them in as a high 2nd Place to my favorite Moms Sugar Cookies!  The unique thing about these cute Christmas cookies are those yummy Andes mints pictured above!  Technically you can find peppermint baking chips around, but they don't have the the Red in it!  And the red in the dough is just what makes them look soo festive!

 December is such a rollercoaster of emotional, sentimental, holiday binging kind of month for me.  If you know me, I'm pretty disciplined when it comes to eating treats, but come December, EVERY. SINGLE. RESTRICTIVE. RULE. GOES. OUT. THE. DOOR.  It's sad really......  But I truly love Holiday Food, and I figure I can start over come January 1st, and try and dodge the 3 January birthdays I have in my family!

 Anyways, back to these cookies.  These things just melt in your mouth.  I was a little skeptical about putting sour cream in it (I actually had to do half Greek yogurt cuz I ran out) But I don't know why, because I always put sour cream in cakes!  The subtle peppermint has you dreaming of sugar plums, and the cute candy canes crushed on top is totally optional! (But highly recommended)

These cookies were adapted and slightly changed from A Bountiful kitchen

Christmas Swig Cookies

 Cook Time 15 minutes

 Total Time 15 minutes

 Servings 20 -24 cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup Coconut oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips 
• sugar for top of cookies

FOR FROSTING:

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• dash of salt
• 1-2 drops peppermint oil, or 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 2-3 tablespoons milk if needed
• 2-3 crushed candy canes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 regular bake.
2. Take butter out of refrigerator and microwave for about 15 seconds.
3. Place butter, oil and cold sour cream in a mixing bowl.
4. Mix for about one minute.
5. Add sugar and vanilla extract, mix until smooth.
6. Add all dry ingredients at once, including Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips.
7. Mix just until flour disappears and the mixture comes together in a ball of dough, about 1 minute on very low speed.
8. Spray the cookie scoop with a little cooking spray.
9. Scoop the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. I used a 1 inch scoop. A 2 inch scoop will produce a cookie similar in size to the Swig cookie. If you don't have a cookie scoop, use an ice cream scoop or roll the dough into a ball about the size of a golf ball. It is best to use a scoop and overfill it a bit to get the desired jagged edge.
10. Place about ¼ cup sugar into a small bowl.
11. Spray the bottom of a flat glass with cooking spray.
12. Flatten one cookie a bit then dip the glass in sugar.
13. Press the bottom of the glass against the cookie. Press the cookies so they are flattened a bit ( until the cookie dough just reaches the outside of the edge of the glass) twisting the glass as you press to produce a jagged edge.
14. I bake 12 of the smaller cookies per tray. Continue until all cookies are flattened.
15. Bake in oven for about 10-12 minutes bake or (12-15 for larger cookies) until edges are lightly golden and cookies are slightly firm to the touch.
16. Remove from oven, let cool. Loosen the cookies from the cookie sheet after cooled a bit, or they will stick to the pan (even though it has been lightly greased).
17. Place the cookies in the fridge and chill.

PREPARE THE FROSTING:

1. Beat together the butter, sour cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, peppermint extract and salt. When all ingredients are incorporated, add a little milk if the frosting needs to be thinned.
2. Frost and sprinkle candy canes after the cookies are completely chilled.
3. Makes about 35 smaller cookies or 18 large cookies

Summer Peach Salad

I usually don't post a ton of Salads, cuz technically anyone can throw together any kind of Salad with any kind of toppings and be satisfied.  But I truly can't stop eating this one.  I've eaten it 5 days in a row for lunch because I love it that much!

I got this from Lilly Loves Macros on Instagram, and it's a complete Winner!  I Love everything about this salad!  So join me below for the fantastic recipe!

For the Chicken, I use a pre-cooled Chicken I get at Sams Club called John Soules Foods, the Fajita Chicken flavor, and I just throw it on a skillet for 5 minutes to sizzle up while I'm chopping everything else up!


Serves 1

Summer Peach Salad

2 Cups Greens
4.5 ounces Grilled Chicken (see note above for easy pre-cooked Chicken)
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 Cup Corn on the cob (cut from the cob)
1/4 cup chopped Vine Tomato
1/2 of a Peach sliced
1 0z Fat free Feta Cheese
Avacado (optional if you have extra fats to spare)
Purple onion chopped and sprinkled on top

Dressing:
I use 1 Tbls of Balsamic Dressing
Dash of salt and Pepper

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free Banana Bread

So, Let me be real with you, the first time I made this bread it was seriously bland.  Like, not much depth to it at all.  It was a 5 ingredient recipe that enticed me to make it, but needed some serious re-invention and tweaking to make it tastey!  I'm proud to say, that I found a perfect balance for my taste buds and was able to leave it Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Sugar Free!  

 Now, your probably thinking to yourself, how is this dairy free and sugar free with those Chocolate chips on top? Right?  Well, those are added for my kids benefit, but can totally be made without them!  I just sprinkle them on top of the loaf right before I bake it, so if you didn't want all that chocolatey goodness, you could scrape it right off!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free Banana Bread

1 Loaf

About 10 servings

Ingredients:

3 Ripe Medium Bananas

2 eggs + 2 egg whites (or you can just do 3 large eggs)

2 Cups Oats

1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup or Honey

1 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal

2 tsp Baking soda
2 Tsp Vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2-3/4 tsp salt
1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips (optional)

Preheat Oven to *350.  Put all ingredients in a blender, pulse until mixed thoroughly but not made into a puree.  Pour into a greased 9x5 Loaf pan.  Sprinkle on Chocolate chips only if wanted for kids sake!  Haha!  Bake for about 30 minutes!  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes then take out of pan to completely cool off! Or Enjoy warm with butter!!!

Healthy Greek Salad

So I've been promising this "recipe" of my favorite Salad for months!!!  It's hard really to call a salad a recipe because you basically throw what you want in a salad, but this my friends is perfection to me!  I LOVE it too much!

 The Tzatziki Dip really sills the deal!  This is what makes it like a greek gyro, but made Salad!

 As for the dressing, you could do any balsamic dressing really, but this Greek Vinaigrette is amazing on it!!

Serves 1

Healthy Greek Salad

4-5 Ounces Grilled Chicken
1/4 Cup Chopped Red Pepper
2 Cups Lettuce/Spinach
1 Mini Cucumber Sliced
1 1/2 TBSP Feta Cheese
Cherry Tomatoes
Red Onions sliced thinly
2 TBSP favorite Dressing

Start with Grilling your Chicken ( 80% of the Time I use John Soules pre cooked grilled Fajita Chicken). I warm it up on a pan with Lemon flavored olive oil and Italian Seasoning.  I also chop the red peppers and sauce them with the chicken.  Then just load everything on top and enjoy!  I forgot to add my onions in this picture, but they are a great add!!

Cocoa Energy Bites

This Energy Bite has an amazing texture!  And even though it is cocoa, there is also some Peanut Butter in there!  Can I get a Woot! Woot!  You can't really taste the Peanut Butter in this recipe, but it's sort of just a comfort thing for me, you know?  I actually got this recipe from my cute friend Aimee, hope she doesn't mind me sharing because they have become a staple!  I actually made these and lost the recipe at least 4 times, and had to keep texting her for the recipe, so I thought it was about time I put it on my blog!

These, like any other Energy Bite, are soo versatile!  You can pretty much anything to them as long as you have a good base.  The right amount of dry to the right amount of wet.  Then add your chunks of what ever floats your boat for any amazing snack to pop in your mouth!

Recipe:

1/2 Cup Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup coconut
1/4 Cup Chia Seeds
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 Cup Dark Chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:
Add Peanut Butter and Honey to microwavable bowl and heat together for 20 seconds.  Add to your mixing bowl with the rest of your ingredients and mix well.  Form into small balls and put on wax paper in fridge until chilled.  Store in air tight container, and enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Well, a whole year has passed since I last posted and I feel totally ashamed!  Life is crazy and I'm too lazy to take pics of my food when I need to!  haha!

Anyways!  We all know that Energy Bites are now the healthy craze for a yummy snack to have on hand!  This is a great recipe you can use as your base, then chooses to add in anything else that you like!!

I of course live on Peanut Butter, so my add in of choice was peanut Butter chips!  Welcome to the Coats household!  These recipes are too easy to make and you can have a yummy snack for days to come!  I will be posting a cocoa recipe soon that you can drool on as well!

RECIPE
(adapted from Melskitchencafe.com)

1 Cup (3.5 ounces) old fashioned Oats
1/3 cup (1.25 ounces) ground flaxseed meal
3/4 -1 Cup Nut Butter (I use peanut butter)
1/4 Cup (3 ounces) Honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Optional Add-ins: mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, dried fruit, chia seeds, etc...

Pulse the Oats in a blender a few times to chop them up.  Warm up the peanut butter and honey for 20 seconds.  Add to the bowl, then add remaining ingredients.  If it seems dry, add a bit more nut butter until consistency is soft but not sticky or crumbly.  Roll into balls, and place on wax paper in the fridge for 30 minutes until cooled.  Then store in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks!