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!

Soft Frosted Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Ok, I know, for trying to pose as a "Fit Momma Foodie", I admit I bake a lot during the holidays.  I can't fight it.  I'm only human!  That being said, I only bake what I know is worth my calories, and what I crave.  Which is 99% of the time Peanut Butter, but during the holidays I can't get enough peppermint! I Love candy canes, and I love to smell eat and breath peppermint!  And these yummy, soft cookies are magical, and melt in your mouth!  I got the recipe from the great Jaime Cooks It Up!

These are just a perfect treat for yourself, or if you have enough will power to give half of them away, then they are wonderful treat to share!!

Even my boy that swears he doesn't like peppermint or mint for that matter, he wont even chew mint gum, HE actually LOVED them!  Score!

Soft Frosted Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 48

Ingredients

COOKIES:

1 C butter, softened

1 C sugar

1 C brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 C milk chocolate chips

PEPPERMINT FROSTING:

1 C white chocolate chips

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 Tb butter, softened

4 C powdered sugar

2 Tb milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

4 drops red food coloring

dash salt

15-20 mini candy canes

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In your stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and add the eggs. Cream for an additional 1 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

3. Add the vanilla and mix just until combined.

4. In a separate bowl toss together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix just until combined.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Spray your cookie sheets with cooking spray and form the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.

6. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until the tops of the cookies crack. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to finish baking on the hot sheet. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

7. To make the frosting melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one.

8. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the white chocolate and mix. Don't be worried if it looks kind of chunky at this point. That's normal. :)

9. Add powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract (if you don't have extract you can use peppermint essential oils and only use about 6 drops), food coloring and salt. Mix for 1 minute. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes of until its nice and smooth and a bit fluffy.

10. Unwrap the candy canes and place them in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Seal the bag tightly and crush them with a rolling pin.

11. Frost each cookie, making sure to sprinkle the candy canes over the top directly after it's been frosted.

Store in an airtight container. These cookies freeze super well! Make sure and lay a sheet of parchment paper between layers of cookies if you are going to stack them, so they don't stick together.

Enjoy!

Coconut Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Wow, What a a mouthful! Coconut Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice!  I know, everyone knows about the Cauliflower Rice, it's been going on for quite a while now.  And I like cauliflower rice, but I made this the other night, and had to make it again the next night because I loved it soo much.  LOVE is a strong word, and I have weird food relationships, and get slightly obsessed over food sometimes, but you will LOVE this "Rice" too!  Promise!  Seriously it is just bursting with sooo much flavor, you will not even notice that it's not real rice!

I Served it with marinated lime coconut milk, cilantro Chicken and what was supposed to be grilled vegetables ended up getting thrown in the oven last minute because we ran out of propane!!!  

CAULIFLOWER RICE

1/2 Head Cauliflower - Riced in a blender
1 Tblsp - Coconut Oil
1/2 Lime
1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro
2 Tblsp - Coconut milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

First start with cutting your cauliflower down pretty good with no stems.  Stick the florets into your blender and pulse it maybe 3 times.  You don't want it too small that it gets mushy with heat.  Heat your oil onto a skillet pan and add your riced cauliflower.  Season really well with Salt and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes.  Once cooked through add in your lime and Cilantro, then add in your Coconut milk.  I just used the silk brand coconut milk that comes in a carton that you put in your fridge.  Cook and stir constantly for another 2 minutes or so, then remove from heat so it doesn't sog up.  Serve with anything!  It's Fabulous!

Almond Butter Bombs

So I know I haven't posted a lot of meals lately, but when you are clean eating, it mostly comes down to a meat, and a veggie, and different ways to cook it up!  Ha! Ha!  So it's hard for me to put basic stuff on here.  But these bad boys have become my staple in the past 3 weeks!  Literally I have made them 4 times, and this is my treat.  They are absolutely delicious!  I'm following a Metabolism Re-set, well I'm past that, now onto the Fast Metabolism Diet, where I came across this recipe, and have since tweaked them to make them awesome!!!  Literally, they take me 20 minutes from start to finish!

It's a small batch, so it only makes about 12 small cookies, umm, I mean Almond Butter Bombs. They do taste like cookies though! They are sort of called a fat bomb, because they are loaded with Almond Butter (your healthy fat).  During this FMD, you have 3 phases per week, and on Friday Saturday and Sunday (phase 3), your 2 snacks for the day is supposed to be a Healthy Fat source.

I truly think they are divine.......

Almond Butter Bombs
Approx 12 Bombs

Time: 20 minutes - Start to Finish

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Organic Rolled oats  *see note below
1/2 Cup Almond Butter - microwaved for 30 seconds
1/4 Cup Stevia Sweetener Baking Blend
3 Tblsp - Peanut Butter Protein Powder
2 Tblsp - Organic Apple Sauce
1 egg White or 2 Tblsp out of carton
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp maple extract (you can use vanilla, but I highly recommend Maple)  Sometimes I add a squirt of Pure Maple syrup in there too!
1/4 tsp Salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together.  The true recipe calls for 1/2 Cup + 2 Tblsp Oats.  I wanted to lessen the Carbs and add Protein so I added the 3 Tblsp of Protein Powder instead.  Roll the dough into 12 balls and cook for 8 minutes.  They may not look done, but they are!  You can eat right away but I prefer them refrigerated on the next day!!!

Crepes - Gluten Free

Ok, so I know I've already got 2 other Crepe recipes on here, BUT, my family loves crepes, and we eat them every Sunday!  So I experiment a lot with them.  Right now, I'm doing no sugar, no dairy and no wheat.  Yikes!  I Know!!  The things a girls got to do to try and keep a figure!  Anywho!  These Crepes!  My kids didn't flinch, didn't question, didn't nothing!  They loved them as usual AND I actually got to eat them during this strict meal plan I'm doing, and ENJOY them!  Ok, I didn't get to enjoy them with Peanut Butter and Pure maple syrup as I usually do, but I put drizzled Almond butter and crushed berries on them and didn't feel deprived at all!  YUMM!



This Recipe is very similar to my other recipes, but with a few tweaks to make it work!:

CREPES - GLUTEN FREE

8 eggs
2 Cups - Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (or your choice of unsweetened non dairy milk)
2 TBLSP - Olive Oil (Or coconut oil)
2 tsp - Pure Vanilla extract
2 tsp - powdered stevia
1 tsp- salt
1 Cup - Organic Oat Flour
1 Cup - Tapioca Flour** (see note below)

Combine all ingredients except for the gluten free flours and mix until well blended.  Slowly add in the Oat flour and the Tapioca flour.  There will be slight lumps in the batter, just work them out as much as you can without over beating.  I kind of just squish them down with my measuring cup as I pour them into the pan.  I have two crepe pans going at one time to keep this moving along.  Make sure the pans are hot, and if you are using a non-stick pan, you only need to spray oil on it once in the beginning.  I pour between 1/4-1/3 cup of batter onto pan and swirl it around, then flip when bubbles are showing and its has slight browning spots on the bottom.
Serve hot & Enjoy!

**The Tapioca Flour gave these crepes a great texture.  Very springy and squishy.  They held up better than any other gluten free flours I've tried in the past (and I think I've tried them all!!)

Cutlers Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe came along in such a funny coincidental way!  I went on a fun girls trip to St. George for Time Out For Women, and my cute friend kept saying how Cutlers Peanut Butter cookies are to die for!  And if you know me, I'm a peanut butter fan! I knew I had to try them!  So we never came across a Cutlers Cookies, but the craziest thing happened!  The next day I woke up to an email from one of my favorite food blogs I follow: Jaime Cooks It Up, and loan behold, it was Cutlers Peanut Butter Cookies!  I about died!  And apparently this recipe comes straight from the source, right off of Cutler Cookies blog!

The great part about these cookies are, that they are not frosted sugar cookies.  It's like a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but using peanut butter chips instead.  And then you first frost with a fabulous peanut butter frosting, and to be honest with you, I could stop right there. Yum.

But alas, the recipe calls for chocolate frosting to top off the peanut butter frosting, and oh boy!  Talk about sweet!  Like, so fulfilling that you really don't even want to go for a 2nd cookie, but not in a bad way, in a very satisfied way!  Yum!

And this sweet princess can vouch to how easy, fun, and yummy these cookies can be!!

Ingredients

COOKIE DOUGH:

1 C butter, softened

1 C brown sugar

1 C white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 C flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 (10 ounce) package Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:

1/2 C butter, softened

1/2 C creamy peanut butter

3 C powdered sugar

1 Tb milk

CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

1/2 C butter, softened

2.5 C powdered sugar

3 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 Tb vanilla

1/8 c milk

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Into your stand mixer or large mixing bowl place 1 C softened butter, 1 C brown sugar and 1 C white sugar. Cream the mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the bowl to be sure the ingredients are well blended.

3. Add 2 eggs and beat for an additional minute. Add 1 tsp vanilla and mix until combined.

4. In a separate bowl place 3 C flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Toss the ingredients together with a fork and then add to the creamed mixture.

5. Toss in one package of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips and mix until combined. The original recipe suggests using the name brand only. :)

6. Spray a large cookie sheet and scoop the dough (I used a 1 1/2 inch scoop) onto the sheet.

7. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the top of the cookies crack. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the cookies to continue to cook on the pan for 2 minutes. Remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Be sure not to over bake, gang. You want the cookies to be nice and soft.

8. To make the Peanut Butter Frosting place 1/2 C softened butter and 1/2 C creamy peanut butter into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mix until smooth and glossy. Add 3 C powdered sugar, 1 Tb milk and a dash of salt. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if the frosting is too thick.

9. To make the chocolate frosting mix 1/2 C softened butter and 2.5 C powdered sugar together. Add 3 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 Tb vanilla and 1/8 C milk. Mix until smooth. Add more milk if it's too thick, or more powdered sugar if it's too thin.

10. When the cookies have cooled, frost each one with peanut butter frosting.

Spread some chocolate frosting over the peanut butter frosting. Be sure not to cover the peanut butter frosting completely. It's pretty to be able to see the double layer effect.