Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients:

3 cups rice krispies (note: regular rice krispies are not gluten free, but you can buy GF rice crisp cereal if making these GF)
1 bag chocolate chips (use vegan choc. chips if making vegan/dairy free)
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey (use syrup if making vegan)
1/4 cup coconut oil

Directions:

Mix chocolate chips, peanut butter, maple syrup/honey and coconut oil together and heat in microwave or on stove top until combined. Pour 3 cups rice krispies into large bowl, add chocolate mixture, and stir to combine. Press into 9×13 pan and refrigerate until set (~1 hour).

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and not only was it super easy, but it was also super delicious! A great party snack. They can also be made gluten free, dairy free, and vegan, which makes them even more appropriate for bringing to parties.

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cane sugar (or use white sugar)
1 flax egg: (1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup gluten-free oat flour (I processed 1 cup certified gf rolled oats into flour with the food processor)
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour (add 2 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour if you want a thicker cookie)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the flax egg and set aside. In a large bowl, mix coconut oil and the sugars until creamy. Add the flax egg and vanilla extract. Add remaining ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips. Place dough baking sheet in spoonfuls. Bake for about 10-11 minutes.

We got this recipe from Brian’s sister, but it is originally from the fabulous Oh She Glows blog. Hop over there for more detailed instructions, great photos, and tons of other great recipes! I use coconut oil because I don’t usually have Earth Balance on hand. Vegan recipes are often gluten-free, dairy-free friendly, which is great for us since Brian is GF and I am DF. These cookies are seriously addictive. You can plan to have leftovers but you won’t because the dairy/gluten lovers will devour these cookies too.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 6-ounce package sweetened dried cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in sweetened dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies.

These cookies are amazing. I think I got this recipe from my mom. I just found it on my computer and I totally forgot they existed. Probably better for my health, but now I’m resurrecting them for better or for worse!

No Bake Granola Bites

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 c ground flaxseed
3/4 c honey
1/2 c chocolate chips (mini)
1/4 – 1/2 c chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

optional: dried cranberries, shredded coconut

Directions:
Throw all the ingredients into a bowl and stir until blended. Roll into golf-ball sized balls. Place in a 9×13 pan, cookie sheet, or plate. Store in the fridge. Done.

I tried this recipe because I was looking for a less expensive lunch option than buying boxes upon boxes of granola bars every month. I had tried homemade granola bars in the past and they always fell apart and just weren’t worth the mess and hassle. With this recipe, I took a different approach, and it worked like a charm. Instead of granola bars, I rolled them into balls – granola bites is the term for it now a days (or power bites or something?) A friend told me that these are a GREAT post-partum snack for new moms. They are super easy as they don’t involve any baking or microwaving or heating of any kind. Easier than rice krispie treats in that regard! This is a great no frills recipe. Adapted from Allrecipes.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Icecream

Ingredients:
2 cans organic coconut milk – full fat (13.5 ounce cans)
2/3 cups organic raw coconut crystals (or other granulated sugar)
1 cup organic peanut butter
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
1/2 – 1 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Put coconut milk, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla into a Vitamix, or other blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass bread pan. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for approximately 2 – 4 hours or until hard and firm. Sprinkle with chocolate chips before serving.

I found this recipe on Pinterest from The Healthy Family & Home Blog. I am always searching for great dairy-free ice cream recipes, especially since Brian enjoys some after-dinner icecream. This one was delicious and has the added benefit of being very rich, which means I actually eat a normal sized portion rather than the entire batch in one sitting. One note is that it took more than 2-4 hrs to freeze but that might just be because our freezer is not super cold.

Baked Oatmeal Squares

Ingredients:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Cut into squares.

This recipe is from The Taste of Home website. It is so easy and quick, but very delicious!

English Toffee Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 C butter
1 C sugar
1 T light Karo syrup
1 1/2 C chopped nuts
6 Hershey chocolate bars

Directions:
Butter a cookie sheet. Boil first three ingredients to hard crack stage — carmel brown. Pour into buttered cookie sheet. Allow to firm — but not COOL. Break chocolate bars over cookie sheet layer. Spread evenly over surface. Sprinkle nuts over the chocolate. Cool completely before breaking into pieces. Store in air-tight container.

This recipe came from Emily George. It has been a hit. Perfect for the holidays or a party favor or just as a special treat.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
3 bananas, beaten
1 3/4 c flour
1 t vanilla

Directions:

Mix in order given. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes. Makes one loaf.

Here’s the thing. I hate over-ripe (or maybe even ripe) bananas. I blame it on one too many pre-race bananas followed by post-race hurling (negative associations). In any case, once a banana has reached that ripe stage, its too far gone for me. Consequently, I end up with a lot of bananas in the freezer, and a lot of banana bread. There are a lot of banana bread recipes. This one comes from my college cookbook.

 

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
6 Tbs. butter, cold
1/2 c. pumpkin puree (or squash, sweet potato, carrot or other random ECHO vegetable that slightly resembles pumpkin)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. cream or milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix pumpkin, sugar, egg, cream and vanilla in separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Pour dough onto floured surface and pat into a 1/2″ thick round. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.

This recipe was introduced to us by Joy Longfellow (yes, relation to Henry Wadsworth) during our ECHO days. With so much tropical pumpkin growing on the farm, we enjoyed entirely too many of these delicious treats! There was also a wonderful icing on top that made these absolutely wonderful. I’ll have to discover that recipe as well. The pumpkin makes these very moist.

Candy Cane Fudge

Ingredients:
2 (10 ounce) packages white chocolate chips
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 t peppermint extract
1 1/2 c crushed candy canes
1 dash red food coloring

Directions:
Line an 8-inch square baking dish with aluminum foil and grease the foil (use a larger dish for thinner fudge). Melt chips and milk over medium heat until almost smooth. Remove from heat and stir until smooth (completely melted). Stir in extract, food coloring, and candy canes. Pour into dish. Chill for 2 hours. Done! Like fudge, these are rich, so you can cut into small squares.

This recipe is not only super delicious, but also super easy! Makes a great treat to giveaway for the holidays to friends, co-workers, and families. It is always a hit! Emily and I found this recipe on all-recipes.