Last week I was on a mission for something chocolatey. Since we’re on the Daniel Fast, that means it has to contain all natural ingredients. No sugar. No honey. No maple syrup.

These satisfied my chocolate cravings, and the fact that they’re healthy and good for you is a huge bonus.

These are perfect for Valentine’s Day. If you don’t have a heart mold you can use whatever shape you want, even shaping them into a ball is fine.

I think these taste like a dark chocolate chewy granola bar. With a hint of peanut butter. You will love these!

Chocolate Covered Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites

recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

Ingredients:

• 1/4 oats (Sometimes I use all oats and no coconut. If you don’t want coconut, up the oats to 3/4 cup and leave out the coconut)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup walnuts (or cashews, almonds, or pecans)
• 1/2 cup dates (I used raisins)
• 2 T peanut butter, (melted if kept in the fridge)
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 2 T coconut oil, melted
• For the drizzle: 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup cocoa powder (if the drizzle is too dark tasting you could always add in some maple syrup)

Directions:

1. In a blender, blend the oats until they’re finely ground. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the stuff for the drizzle.
2. Shape dough into balls, hearts, or whatever you want and refrigerate for a half hour.
3. Melt 1/4 cup coconut oil and mix with 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Dip hearts into the drizzle and let set up. It shouldn’t take long to harden. I even find that the drizzle is good on ice cream, yogurt, and whatever else you like chocolate syrup on.
4. Keep hearts refrigerated, and enjoy!

– Jill

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I made these muffins last week for breakfast, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. Muffins without butter? Without sugar? I figured they would be dense and lack flavor.

I am so excited to tell you I was wrong! These muffins are packed with flavor. And the applesauce and coconut oil keep these babies moist!

Start your day off right with these healthy, yet delicious muffins. Make them and you won’t be disappointed! And if you’re like me, you might even add some butter to a muffin as soon as they come out of the oven. Who can resist melted butter?

Carrot Morning Glory Muffins

recipe from Eating Well Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oats, plus 2 T for garnish
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 2 cups shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus 2 T for garnish (left this out)
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease a 12-cup muffin tin. (I only got 9 muffins with this recipe).
2. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and allspice in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, applesauce, honey and vanilla. Add in coconut oil. Gently stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in carrots, coconut, and raisins.
4. Put about a 1/2 cup of batter in each muffin cup. Sprinkle with the remaining oats and coconut.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center comes out moist when a toothpick is inserted. Let cool 10 minutes in pan and then move to a wire rack.
6. Enjoy!

– Jill

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This is what I had for dinner one night last week.

That and a smashed baked potato with butter, garlic, and cheese. And then I thought about working out.

Anyways, these were really good, especially when they’re warm and slathered in butter. They were also good the next morning with a cup of coffee. They’re slightly sweet, filled with apple goodness and kind of healthy for you.

Apple Pie Muffins

recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour)
• 1 & 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• 3 T sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup & 2 T sour cream (the original recipe calls for fat free apple yogurt)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (the original recipe calls for apple sauce, which I didn’t have but would be amazing)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chopped apple, cored and peeled

Oat Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 2 T rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 T butter, softened

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray or use cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. Throw all the ingredients for the oat streusel topping in a small bowl, and mix until you get coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, sugars, sour cream, coconut oil, eggs, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, you don’t want to overmix. Gently fold in the apples.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, making sure to fill them up to the top. In fact, I still had some batter leftover so I threw it in a mini muffin pan, and made some of those, too. Anyways, you want to fill those muffin tins all the way to the top with batter. Then sprinkle with the streusel topping.
6. Bake for 5 minutes at 425, and then reduce temp to 375 and bake for another 15-20 or until muffins are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool, and enjoy!

After all these muffins and scone recipes I’ve been making lately, I know I should have a salad recipe next. We’ll see. Maybe. Or maybe cupcakes.

– Jill

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Last week I saw these monster cookies on Whisky Drinkin’ Chimney Sweep, and thought, “Oh, my goodness. I need to make these right away!” So, I did. With a few modifications.

I halved the recipe (because who needs 48 monster cookies!!! Okay, maybe I do), cut out most of the sugar, added some honey, walnuts, coconut oil, flaxseed meal, instant coffee grounds, and dark chocolate. Boo-ya!

These cookies didn’t spread out as much as the originals did, but I didn’t really care. They’re really filling, and very, very yummy. And healthy! (As healthy as cookies can be, except for maybe these Carrot Cookies.)

These are my new favorites. They might be almost 300 calories a cookie, but they’re so filling that I am satisfied with only one. And let me tell you that’s really hard to do. When making cookies I usually eat about 3 tablespoons of the cookie dough, then go on to eat anywhere from 1-10 cookies throughout the day. And then it’s time to say goodbye to my diet.

Since I have no self-control when it comes to cookies, I try not to make any. But you can see how that goes, seeing as I usually have a new cookie recipe each week.

Monster Cookies

recipe adapted from Whisky Drinkin’ Chimney Sweep

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temp
• 2 T coconut oil, melted at room temp
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 T vanilla extract
• 3 cups oats (not instant)
• 3/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or whatever chocolate chips you want)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped (I did 2 oz. of a chocolate baking bar)
• 1 T instant coffee granules

Directions:

1. Beat eggs, honey, brown sugar, butter, and coconut oil in a large bowl. Add peanut butter and beat until smooth. Then beat in vanilla extract.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and flaxseed using a whisk. Stir flour mixture into peanut butter mixture using a wooden spoon. Then stir in walnuts, chocolate chips, dark chocolate, and coffee granules. Mix until everything is incorporated.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup put mounds of dough on the baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours up to overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake 6 cookies at a time for 17-20 minutes or until bottoms are brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Enjoy!!

– the Jilb

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These cookies are so healthy and so good for you! Okay, maybe not exactly but a little flaxseed and oatmeal can’t hurt, right?

These Oatmeal-Flax Chocolate Chip Cookies are chewy, fluffy, and full of chocolately goodness. They were a huge hit with my kids, and I’m sure they would be with yours! (And if you don’t have kids, I won’t tell if you eat the whole recipe.)

I know I have a few chocolate chip cookie recipes on this blog, but I honestly don’t mind. Can you ever have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes? I didn’t think so.

So, you know what you need to do. Go. Make these cookies. And then eat them. Before you bake them, first you must try the dough. (If you’re into that sort of thing. I am so into that sort of thing. I LOVE cookie dough.) And then come back and thank me.

Oatmeal-Flax Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe adapted from The Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (next time I am going to get rid of the AP flour and do all whole wheat. yum!)
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup flaxseed, finely ground (I used flaxseed meal)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp instant coffee granules
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled (you could omit this and add 1/4 cup butter if you want)
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. Whisk the flours, oats, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, coffee, and cinnamon in a bowl.
3. Beat the butter, coconut oil, and sugars until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and beat some more.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes (mine were perfect at 11). Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, and then move to wire racks to cool completely.
6. Enjoy!!

– the Jilb

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It’s Cookie Week here on Reini Days! I looooove cookies. They are my downfall. If I bake them, I will eat them. Unless I give the cookies away, I will eat every stinkin’ yummy one. So, that’s what I did. A few ladies I know had babies and I made them cookies (and, yes, I ate a few).

So, this week will be those recipes. And if you don’t like cookies I’m not sure why you’re visiting our blog. Just kidding! I love you all.

Up first: Nutty Butter Cookies. Eat one of these cookies and all will be well in the world.

I’m generally not a peanut butter cookie fan because most peanut butter cookies bore me. Not these. These are full of buttery oats, chopped nuts, peanut butter, a taste of honey, and whole wheat pastry flour (which I love, love, love!!)

The nice thing about these cookies? You can sub in whatever nut butter you want, or whatever chopped nuts you have on hand. (The original recipe says that the nut butter and the chopped nuts should be the same kind; i.e. peanut butter and peanuts, or almond butter and almonds.) The possibilities are endless!

These Nutty Butter Cookies are light, crumbly, soft, and full of peanut buttery goodness. Best peanut butter cookie. Ever. Seriously.

Nutty Butter Cookies

recipe adapted from The Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened and divided
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup, plus 2 T whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 2 T honey
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped (or other nuts)

Directions:

1. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add oats, and cook, until toasted, about 5-7 minutes. Spread oat mixture over parchment-lined baking sheet. Let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In another bowl, beat together remaining 1/4 cup butter, coconut oil, honey, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, and beat again. Add peanut butter, and mix again until well-blended.
5. Stir in the oat mixture and chopped nuts to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. Add flour mixture, and mix again until all is blended.
6. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Put cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Let cool on pan for a few minutes, and then move to a wire rack.
7. Enjoy!

– the Jilb

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