Coconut Nog Cookies!

Ok, you would think I miss the holidays or something baking these in the middle of January. Truth be told, I just have SO MUCH nog left over from the holidays that I don't know what to do with it all. If that isn't a first world problem, I don't know what is! 

Without further adieu...

2 cups flour 

2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg 

3/4 cup sugar 

1 tsp vanilla 

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup coconut nog + 1 tsp 

You know the drill. Mix the dry, add the wet and portion onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. I needed to add a tsp or so extra of coconut nog because the mix was too dry.  I have a small cookie scoop that I use. These will spread a little but not much. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes and then let cool. 

These are delicious on their own or you can glaze them! I made two different glazes.

Spiced Rum Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp spiced rum

1.5 tsp coconut nog 

Mix until thick, but wet. Then dollop a 1/4 tsp on top and it will run down slowly. If it's too thin it will just make your cookies soggy. 

To make it un-boozy you simply omit the rum and increase the coconut nog. 

Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top and enjoy! 

Kidney Bean Salad

I don't know what else to call this. 

I started off trying to make mock tuna. I diced all of my onions and then opened a can of what I thought was chick peas... 

FOILED! It was kidney beans! WTF?!  I literally spent the next 30 minutes tearing the pantries apart in search of chick peas. There were none. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?! That's like running out of nooch, or cashews. IMPOSSIBLE. I am still in total disbelief, maybe even denial. (They're here SOMEWHERE!!!) 

In the mean time, I had a large red onion chopped and a hankering for a Just Mayo based salad. Mock tuna was out- but what could I do with kidney beans? 

This. I did this. And sweet mother jeebus it is divine. Here is my best recollection of the recipe with made up measurements. 

1 can kidney beans (28oz)

1/2 cup Just Mayo 

3-4 garlic dill pickles, chopped

1 medium/large red onion chopped

1 tbsp tamari 

1 tbsp horseradish

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything except the onions, pickles and beans. Then add the pickles and onions. Last, add the beans and stir to coat. Now, eat directly from mixing bowl, or you could top your favourite cracker, load up your favourite bread, wrap it up. Whatever you do, just enjoy! It's delicious!

*Do you ever make something SO good, but it's impossible to take a good photo of? It's late and I'm tired and quite frankly, keep eating my model. This is the bean salad on a toasted jalapeño baguette. (Teeny bite size to feign sophistication! 😆)

Waffle All The Things!

It's not a new craze, but waffling food other than waffles is pretty amazing. Waffle irons are pretty versatile. You can cook tofu, hash browns, cookies and more. 

I wanted something brunchy today and decided to try an experiment. Sometimes they work, sometimes not so much. Lucky for you all, this one worked. 

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Waffles

1/2 a banana, smashed

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup organic pastry flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla 

1/4 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup almond milk 

Pinch of salt

You know the drill. Mix dry, mix wet, combine and pour into the waffle iron. Voila. 

The shell crisped up nicely in the waffle iron and the inside was cakey and oatey like I wanted it to be. The chocolate chips got a little toasty for my liking- in future I would probably add them after the fact, or just make a chocolate drizzle. This would also work well with raisins.

Being the glutton that I am, I added coconut whipped cream and cinnamon to mine. You should do the same. It was spectacular. 

Note: if you wanted to make it sweeter (I didn't add any sugar to the mix) you could add 1/4 cup of sugar.