Peanut Butter Oat Balls

2 1/2 C oatmeal
1 C or 260 g peanut butter
1/4 C chia seeds
2/3 C or 8 oz honey
2 t vanilla extract

1 C chocolate chips
1/4 t salt

Measure out ingredients in a stand mixer bowl.

Refrigerate 30 mins.

Scoop and roll into balls.

Keep refrigerated up to 2 weeks.

cookingonthefrontburners

Protein Fluff

200 g frozen fruit (I love strawberries)

30 g or 1 scoop whey protein powder

1/4 C milk

1 t vanilla extract

Food process frozen fruit until crumbly.

Sprinkle whey on top, and pour in milk and vanilla.

Food process a nice long time until fluffy.

LTK

Note:

Adding pitted medjool dates gives a sweet chewy texture.

Sub 1/2 scoop for casein protein, which keeps you full longer.

Recipe doubles very nicely, but is very filling.

Chia Seed Jello Parfaits

4 Bonne Maman jars

1 C fresh fruit*

1 3-oz box jello

1 15 oz can coconut milk

1/3 C chia seeds

1/4 C frozen grated coconut (shredded coconut will work)

2 T maple syrup

1 T vanilla extract

Wash and chop fruit and distribute evenly in jars.

Place in the freezer.

Boil 1 C water and pour in a measuring cup.

Thoroughly dissolve jello, stirring vigorously.

Add 1/2 C strained ice water (not 1 C water from package directions).

Stir well, ensuring no cold spots, and pour evenly into jars.

Chill in freezer about half an hour.

Meanwhile, whisk together remaining ingredients.

Let cool in fridge with whisk.

Go do something else until jello has set.

Gently pour chia pudding over jello.

This will fill the jars perfectly :)

Chill in fridge at least another hour, or until set.

neuroticmommy

Note 1:

Do not use pineapple, kiwi, figs, papaya, pawpaw, mango, or guava.

Ginger, while not a fruit, also ruins the setting of jello.

All canned fruit, drained, will work.

Note 2:

If you are simply making jello with suspended fruit,

Drop fruit into thickened jello before it has completely set.

Digestive Biscuits

167 g whole wheat flour
33 g wheat germ
75 g sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 C butter
1/4 C milk

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a food processor, combine flour, germ, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Pulse in butter.
Add only enough milk so that a damp crumbly dough forms.
Gently knead, flour, and roll to 1/4".
Cut to 2 or 2 1/2" diameter.
Prick cookies with a fork.
Rotating once, bake 15-18 mins or until golden.

bonappetit

*For maple digestives,
omit sugar and replace 1/4 C milk with 1/2 C maple syrup.

Chocolate Mug Cakes

50 g or 1/4 C sugar

21 g or 3 T Dutch-process cocoa
2 g 1/2 t baking powder

.5 g or 1/8 t salt

1 egg

eyeball 1 T canola oil

eyeball 1/2 t vanilla

eyeball 6 T chocolate chips

eyeball 2 T whole milk

Find two 10 oz mugs.
Measure out the sugar, cocoa, powder, and salt together.

Separately, whisk the egg, oil, and vanilla.

Place 3 T chocolate chips and 1 T milk in each mug.

Microwave for 30 secs and stir.

Mix wet ingredients into dry.

Divide batter evenly between mugs and stir in melted chocolate.

Let mugs sit for 3 mins in the microwave with no heat.

Microwave for 1 min and 45 secs.

Take one mug for yourself and give the other to your lover.

altonbrown

Note 1:  Add 2 t of maca!

Dandy Candies

1 C peanut butter or any nut butter
1 C instant non-fat milk powder
1/2 C honey
1 t vanilla

Have little people measure out ingredients into a bowl or ziplock.

Have little people knead ingredients together.

Have little people make the dough into about 16 balls.

Place in fridge.

sparkpeople, courtesy of Cindy Lee

Note:

Can add raisins, nuts, oats, chocolate chips,

wheat germ, flax, cocoa powder, carob powder, etc.

"Cooking at Daycare"

Published December 1989

I go to school and I ride Bus 2.

Bus 2 is a daycare bus.

The daycare lets us cook.

We don's use stoves and things like that.

We use peanut butter, dried up milk, and honey for playdough; and we get to eat it.

It was messy.

When I did it, I was hungry.

I put peanut butter on my nose.

It was funny.

Here is the recipe for playdough that you can eat.

Buy five peanut butter jars, honey or syrup, and dried up milk.

Put the peanut butter in a big, big, big pot.

Mix the dried up milk with the peanut butter.

Get the smallest measuring spoon and fill it up with honey or syrup and pour it in the pot.

Then stir it up and keep stirring.

When it gets dry, take the spoon and fill it with honey or syrup and pour it in the pot.

Keep stirring.

Do that four times.

Then you have playdough that you can eat.

THE END

Lan's Bitter Hearts

60 oz semisweet chocolate,
1 lb or 260 pretzels (Rold Gold's tiny twists work nicely)

triple batch candied peel and ginger

Set sous vide to 90°.

Temper chocolate.

Distribute into 3 large piping bags to avoid overfilling.

Taping bag openings over the side of the pot, submerge bags in 90° water.

Lay pretzels side by side on parchment paper or silpats.

(260 pretzels requires about 6 silpat-lined baking sheets.)

Remove one bag and dry well.

Snip tip so opening on one side of the bag is about 1/4".

Pipe chocolate into a heart shape, flooding inside of pretzels.

Drop candied peel and ginger onto wet chocolate.

Let set until firm.

Yields more bitter hearts than you can eat.

LTK

Chex Mix

8 T butter
2 T Worcestershire

2 t seasoned salt like Lawry's

1 1/2 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

2 C garlic bagel chips

3 C garlic rye chips

4 1/2 C rice Chex

4 1/2 C wheat Chex

1 C roasted salted peanuts

Preheat oven to 250 and line two baking sheets with silpats.

Melt butter over low heat.

Add Worcestershire, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Whisk well to combine.

In a large bowl, crush garlic bagel chips and add garlic rye chips.

Mix in rice Chex, wheat Chex, pretzels, and nuts.

Pour about half of butter mixture over cereal and mix well.

Pour remaining butter over cereal once again and mix well.

Spread on baking sheets.

Bake, stirring every 15 mins, for 50 mins or until crisp.

thekitchn

Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddies)

10 oz semisweet chocolate chips

6 oz smooth peanut butter

4 T unsalted butter

1/4 t salt

2 t vanilla

12 oz box rice Chex cereal

300 g or 2 1/2 C powdered sugar

Melt chocolate, peanut butter, butter, and salt together over low heat.

Once almost smooth, remove from heat.

Stir until smooth and add vanilla.

Let cool until very thick.

In a large mixing bowl, alternate thick chocolate and Chex.

Stir very gently to combine until completely coated.

If not very sticky and thick, allow to cool again.

Place 1 C sugar in very large bag.

Place 1/2 cereal on top.

Layer in another C sugar, remaining cereal, and last 1/2 C sugar.

Close the bag tightly and shake.

Store in an airtight container.

thekitchn

Fruit Leathers

2 lbs or more ripe smushy pears

any other fruits (non-citrus work best)

juice of 1 lemon for color, optional

up to 4 T honey for pliability and sweetness, optional

bananas or freeze dried fruit for evenness of texture, optional

Cut pears and place in blender.

Press down with fist until pear juice saturates bottom of blender.

Add remaining ingredients, not exceeding 64 oz line.

Blend very well and take note of volume.

Lightly spray 4 fruit leather trays with oil.

Pour a quarter of the volume into each tray.

Flatten and even fruit roll ups as much as possible.

Dehydrate at 135 for about a day.

LTK

Note:

If desired, can boil everything with 1 T corn starch.

This keeps the liquid more evenly distributed when dehydrating.