Caramel Salted Cookies or what I call "Legal Crack"

These cookies are amazing- I mean they are soooo delicious you'll eat 10 before you even realize what you've done. They are also incredibly easy to make, which is not always a plus, because well- I make them at a drop of a hat! So these cookies are adapted from this recipe at Weight Watchers. I'm pretty sure that the things I changed or adapted didn't affect the caloric values etc.... So I'd say whatever the weight watchers recipe says for nutritional info is probably the same- BUT I don't know this for a fact. So here goes: The recipe in pics (ingredients, measurements and baking instructions below pics). :)

a few of the great ingredients!

the packed brown sugar. I leave about a 1/4 inch of the cup to be filled with the maple sugar.

the maple sugar filling the remaining portion of the cup. This is the way I measure it every time so I don't know the exact measurements for the brown and maple sugar. This, is where I am not a rocket scientist!

creaming the butter, sugars, vanilla and egg.

the finished dough, with the all purpose and whole wheat flours, salt and baking soda. (and my ripened bananas in the background ready for this recipe that I found on Pinterest, that I've been meaning to blog about myself)

YUM!!! The finished cookie with the salt sprinkled on. I have a confession- I ate this cookie before it cooled completely. :) oops!

and now for the ingredients list.

1/2 cup butter- I use salted sweet cream butter- the original calls for unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar- this is where I really vary the recipe. I fill the 1 cup scoop up and pack the brown sugar until there is about 1/4 inch left. Then I pour maple sugar in the remaining 1/4 inch in the cup and lightly pack it down.  Maple sugar is my secret weapon in this recipe. I use Coombs Family farms but I just saw the Trader Joes is carrying it. see photos 2 and 3 for an illustration of what I do.
1 Large egg
1 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract- this is also a variation on the original which calls for only 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  I also use homemade brandy vanilla that a friend made for me, so make sure you use a good vanilla, not imitation!
1 Cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt- plus a little extra for sprinkling on the top. Make sure your sea salt is a fine grain, like a table salt consistency
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

instructions:
pre-heat oven to 400 F
cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla.
add flours, salt and baking soda.
beat until combined.

On parchment paper lined cookie sheets roll cookie balls the size of large gum balls and place them evenly on the cookie sheets. bake for 7 mins 30 seconds. Honestly, that's how long! I've tried it for 8 mins and while they are still good, they end up being a little crunchier than I personally like- taking them out 30 seconds earlier is perfect. Of course all ovens vary. They will seem like they are not ready to come out but trust me the are, they will be light golden brown around the edges.

Let them sit on the cookie sheets while you ready your cooling racks and get your sea salt for sprinkling ready. Transfer warm cookies to cooling racks and sprinkle a*small* amount of sea salt on the top. The salt will melt slightly on your warm cookie and stick to the cookie when it cools.

Let cool and EAT!!!! YUMMMMMMM!!!!!! (and just maybe share?!?)

No Bakin' Required!

Vegan Gluten Free No Bake Peanut Butter "cookies" (that really ended up being a brittle/toffee)

Here's a recipe that I altered to make vegan and gluten free. For the original recipe check it out here: Suzie The Foodie.

I have quite a few people on my holiday goodie list that have food restrictions (specifically vegan or gluten free, or both!) so I am always up for the challenge of finding recipes that look good to me that can be altered to meet my needs. This recipe is one such recipe. The original is full of glutens and corn syrup- I did my best to take that all out without sacrificing any of the yummy taste. So here's what I did.

Ingredients:

1 cup Brown Rice Syrup (**** here's the reason why the ended up crunchy like brittle. apparently brown rice syrup hardens like in candy making. So stick to the corn syrup if you want them to be like the original recipe. I'm going to play around with this and add some coconut oil and see if I can keep them from being hard and crunchy)

1 Cup sugar ( I actually substituted some of the sugar with Maple Sugar- which is a little *less* bad for you)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

1 1/3 cup peanut butter

4 cups of gluten free flake cereal ( I used Arrowhead Mills Sweetened Rice Flakes)

handful of non-dairy semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Trader Joes Brand)

In a large saucepan heat the brown rice syrup, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Carefully add the peanut butter- I do mean carefully, the previous mixture will be very hot and you don't want to splash yourself with it while you add the peanut butter. Stir to melt into mixture.

Add 4 cups of cereal to mixture. Stir to combine. Add a handful of chocolate chips (optional). Stir until melted. Using a greased ice cream scoop ( I "greased" mine with earth balance vegan "butter") scoop cookies onto parchment paper. Let cool. YUM!! *see my note below the photo for an accidental variation I found!
* These actually turned into more of a peanut brittle type consistency. Next time I make them I will spread them out into a thin later and break them up like brittle. These scoops were too hard to eat and I had to break them up. So this recipe needs to go back to the drawing board.