Healthy Treats! | Memory Lane with a Cookie Dough Surprise
Happy Sunday my friends!
Today has been filled with a bit of personal nostalgia . Do you ever have those kinds of days? For me they are often moments remembering fond childhood memories spent with grandparents. My mother’s parents lived about 30 minutes away and I spent many summers with them. They had a huge yard , vegetable garden with beautiful Peonies, a tree with a swing and a creek to wade in. Oh the fun I had.
As you can imagine...
cooking and baking was another favorite activity spent with my grandmother. She would bake fruit pies, tarts and cobblers loaded with fresh fruit. I would receive the leftover pastry to make tiny cinnamon rolls, always buttery and sweet.
A prized wedding gift...
Yes, I’ve been sorting through old family recipes again and came across a fabulous recipe my grandmother gave me when we were married. As I mentioned earlier, she prepared a special recipe box filled with personal recipes all handwritten in her perfect handwriting.
One of my favorite...
recipes was for Oatmeal Cookies. I’m not sure if it was the huge quantity of butter or the equally large quantity of sugar but these cookies are amazing. Not only are the cookies amazing but the cookie dough was even better! Please, tell me some of you love cookie dough! I used to bake half of the cookies and then roll the balance of the dough to be frozen for later use. Generally speaking this dough didn’t last long in our house! I would catch everyone grabbing a slice of this frozen dough…it was awesome.
Today I had a craving for this Oatmeal Cookie dough BUT I just had to figure out a way to make these healthier! (I promise you my grandmother would approve, lol) I knew the dough had to include Oatmeal, Raisins and Walnuts!
Want to try them? The experiment begins...
All I used!
- Sun Butter (1/4 cup)
- Gluten Free Oats (1 cup)
- Coconut Oil (1 ½ tbsp.)
- Vanilla (1 ½ tsp)
- Coconut Milk (full fat) (1 ½ tbsp.)
- Organic Raisins (2/3 cup)
- Walnuts (1/3 cup)
I wanted to…
make something with a nice protein addition so walnuts and Sun Butter would do the job. I grabbed my handy food processor and added the Sun butter, ¾ cups of the Oats, Coconut Oil, Vanilla, Coconut Milk and half of the Raisins.
Process for about…
30 seconds or until the mixture starts to forms a ball. We still want the nice oatmeal texture. Test the dough to make sure it isn’t to dry, you should be able to form a tight ball with it. Feel free to add a bit more coconut milk if the dough is too dry.
Chop those walnuts…
and toss them into the dough along with the balance of the oatmeal and raisins. With damp hands I rolled the dough into sweet cookie dough balls! Now into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Here you have it! Glorious Cookie Dough Balls
Don’t you love it! No added sugar, no dairy! And added protein! Enjoy!
Now I’ll have something to share with my grandchildren! A new memory, written with just as much love and care! Healthy treats I think you and your kiddo’s both big and small will love. Oh, and if you want to get the full frozen cookie dough experience, throw them in the freezer, they'll do just fine! (until the family finds out!) Thanks for stopping by!
And as always, blessings to you all
Please can I have some cookie dough? Who does not like that! My kids used to say I must not bake it, they loved it and always took turns in scraping out the bowl! Gorgeous presentation as always Mrs Bird :)
Posted using Partiko Android
Yes, we all love cookie dough. I have to tell you though, when the kids were young my friend (a nurse) shamed me because I allowed my kids to eat dough....she was convinced we would all get sick from salmonella. She made me feel horrible! (btw we never got sick, lol)
I've heard that stuff about salmonella, too. Goes in one ear and out the other. I figure it's worth it. (I've never gotten sick either. So ... I'm not going to stop.)
Sometimes the only reason I make cookies is so I can eat the dough. Srsly.
I KNOW....lol. I have to admit, when I used to make cookies for the kids I would make the dough (eat a lot) bake cookies for them, and not eat any cookies :) The dough is the best! You're so right...
Now, now... finally some dessert that can be healthy and served cold at the same time! And, no oven required! Finally a recipe I can use (?)
Love working with no bake treats. Plus if you stick them in the freezer and they're soooo good! I hope you'll try them some time , thanks @lilacse :)
What a yummy recipe @birdsinparadise. Those look fabulous, I don't think they'd last long at my house either. 💕
Posted using Partiko Android
I know, they don't last long enough. If I'm really lucky I can make them and end up having a few, lol Definitely a popular item, especially right out of the freezer! Thanks @wonderwop!
yay! keep up the healthy treat renditions from Nanny !! i love it! a treasure for grandchildren indeed!!!!! XO
I was just thinking about you when I wrote this one...another little blockchain memory for you too! lol I wish you could have really known her, you two would have had so much fun with her. I love re-inventing these favorites (you could make them, no oven required, pop them in your freezer and voila, oxoxoxoxox love you)
yummy yum yum! love you mom, let's make them while you're here :)
Sounds healthy
And looks yummy, presentation and all :D
Thank you @kaerpediem, they're nice when you just want a little something sweet to snack on :)
I ABSOLUTELY love oats... cookies, granola and NOW THIS! These would be perfect for our spring and summer hikes for foraging!!
Yes! I hope you'll make them :) What a great energy treat for hikes. I can just imagine having these with fresh berries on a hike!!!! btw...thank you so much for uplifting my post in PHC @goldendawne, that was so kind of you, truly appreciated! (What a great community!)
I’m all about these balls. I’ve been on a raisin craisin kick lately and these cookies look right up my ally. I love that there is no added sugar… Grams would love the healthier version you care up with. I know, grandmas would love anything their granddaughters came up with but you’re still a cookie master. Live the recipe @birdsinparadise!
Thanks my friend, I would love to be able to share these with my grandmother, she would definitely give it a giggle :) We used to have so much fun together, she was quite the baker. Glad to hear you're able to expand your eating again, yay! Living in fruit paradise had to be tough, whew. I know we have so many fruits and veggies here I have to hold myself back at the market, I can't eat fast enough :)
Grandmas are the best! I like to freeze the fruit and make smoothies or nice cream with it. So yum when it’s hot out- and it’s hot everyday here. Haha
I'm into oats as porridge, but also love cookies
I grew up with a lot of porridge, but the cookies, mmmmm Granola is another great Oat dish we often enjoy. I guess they're one of my favorites for baking! Thanks @wales!
Oh, these look absolutely delish! I love raw foods & old family recipes :) I plan on doing a lot of RV travels and am loading up on easy road trippin' food ideas. This is perfect! Thank you @birdsinparadise ♥
We have an RV too!!!! This is perfect for a road trip :) I make lots of goodies like this because you can just pop one in your mouth while you're on the road! I'll look forward to hearing about your travels @lizablove!