Back to Basics 19 - Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Behold, the humble chocolate chip cookie. Is there a better dessert? I think not. You can make it crispy or chewy, thin or fat, fill it with whatever you want, and it comes in a nice little convenient package. All you need is one free hand to savor it and you're good to go.
My favorite is thick and chewy, with dark chocolate chips and nuts. And to make us feel less guilty, we make it with whole wheat flour and oats, we also replace some of the butter with canola oil. Perfection.
Now, stop drooling over that picture and let's see how you can make these.

Watermelon Blueberry Popsicles

Well, there's no denying it, it's summer. It was 90 degrees at 9am yesterday. We're in it now! Which means: POPSICLES!!

This popsicle is so refreshing, light and satisfying. You won't feel guilty for eating a sugar-loaded treat, or weighed down with a heavy cream based treat. Plus, it's gorgeous! I personally prefer popsicles over ice cream any day, and making popsicles at home is the easiest thing EVER! You barely have to do anything. All you need to do is go out and buy some popsicles molds, which I got for a $1 at the local dollar store.

This recipe, as usual, is from EatingWell. It uses white granulated sugar, but if you'd like you can substitute it with agave or honey.

Strawberry-Orange Muffins

I'm baaaaack!! I have been gone for a while. I have no excuse. BUT, I am bringing you a gorgeous and delicious recipe.

I went to my grocery store this week and they had some beautiful organic strawberries on sale. Since it is strawberry season and I plan on going to as many Farmers' Markets as I can, I thought I'd add this recipe to my arsenal. It's from EatingWell and I followed the recipe exactly. I do recommend buying organic oranges because you will be using the zest.

This muffin is not overly sweet so it's perfect for breakfast. The strawberries give it just the right amount of sweetness. The orange isn't overpowering, it just gives off a hint in the background. An the topping...OH THE TOPPING. It's sweet and salty and nutty. SO GOOD!

Oat, Coconut & Pumpkin Seed Cookies

*Recipe adapted from Whole Foods website*

This cookie is filled with healthy goodies but still manages to taste REALLY good. If you can't find pumpkin seeds, you can substitute with almonds, dried fruit or even chia seeds.

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like to keep my cookie jar constantly full, so when my boyfriend and I ate all of the cookies in it yesterday, I started scrambling trying to think of what to make next. I saw this recipe for coconut cookies, but I had to leave my butter out to come to room temperature and that would just not work for tonight, I needed a cookie NOOWWW. Sooooo I went to the cookie I always go to when I just want soft, chewie, chocolate-packed, simple goodness. I love that this isn't just an excuse to eat sugar, it actually has healthy stuff in it like whole wheat flour, olive oil, almond milk. You can even put in dark chocolate chips for antioxidants. Bonus: it's also dairy and egg free! Which means it's vegan, wohooo!!! Although if you're being strict you should make sure your chocolate chips are also vegan.

Anyway, let's get started!

Iced Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is my favorite season ever! It's the Goldilocks of seasons, not too hot and not too cold, plus we get all those beautiful golden leaves everywhere. It's also the start of the holidays and with that comes holiday food. Pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, oh my!

I decided to make these Hungry Girl muffins because I had a can of pure pumpkin lying around and too much time on my hands. You can probably start finding canned pure pumpkin now, I bought mine last year at Walmart and they're still good. Don't confuse them with pumpkin pie filling though! They're actual pumpkin, mashed up and without anything else added to them. I also saw these adorable muffin liners at Target for $1 so they needed to be used RIGHT AWAY. Here's the recipe: