Another Snow Day? and Hot Cocoa Recipe

Well, it is three days since our last bit of snow and we may get more today. We have already had one little snow shower this morning, with clouds moving in that promise more. Mr. M is home from work today, so I really hope we get enough to play in all together! Unlike my dad, who almost always had the day off when it snowed, Mr. M has had jobs that seem to go on no matter what- especially when he worked for FedEx!

So, we're hoping for snow here and getting the hot chocolate ready again!

About 7 years ago, when I was starting on my journey to make more things from scratch, I began using a hot cocoa recipe from the back of a can of Hershey's cocoa. In the intervening years, it has changed along with my nutriotional standards! First we started reducing the sugar, then increasing the cocoa (that was just because I like it chocolate-y... and so I didn't have to dirty up a different size measuring cup when we had no dishwasher!). And later traded the sugar for various other sweeteners. We usually use Rapadura now, but it did take us some time to get used to the subtle flavor change. You could also use honey, maple syrup, or the good ol' white stuff- it is definitely the cheapest option. So without further ado, here's our recipe:

1/4 C. cocoa (I do a "heaping" 1/4 C.)
1/4 C. Rapadura sugar (or white sugar, etc.)
1/4 C. hot water
4 C. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cocoa, sugar and hot water in a saucepan and cook over med-high heat for about a couple minutes. It should be bubbling. Reduce to med. heat, add milk and heat to desired temp- Do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Enjoy!

P.S. for an extra treat add "micro" marshmallows... (for those of you near me, you can find these at The Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft- made with corn syrup instead of high fructose corn syrup(oooooh, aaaaahh...)

Oatmeal-Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I love the peanut butter-chocolate chip combo and made my favorite cookies today. I mentioned this on my facebook page and when others requested the recipe, I thought I'd post it here, too.

This is a recipe that I have developed over the past several years- you can change things up in all sorts of ways. The version here is just the way I like them- but they may not be sweet enough for everyone. I have made it with all types of sweeteners, everything from regular ol' sugar to maple syrup to Rapadura (unrefined, dehydrated cane juice- has some nutrients and minerals that are stripped out of other sugars, even the "natural ones"). I use whole wheat flour whereas white would work just as well. You could get away with less butter, but why would you want to? You can get away with one egg instead of two if, like mine, your chickens have off days for laying and you hate running to the grocery store when you really just want to bake some cookies.. .And you can adjust the amounts of peanut butter and oats depending on your taste and texture preference. Just one thing you can't mess with- you *must* use the whole bag of choc chips, they just won't turn out at all if you don't ;o)

1 C. butter (2 sticks)
3/4 C. Rapadura sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. peanut butter
2 C. whole wheat flour
1 tsp.baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 C. rolled oats
1 bag chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs until smooth. Add vanilla and peanut butter and beat until creamy. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together, then add a little at a time to butter mixture. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Spoon onto ungreased baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Pour glass of cold milk or cup of hot coffee, dip and enjoy!

 

Here are the various quantities and types of sugar I have used with success:

3/4 C. brown sugar & 3/4 C. white sugar (original choc chip recipe, too sweet for me)
-you can take this down to half a cup each
-you can also use just white or just brown, even down to 1/2 C. sugar total

1/2 C. maple syrup & 1/2 C. sugar (any kind- Rapadura, brown, white)
-not sure if I have tried it with this particular recipe, but you could use honey instead of syrup
-need to try it with just syrup or honey... will let you know the results. Too bad I'll have to bake more cookies to try it out- but I'll do it for the sake of my friends, and science.

And I don't have a picture of the final product, because I just don't have the will power to get out the camera when I could be eating these cookies instead...