Sylvia's Scenario

Now that summer is coming to a close, all our guests have departed and our celebrations are winding down,  I decided to get back to my healthy eating kick again.  So, wouldn't you know it that I got a craving for chocolate chip cookies.  But I solved that problem real fast by making these "healthy" chocolate chip cookies.  This is a Hannah Freese, RD recipe so, of course, it's a healthy one.  It's one of those no-cook type of cookie that tastes like a cross between a granola bar and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  It immediately satisfied my chcolate chip cookie craving and I made them in about 15 minutes.  They are made with oatmeal, pecans, hemp seeds, peanut butter, milk of your choice, and dark chocolate chips.  I had all the ingredients in my kitchen since I started following her eating plan five years ago.  I can't believe it's been that long.  It was September 2020 when I joined her 12-week program to fix my broken metabolism. ...

Fall is in full swing around here.  Yesterday, I made my  Pumpkin Chili  and then decided to make theses new cookies that were in the Seattle Times food section.  They just sounded so fall .  If it has pumpkin in it, it has to be fall.  I don't have a snickerdoodle cookie recipe on my blog but they are one of my favorite cookies so now I'm finally giving them some attention. This recipe is from  Hey Danie Bakes  blog.  They are not really a "pumpkin" cookie, but more snickerdoodle, which I like. The pumpkin flavor is very subtle.  I like putting pumpkin in recipes whether you taste it or not because it has so much nutrition in it; beta-carotene that converts to vitamin A which can be hard to get in your diet; it's a good fiber source; potassium and magnesium; and it has anti-inflammatory properties like antioxidents.  Theses cookies really smell up the house while you're baking them, too, because of the cinnamon which is perfect on...

I don't have very many gluten-free cookies on my blog because quite frankly, I usually don't like gluten-free.  But occasionally, I do find a good recipe and this is one that is from the back of the Trader Joe's oatmeal and it's a good one.  My friend brought some over to our house last weekend when Nick and family were here for our birthday celebrations  and we all loved them. My friend lives a few blocks away and we walk the neighborhood together on weekends.  We can easily go 5 miles in no time, talking non-stop.  She loves exploring our neighborhood as much as I do and we discover so many favorite little spots.  We even found a property with a horse (or more like a pony, I should say.)   The views are always quite lovely, too.  Bruce and I had our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary on July 18th and I made a point of walking past the house where we had our wedding reception.  I told my friend, "Thirty-nine years ago today, t...

Did you hear that DoubleTree by Hilton released their signature cookie recipe? It happened last month and they've kept their recipe a secret for decades, although there are a lot of copy-cat recipes out there.  Now that the travel industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus, DoubleTree has decided to share their secret recipe and I made them for the first time yesterday. Their senior vice president and global head, Shawn McAteer, had this to say, "We know this is an anxious time for everyone. A warm chocolate chip cookie can’t solve everything, but it can bring a moment of comfort and happiness. We hope families enjoy the fun of baking together during their time at home, and we look forward to welcoming all our guests with a warm DoubleTree cookie when travel resumes.” They are known to be rather large, complimentary cookies, warm from the oven when you check-in at any DoubleTree hotel.  We had the pleasure of enjoying them in 1998 when we moved to Idaho from...

Of all the years we've been doing Super Bowl parties, I realized that I have not posted the recipe for the Super Bowl cookies that I always make.  The above photo are this year's cookies which were easy since both teams had the same colors.  I always make the cookies to go along with the two teams that are playing.  Sometimes the teams have intricate logos which are challenging.  If I was a professional cookie maker who used royal icing, the cookies would turn out perfect but I still use the old fashioned buttercream frosting because of the taste.  You can't beat the taste of buttercream on a good sugar cookie and these two pair so well together that I just can't bring myself to switch to royal icing.  Our friends prefer taste over looks, for good reason.  The cookies still make for lovely table decorations for a party.    Here are previous Super Bowl cookies from past years.  Can you guess what teams were playing in the Super Bowl? ...