Healthy Style Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter can either be a super healthy snack or a super unhealthy snack. It all depends on what brand and type of peanut butter you buy. Stay away from any peanut butter that has more than 2 ingredients. The only ingredients that should be in your peanut butter is PEANUTS and SALT. If there is ANYTHING else - STAY AWAY! I am sadly allergic to peanuts but I wasn't always. I developed is annoying allergy when I was in my early 20's. Yet, I can still say these peanut butter cookies are the best in the world...and very healthy!!

Healthy Style Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup of softened butter
1 cup of 100% All Natural Peanut Butter
1 cup of All Natural Apple Sauce
1 cup of brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix well with an electric mixture (or by hand).

Grease a pan. Use an ice cream scooper to scoop out the dough and place down on greased pan. Then use a fork to push down on the scoops of dough.

Bake in oven at 400 for 15 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!

Apple Cookie Slices

So I was busy pinning and looking for recipes to pin and I found this amazingly cute recipe. I love it because you can alter it to your taste and personal nutritional needs. I found it on rachelschultz.com. I highly recommend you going to her site - she's got lots of cute recipe ideas. I made this for my mom and she loved it. She thought they were so yummy!!

Apple Cookie Slices (Serves 2)
2 apples
4 tbsp. natural peanut butter (or use Nutella, soy butter, almond butter or caramel butter)
raisins
chopped peanuts
chopped pecans
sliced pecans (chopped)
chopped cashews
chocolate minis or peanut butter minis

1. slice the apples by the core
2. spread the peanut butter, nutella, or any of the spreads that you used
3. then put the chopped toppings

Enjoy!!

   

Caramel Nut Bars

So this recipe is by no means healthy except for the fact that it has nuts which have lots of good protein. And the caramel is homemade - so you might say it is natural. But besides for that it isn't healthy, it is not low in calorie and it may leave you feeling a bit guilty. But it will also leave you feeling satisfied, feeling in love with this recipe and feeling like you want more. In this recipe my motto is to love a little. Counts you licks...not your calories! Enjoy!!


Caramel Nut Bars
1 cup of cashew halves
1 cup of crushed almonds
1 cup of salted peanuts
1 cup of pretzel thins crushed
1 cup of crushed graham crackers
2 tbsp. honey
dash of cinnamon
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of half and half cream
6 tbsp. on unsalted butter
dash of salt

Add Chocolate (optional)
6 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp of butter (melted)

1. mix your cashew halves, crushed almonds, peanuts and pretzel thins together - set aside
2. in a medium saucepan pour 1 cup of sugar and continually stir until it turns in a dark brown
3. add in the butter and slowly allow it to melt into the sugar
4. add in the salt and cream and continue to stir until it becomes a thick brown cream
5. set aside for it to sit for 2 minutes - use immediately. You can though store it for up to 1-2 weeks but make sure that you reheat it before you use it.

6. place the crushed graham crackers down on top of a baking dish or wax paper.
7. pour the caramel on top and then add the crushed nuts - don't worry if they mix together or not.
8. cover and place in freezer for 1 hour
9. in a medium sauce pan melt semi sweet chocolate chips with 1 tbsp. of melted butter
10. drizzle the chocolate over the nuts
11. allow it to thaw and for the chocolate to dry - about 30 minutes.

Serve! I know it isn't really that healthy but I promise you it will be tasty.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Everyone loves peanut butter and jelly, right? Isn't that what so many of us grew up on as kids. I know I did. This blog entry is 100% dedicated to all forms of eating the famous Peanut Butter and Jelly combo.

So it's breakfast and you decide that you're really hungry and want some peanut butter with jelly...what can you make?

 Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast

2 Arnold select thin breads- whole wheat (or a loaf of bread that is not already cut is fine too)
2 tbsp. 100% natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt!)
2 tbsp. of your favorite jelly
1 extra large egg

1. spread 1 tbsp. of peanut butter on each sandwich
2. drench each bread in egg and cook on a heated skillet for 3 minutes on each side (may need more depending on how your flame is)
3. serve with heaping tbsp. of your favorite jelly

So it's lunch time and you want peanut butter and jelly. Other then of course just making yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which would just be boring and gone before you even realized what you were eating there are so many other alternatives. Here are a few of them:

Peanut Butter and Jelly on Rice Cakes

5 rice cakes
5 tbsp. peanut butter (remember make is 100% natural it taste better and is better for you)
5 tbsp. of your favorite jelly

1. Spread 1 tbsp. of peanut butter and 1 tbsp. of jelly one each rice cake. It will last longer and you will actually enjoy it a lot more. I promise!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pinwheels

2 slices of bread
2 tbsp. of peanut butter
2 tbsp. of jelly

1. cut off the crust from each slice of bread
2. then spread 1 tbsp. of peanut butter and 1 tbsp. of jelly on each peice
3. then cut each side in half
4. finally roll of the bread creating a pinwheel look
All done...now eat up!!

Okay so the day is almost over, you've eaten dinner (sorry I don't have appropriate dinner recipes yet but I'm sure I will soon) and now you're in the mood for some dessert. Well as I am sure you can imagine that the recipes and ideas are endless but I will share with you only my top two recipes:







Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
(Hamantashin)

1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup light packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter or margarine melted
1 1/4 cup of flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup of 100% natural peanut butter
6 heaping (maybe more) tbsp. of jelly

1. Melt the butter
2. Add the sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt
3. Mix in the egg, butter and peanut butter
4. Mix well for 3 minutes on high
5. put in fridge for 2 hours
6. Preheat oven to 300*
7. Lightly grease and flour a baking pan
8. Pinch the dough and form little triangle shaped cookies, leaving a hole in the center.
9. Place some jelly into each hole
10. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.
11. Let cool and then eat up!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes
1 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup of natural peanut butter
1 large egg
3/4 cup cup of milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
strawberry perserves
12 strawberries 

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. melt the butter
3. combine the sugar, flour, salt, baking soda together
4. add in butter, milk, egg and peanut butter
5. Beat well
6. Lightly grease and flour 12 cupcake tins
7. scoop cupcake mixture into pans and bake for 20-25 minutes
8. Let cool for 20 minutes
9. with strawberry preserves frost each cupcake and top it with 1 fresh strawberry

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

This is a famous recipe in my house. We make it every single Thanksgiving. Over this last year I developed a semi allergy to peanut butter. I can only have in limited amount which is so annoying because once I eat one peanut butter ball I want to eat 10 more! Not a good idea if your allergic but if you're not...you'll love these!! Promise!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
 Peanut Butter Mixture
14oz 100% natural peanut butter (just salt and peanuts)
3 cups of confectionery sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted margarine or butter

Chocolate Mixture
14oz semi sweet chocolate chips
4 tbsp. margarine or butter

1. Melt the butter
2. Mix all ingredients together (peanut butter, sugar, vanilla and butter)

Line a pan with waxed paper.
3. Form peanut butter ball mixture into 2-3 inch size balls (makes about 50)
4. In a double broiler melt the chocolate with the butter together

Dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate covering it half way.
Place the balls chocolate side down on the waxed paper.
Put in fridge for at least 2 hours (so the chocolate can harden).

Enjoy!!