Deep Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

When Todd's away, cookie making's at play!

Todd is in a of couple of ultimate frisbee leagues and when he has practice...it's Katie-time in the kitchen! Some kind of sweet is always involved. Usually chocolate and always delicious. This episode involves cookies. Well, a kind of a cookie.

These are adult cookies. They are cookies in a loose sense of the word. Kind of like a cross between a cookie and a chocolate-nut bar. There's not many combinations more delectable than hazelnut and chocolate, am I right? Also, these are sweetened only with dates and chocolate chips! No flour either! They are perfect as a breakfast treat or a snack after work. 

Deep Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Makes 12 cookies

• Prep:
• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 1 Tbsp. cold water
• 1 1/2 cups ground hazelnut meal (about 1 cup whole hazelnuts)
• 3 medjool dates, pitted
• 1-2 Tbsp. water
• 2 Tbsp. melted vegan butter
• Remaining:
• 1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1-2 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Begin by whisking together the ground flax seed and 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Place in the fridge until ready for use. 

In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until finely ground. Just be sure not to turn into hazelnut butter! Transfer to a large bowl. 

Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Add the pitted dates to the processor and pulse with 1-2 Tbsp. water until it forms a smooth date paste. Process in the vanilla and butter. 

In the bowl with the hazelnut meal, add the remaining dry ingredients, excluding the vanilla and chocolate chips. Whisk to combine.

Now add the flax egg and the butter/date mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well to combine, then fold in the chocolate chips. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Form dough into 12-14 cookies. Shape as you'd like them to be when done, because they won't change shape in the oven. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes on a baking sheet.

Remove from heat and allow to rest for a minute or two on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. 

Last weekend I did the Alaska Run For Women, which raises money for breast cancer research. Over 7000 women ran it! A family friend of ours had a mammographer running for her for too...it was me! Wishing all the women, men, and children affected by breast cancer peace and happiness in such a difficult time.

Those are real, wild Alaskan roses in my hair, picked from my driveway. And of course I am rocking my No Meat Athlete shirt that Todd got me for my birthday! *love it*

This is my new favorite song! Sorry, they didn't have it on Soundcloud, but check it out on Spotify! Star & Micey – I Can't Wait - Live Acoustic

German Word of The Day

Hazelnuts --> Haselnüsse (pronounced: hahzel-noose) - one of my favorite German words!

Good Deed of The Day

"Under the current rules, a single slaughter line is allowed to kill a staggering 140 birds every single minute. That extremely fast rate causes workers to slam chickens and turkeys into shackles so quickly that the birds' leg bones often snap. Some birds are able to avoid the throat-cutting blades, which results in them being scalded alive in defeathering tanks." They are trying to raise the limit to 175. Do you want 175 chickens killed per minute? Me neither. Sign here.  

Hazelnut Maple and Poppy Seed Spiced Corn Cakes

The weekend calls for regale and fanciery. Yes, I know the latter is not a real word. But it's real to me, and it means that on either Saturday or Sunday morning, Todd and I will have an extravagant and downright snobby breakfast. It will be fit for someone who does not reside in a tiny thimble of a house in the wilds of Alaska, and who does not live with a giant, shedding, beast of dog that steals your spot in bed in the dark of the night. This imaginary person also probably isn't vegan. This imaginary person is obviously not us...  These Hazelnut Maple and Poppy Seed Spiced Corn Cakes definitely qualified as one of these breakfasts. These are super hearty and delightfully filling. Todd and I could eat only eat half of our portions...but that may be because we split the entire batch of nine pancakes. What? Gluttony goes hand in hand with regale...you know it does. 

Sweetened with maple syrup and Hazelnut Kahlua, these dense corn cakes lend a good, crunchy, and wholesome bite from the polenta, hazelnuts, and poppy seeds. Spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg for seasonal flare!

Hazelnut Maple and Poppy Seed Spiced Corn Cakes

Inspired by The Sweet Life

Makes 9 medium pancakes

• --Wet--
• 1 cup soy milk (I used unsweetened, plain)
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp. Hazelnut Kahlua 
• --Dry--
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup  polenta (or cornmeal for a finer consistency)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• dash of freshly ground nutmeg
• --Add-Ins--
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk and the vinegar and allow to rest for about 5 minutes or until it's curdled slightly. 

Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. 

Now, whisk the maple syrup and Kahlua into the soymilk mixture.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat and spray with a non-stick cooking spray.

Slowly and gently add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine. Do not overmix! A few lumps of flour are okay. Gently stir in the hazelnuts and poppy seeds.

Once the pan is hot, drop a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and allow to cook until bubbles begin to form throughout the pancake. Spray the top of the pancake with cooking spray and flip. Cook about 1 minute then remove and repeat with remaining batter. 

Top with a pat of vegan butter and additional maple syrup! 

Now go make these, and lavish in your opulent breakfast!

Chair-dancing to, The Oh Hello's – Eat You Alive

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Hazelnut Chai Nightcap

So, I've been making this Hazelnut Chai Nightcap at bedtime, for about a week straight now. I thought it was time that I stopped being so selfish and share it with you. It's not really a secret that I'm a horrid sleeper. As are my dad and my older brother. That eye mask you see in the photo below is mine. I wear it every night. I also sleep with earplugs every night. No, it's not because it's noisy outside our house. It's Alaska after all...we really don't have neighbors.

I wear ear plugs because...well, how should I say this...I find patterns in the quiet of the night. Like the spinning of the ceiling fan and how it's just a bit loose and so it makes a subtle clink, clink, clink every time it goes around. Or Bob and his measured breathing. And there's nothing about the sound of rain that helps me sleep. These noises get me thinking. I begin comparing the sounds to other sounds. Sounds I've heard from people I've met or places I've been. Memories and thoughts past, present, and future abound. Then I can't sleep. My mind gives me the middle finger, grumbles, and fusses that it's not yet tired. There's nothing rhythmic about Todd's snoring though. I know how crazy this sounds. 

Yet, I've worn earplugs since I was in high school. Along with my entire family. This is odd due to the fact that I grew up on a very quiet road, on the side of a mountain, on the outskirts of a town with a population of 5,000. Oh, and we were surrounded by 80 acres of personal, forest-filled land. Oh, and six months of the year it's dark from ten thirty to five. Yes. Only I wear the eye mask in our family, but why do we all wear earplugs? The real answer is that I really have no freaking clue.

So, that long-winded story was all to point out that I sometimes often have trouble sleeping. I have melatonin tablets, I have over the counter sleep aids, I have eye masks and earplugs, I even have an Ambien. I've drank Tart Cherry juice before bed and I run for an hour, at least five days a week.

Now that the nights are getting cold, I've been curling up with this little nightcap to aid in a warm and peaceful slumber. Hazelnut Kahlua combined with Oregon Chai Dreamscape Tea and warm, sweet coconut milk is the perfect recipe for a cozy night in. With this, I don't even need most of those other sleep aids. 

Hazelnut Chai Nightcap

Inspired by my sweet tooth

Serves 1

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 chai tea bag (I use Oregon Chai Dreamscape tea)
• 1/2-1 Tbsp. Hazelnut Kahlua
• -- Note-- I really prefer Silk's coconut milk and the Oregon Chai Tea bags cannot be beat. Get the Dreamscape one for caffeine free!

Microwave the coconut milk in a large mug for about 2 minutes.

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Add in the Kahula. You can double the amount if you're feeling naughty.

Add the tea bag and allow to steep for as long as you'd like. If you're like me, that means until you've drank every last drop. I like my tea like I like my men...strong, hot and vegan! Oh, I am so corny. I couldn't resist the vulgarity though. Todd is mortified, I am sure of it. 

Serve piping hot and in bed. Book required. Eye mask and earplugs optional. 

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