treat

chocolate dipped, oatmeal-hazelnut cookies /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

when it rains it pours.  that's how the past couple weeks have felt, from car troubles, to personal and interpersonal disappointments, to feeling the pressures of work, to disgusting plumbing problems.  i'm sure i'm not the only one who feels the weight of being overwhelmed by the ebb and flow of life, and believe me, i am fully aware that the feelings i'm talking about are super minor compared to a lot of other issues out there in universe.  that being said, i tend to put myself under a lot of pressure, and hold myself to certain standards, especially when it comes to relationships, both personal and professional, leaving my brain feeling really full and overworked at times.  my husband does a great job at listening and finding ways to put things into perspective.  while out celebrating 6 months of marriage the other night, out of nowhere he looked at me with his deep, penetrable eyes and said, life is good.  i could have cried, in times when i am feeling the weight of life i totally over complicate and analyze things.  but this guy, with all his wisdom, uttered 3 little words that made it all a little less suffocating. so, despite the day's hardships life, overall, is just really f*@%)!^ good.  here's to enjoying the the life you have and the one's you love.

speaking of life's goods: cookies! i was totally inspired by One Part Plant's Jessica Murnane's cute new e-book, A Year Of Cookies! which has really great recipes from Baked, Laura Wright of The First Mess, Julie Lee of Julie's Kitchen and many others. so, i set out to make an oatmeal cookie of my dreams.  i'm not a big fan of the usual chewy oatmeal cookie studded with raisins or perhaps other dried fruit.  to me, cookies are best when sweet and crunchy, and all that remains after your first bite is a lick of salt on your lips.   also, cookies of my dreams regularly contain nuts, it's a rule.  i wanted to incorporate something toasted and nutty and thought the hazelnut meal would suite that need perfectly. and generally when i think of hazelnuts in a sweet sense, i think chocolate.  so, naturally, chocolate dunked cookies were in order this go round. hope you enjoy : )

chocolate dipped, oatmeal-hazelnut cookies

| gluten free + dairy free |

makes 20 small cookies or about 10 large

ingredients

  • 3/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed (for hazelnut meal and sprinkling - directions below)
  • 1/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon + a pinch fine grain sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
  • 1 free-range egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is my go-to)
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil

instructions

for the hazelnut meal 

  • in a food processor, pulse 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of the toasted hazelnuts until you are left with hazelnut meal - you don't want to pulse them too long or you will be left with hazelnut butter.  remove the meal from the food processor and set aside.  
  • add remaining hazelnuts to the  processor and pulse until roughly chopped.  set aside for later

make the cookies

  • preheat oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
  • in a large bowl whisk the rolled oats, hazelnut meal, brown rice flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon until combined.  in another large bowl, whisk the melted coconut oil with the sugar until dissolved.  add the egg and vanilla and beat mixture until combined.  add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spatula until combined
  • using your hands, form small balls of dough (about 1/2 tablespoon), place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.  place cookies in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.  remove from fridge, and place in oven; bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating halfway through, until edges of cookies are slightly brown and crisp.  remove from oven and transfer to cooling racks.  let cookies cool completely

chocolate dip

  • while cookies are cooling, place chocolate chips in a double boiler or heatproof bowl over simmering water; stir the chocolate until melted.  remove from heat and mix in the coconut oil; transfer to a small bowl or cup
  • one at a time, dip half the cookies into the chocolate and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. allow the chocolate to solidify at room temperature before eating
  • cookies will stay fresh for up to 4 days on at room temp covered with a piece of parchment paper

enjoy!

salted dark chocolate nut bars /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

greetings friends! i hope you all had a lovely holiday are finding time to relax and chill a bit.  as the new year rolls in i offer you a seriously healthy and wholesome candy bar..? health bar..? nut bar!?  anywho, regardless of the name they're full of crunchy sweetness, and (my favorite) roasty, toasty, nutty flavor! i've been a long time believer in nuts, maybe not believer per se, but i love nuts in anything and everything.  i always thought my love of nuts would someday bite me in ass as i would surely wake up and hear that the calories and fat they contain are just too much for human body to handle.  

as it turns out, just the opposite is true!!!  according to 2 recent new york times articles, nuts are not just healthy and good for you, but they trigger the part of the "reward" centers of the brain (parts of the brain that are usually triggered by cookies, candy, and chips) that essentially tell the body that it is being rewarded with a super tasty snack! so win-win as far as i'm concerned: healthy AND my brain thinks they're yummy too!   (you can find these articles here and here.)  i'm sharing these bad boys over at Food 52, so hop on over there for the recipe :)  

peace + love to all of you in 2014! 

s'more pie w/ toasted marshmallow meringue /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

it was a big weekend over here with my husband turning 30 and all.  lots of fun celebrating with food, family, and a beautiful sailboat ride through new york harbor.    not to mention this s'more pie.  frank loves s'mores, so naturally i thought i would make him some combination of graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow.  i experimented weeks before making this pie with variations of marshmallows.  i even bought grass-fed gelatin to make a traditional kind of gooey marshmallow,  and it came out pretty good.  however, i had a little difficulty wrapping my head around what the powdery substance truly contained, and opted to make another version of marshmallow that didn't contain ground pig hooves (or whatever gelatin is made from).   

a few things to note here...for the graham cracker crust, i used store bought gluten free and vegan graham crackers.  they are not the easiest to find in your local grocery, but can be found online.  i swapped the butter for coconut oil which makes the crust a bit more crumbly, but still delicious.  i also added 1/2 cup more crumbs than the original recipe because the crust was quite thin.  for the chocolate filling, i used dairy, soy and nut free chocolate (mostly because it's dairy free) semi sweet chocolate.  any other semi sweet chocolate will work, or your could go with milk chocolate for a sweeter, more traditional s'more taste.  i used full fat coconut milk for the heavy cream.  the marshmallow is egg-based, but if you're vegan, my blogger friend sophia has been experimenting with flax meringue over at her beautiful blog.  i haven't had the time to make it yet, but it sounds too intriguing not try at some point! 

s'more pie w/ toasted marshmallow meringue

| gluten + dairy free | 

crust and chocolate filling adapted from Smitten Kitchen. marshmallow meringue adapted from Honestly Yum

| makes a 9" pie | 

for the crust

  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 2 cups S'moreables graham cracker crumbs (roughly 18 crackers, finely ground in a food processor)

for the chocolate filling

  • 7 ounces Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate (or any other chocolate semi sweet chocolate) 
  • 1 cup unsweetened, full fat coconut milk (from a 15 ounce can) 
  • 1 organic, free range egg

for the marshmallow meringue

  • 1 cup pure cane sugar
  • 4 organic, free range egg whites
  • pinch of salt
  • splash of pure vanilla extract

 

directions

make the crust

  • preheat oven to 350° and lightly oil a pie plate with coconut oil.  in a medium sized bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and coconut oil; turn out onto pie dish.  press evenly into the bottom and sides of the pan.  bake in the center of the oven for 12-15 minutes; until shell is crisp and slightly browned.  let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour

make the chocolate filling

  • preheat oven back to 350°.  put chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  in a saucepan, bring coconut milk just to a boil, then pour hot cream over chocolate.  let stand for 1 minute, use a whisk to combine until smooth.  gently, whisk in the egg and a pinch of salt until combined; pour into graham cracker shell.  bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until the chocolate is softly set and giggles a bit in the center.  (deb recommends covering the edges of the graham cracker crust with tin foil before baking the chocolate, however i did not as the graham crackers i used did not burn from extra time in the oven.)
  • on a rack, cool pie to room temperature.  the filling will firm as it cools, about 1 hour

make the marshmallow meringue

  • combine 3/4 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup of water in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.  attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and simmer syrup without stirring until the thermometer reads a temperature of 240°, occasionally swirling the pan.  place the egg whites, salt and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk.  whip on high until frothy and add the 1/4 cup of sugar.  whip until peaks form
  • reduce speed to medium, and with the mixer running on low pour the hot syrup into the meringue in a steady stream, being careful not to let it touch the side of the bowl or the whisk attachment (if the syrup hits the bowl or whisk it will harden and be difficult to clean.  if it ends up hitting anything just soak in hot water.) 
  • gently spread the marshmallow over the top of the pie.  if eating immediately, turn your oven to broil and toast the marshmallow meringue until lightly browned 30-50 seconds.  if not eating immediately wait to toast until you're ready to eat.  the pie can stay in the fridge for up to one day before toasting

slice carefully and enjoy!