Puppy Chow Cookies

Another....Pinterest find! I am a sucker for "puppy chow" or as most people know it, "Muddy Buddies". When I saw this recipe, I KNEW I had to give it a try. The fact that it was also gluten-free made it a plus since I have a couple friends with allergies to gluten. These didn't taste quite the same as puppy chow, but they were still quite yummy! I would make them again! The original recipe can be found here. The main change I made was how I coated the cookies. 

Puppy Chow Cookies

Ingredients:

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies with Chex Cereal:

* 1 Cup of Peanut Butter

* 1 Cup of Sugar

* 1 Egg

* 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda

* 1 tsp Vanilla

* 1 cup Rice Chex Cereal

* Pinch of Salt for sprinkling (optional)

Coating:

* 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk chocolate)

* 1/4 Cup of Butter (or 2 Tbsp. coconut oil)

* Approx. 1 Cup Powdered Sugar

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 350F

1. In a large bowl mix together 1c. PB, 1c. sugar, 1 egg, 1/2t. baking soda and 1t. vanilla.  Beat until well-blended.  Mixture will be crumbly. 

2. Lightly crush the Chex cereal into the PB mixture. (I crumbled with my hands). Mix with beater.

3. Carefully squish into small, teaspoon sized balls and place about an inch apart on a nonstick baking sheet. Dough will be very crumbly so be careful and think small!

4. Press balls of dough lightly with a fork.  Cross and press again.  Sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake for 9 minutes in the oven until cookies are slightly golden.

5. Let cookies cool completely. 

6. Melt chocolate in the microwave in a bowl. Mix in the butter or oil to make it easier to mix.

7. At this point the recipe suggests dipping each cookie and adding to a bag of sugar. This was too much for me, so I put all the cookies in a large bowl and added the chocolate and stirred (like I do with normal puppy chow).

8. Next add powdered sugar to a large container and carefully add the cookies. Shake carefully to make sure everything is coated. 

*It is suggested to store these in the fridge, though I just did an airtight container. 

White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies

This was another Pinterest find. I actually had the ingredients and I love normal snickerdoodles, so it was a must-try. This was one of the best cookies I think I made this season and I would DEFINITELY make it again! You can find the recipe here.

White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients:

• * 1 cup butter, chilled (I used margarine, which may have effected texture)
• * 3/4 cup brown sugar
• * 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• * 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• * 3.4 oz. package white chocolate instant pudding mix
• * 2 large eggs
• * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• * 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• * 1 teaspoon baking soda
• * 1 tablespoon hot water
• * 1/2 teaspoon salt
• * 2 cups white chocolate chips
• * 1/3 c. cinnamon-sugar for rolling (1/3 cup granulated sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth.

3. Add the 3/4c. brown sugar and 3/4c. sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes, until nearly creamy.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing in between additions.

5. Dissolve the 1t. baking soda in the 1T. water. Add both the baking soda and the vanilla to the mixer and mix well. Mix in the 1/2t. salt and 1t. cinnamon.

6. Add the 2 1/2c. flour and pudding mix, and mix until dough forms.

7. Mix in the 2c. white chocolate chips using a wooden spoon or spatula.

8. Scoop dough by heaping tablespoons and roll in the cinnamon sugar before placing onto a parchment lined or silicon lined baking sheet, ~2 inches apart.

9. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown. 

10. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Disney Sugar Cookies

A while back I found a recipe online for "Disney" sugar cookies and pinned it. I've been dying to try it, so I gave it a go for my Christmas cookie bake-a-rama. These were actually VERY close to the real thing and I was SO excited and surprised! The only difference is that these cookies are very cake-y and don't have a crispy outer layer, like the Disney cookies do. I think I used light butter or margarine, so that might have effected the texture too. Either way, these are a must make if you love Disney World sugar cookies! The original recipe can be found here. 

Disney Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup white sugar

*1/4 cup powdered sugar

*1/4 cup brown sugar (if you prefer less of a brown sugar/caramelized taste, sub white sugar for this)

*1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

* 2 eggs

* 1 cup melted butter

* 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* Sprinkles or rock sugar(optional, your choosing)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375F.

2. In a large bowl, mix first 6 ingredients.

3. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the rest except for the sprinkles/rock sugar.

4. Using a mixer, slowly add your small bowl flour mix to the wet ingredients until a sticky dough forms.

5. Create rounded spoonfuls or mounds. I made 6 large rounds and added my sprinkles/sugar to the tops of each. Place on a nonstick cookie sheet.

6. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies

This is one of the many cookies I made for Christmas this year! It was originally a Pinterest recipe and can be found here. These were pretty good, though they were more cake-y than cookie in texture, and I think next time I would use milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients:

• * 1 cup butter, softened (I used margarine, which may have effected the texture)
• * ¾ cup granulated sugar
• * ¾ cup brown sugar
• * 8 oz. Lite cream cheese, softened 
• * 1 teaspoon vanilla
• * 1 egg
• * 2 ¼ cup flour 
• * 1 teaspoon baking soda
• * 1 teaspoon salt
• * 2 cups Hershey's Baking Melts (I used mini semi-sweet chips)

Directions: 

1. Beat together the 1c. butter, 3/4c. sugar, 3/4c. brown sugar, and cream cheese in a bowl.

2. Add the egg and 1t. vanilla, mix well.

3. Mix together the 2 1/4c. flour, 1t. baking soda, and 1t. salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add to the wet ingredient bowl, scraping down the sides of the bowl as it mixed. 

4. Mix in the chocolates with a spoon.

5. Scoop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheets. 

6. Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes, until the edges look set.

7. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to wire rack.

HG So-Good Chocolate Chip Softies

Yay for extremely low point desserts! This one comes from Hungry Girl's 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories, page 244. Brian doesn't like the cookies I've made lately because they are too "bread-like", but I LOVE them! Especially with them only being 2 points a pop! These were a pretty good size too. Enjoy! I know I did!

HG So-Good Chocolate Chip Softies

Ingredients:

Dry:

* 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

* 1/2 cup Splenda (I used about 1/4 cup Truvia)

* 2 Tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)

* 1/4 tsp. baking soda

* 1/8 tsp. salt

Wet:

* 6 Tbsp. No Sugar Added Applesauce

* 1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin

* 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute (I used whites)

* 3/4 tsp. Vanilla

Lastly:

* 2 1/2 Tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Prep: Preheat oven to 375 and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. (I did the foil on cookie sheet thing to minimize clean-up)

1. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients.

3. Add wet mixture into dry (I did the exact opposite, whoops), and combine until well blended.

4. Fold chocolate chips in.

5. Spoon batter into 8 evenly spaced circles.

6. Bake in oven 10 minutes or until they look fully cooked and firm.

7. Allow to cool slightly, but eating while warm is encouraged!

Breakdown per 1 cookie: 2WWPP

88 cal

1.5g fat

93mg sodium

17g carbs

2g fiber

6g sugar

3g protein

WW Oatmeal Raisin Bites

I got this recipe from Maggie! Someone had made them for her and I tried one while at her house and fell in love! She said they were WW and got me the recipe! Voila!

WW Oatmeal-Raisin Bites

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, instant

* 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

* 1/2 tsp baking powder

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

* 1/2 cup butter, softened (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Light)

* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

* 1/4 cup sugar (I used 1 Tbsp. Truvia)

* 1 egg

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 cup raisins, chopped (I only used 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Prep: Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a medium bowl combine 1 1/2c. oats, 3/4c. flour, 1/2t. baking powder, 1/4t. salt, 1/2t. cinnamon, set aside.

2. In a separate bowl cream 1/2c. butter, 1/4c sugar (or 1T.), and 1/2c. brown sugar until combined. Add egg and 1t. vanilla. Mix well.

3. Add oat mixture into sugar mixture and mix until just combined.

4. Fold in raisins and drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Bake 9-10 minutes for chewy and 11-12 for crunchy cookies. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes before moving to a wire rack. 

Breakdown per cookie (should make 40 total): 1WWPP...but I only made 30 and they were 2WWPP

WW White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Cookie time! I wanted an easy to grab and low point sweet treat, so I found this recipe and decided to give it a try! They were actually pretty good too! The original recipe is here. 

WW White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour

* 1/2 cup light butter-like spread, at room temp (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Light)

* 1/2 cup light brown sugar

* 1 egg

* 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

* 1/4 cup slivered roasted macadamia nuts

* 1/2 tsp baking soda

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

* 1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions:

Prep: Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a medium sized bowl cream together the 1/2c. butter and 1/2c. brown sugar. Add in the egg and 1/2t. vanilla and 1/2t. almond extract.

3. In a large bowl mix together 1 1/4c. flour, 1/2t. salt, and 1/2t. baking soda.

4. Stir sugar mixture into the flour until just combined.

5. Add the 1/2c. white chocolate chips and 1/4c. nuts.

6. Drop by Tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Should make 24. 

7. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing the cookies to a wire rack.

Breakdown per cookie: 2WWPP

92 calories

5g fat

10 carbohydrates

1.5g protein

1g fiber

HG Pretzel Chocolate Softies

I made these for my daddy for Father's Day! They were quite tasty and rather large for their point value. Yumm-y! You can find the regular recipe here.

HG Pretzel Chocolate Softies

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)

* 2 Tbsp. Truvia

* 2 Tbsp. light buttery spread, room temperature

* 2 Tbsp. no-sugar-added applesauce

* 2 tbsp. egg substitute

* 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

* 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour

* 2 packets diet hot cocoa mix

* 1/4 tsp. baking powder

* 1/8 tsp. salt

* 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

* 24 thin salted pretzel sticks, broken into very small pieces 

* 2 Tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cover a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk 1/4c. brown sugar, 2T. truvia, 2T. butter, 2T. applesauce, 2T. egg substitute, and 1/4t. vanilla extract.

3. Add 1/4c. flour, 2 cocoa mix packets, 1/4t. baking powder, and 1/8t. salt, and stir until smooth. 

4. Mix in 1/2c. oats.

5. Spoon batter onto cookie sheet in 6 evenly spaced mounds. Spread and flatten into 3-inch circles. Sprinkle pretzel pieces over batter and gently pat to adhere.

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a softie comes out clean, about 10 minutes. 

7. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips at 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds; repeat, as needed, until melted.

8. Stir melted chocolate and drizzle over softies. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until chocolate drizzle is firm! 

Breakdown (1/6): 3WWPP

135 cal

3.5g fat

197mg sodium

22.5g carbs

2g fiber

10.5g sugar

3g protein