Stocking Stuffer Ideas
I absolutely love Christmas shopping, especially when it involves stocking stuffers. Here are some of my favorite stocking stuffer ideas from the mini\’s to mom and dad there is something for everyone. What do you like to receive in your stocking?
No Bake Cookie Butter Cookies
Have you tried Cookie Butter from Trader Joes yet? It’s amazing right! Personally I use Cookie Butter as a peanut butter replacement sometimes. Over the weekend I had a craving for no bake cookies and as I went for the peanut butter I decided on Cookie Butter instead. I used my no bake recipe that I received from my friend Bonita Jean while I worked at a Hallmark store in high school, and simply replaced the peanut butter with Cookie Butter and didn’t add the chocolate (I’m not a fan). The result is a perfect sweet treat.
Cookie Butter No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk (I used 2%)
4 tablespoons (1/2 a stick) salted butter
½ cup Cookie Butter (found at Trader Joes)
3 cups oatmeal (I used Quaker Old Fashioned Oats)
2 teaspoons vanilla (I used Watkins)
Note: You can add 5 tablespoons chocolate cocoa powder during step one if you would like to make these chocolate.
Directions
1. Combine sugar, milk and butter (and cocoa if you want chocolate ones) in a medium saucepan; heating over medium heat.
2. Stir occasionally.
3. Bring to a boil and let boil for 2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in cookie butter oatmeal and vanilla.
5. Stir mixture and quickly spoon it onto waxed or parchment paper.
Note: It will set up in the pan very quickly.
6. Let cool for at least one hour.
Running in the Cold
It’s a shame I waited until freezing temperatures arrived to get back into running. Here are some of my favorites items to wear running when the temperature drops. What do you run in when the temperature drops.
Enjoy Life: Decadent Bars
I recently found out that I have a gluten intolerance. While I don\’t think I could ever switch to a complete gluten free diet (GF flour is seriously expensive), I do try to make sure that at least 80% of my daily food intake is gluten free. One company who has gluten free (and they are free from a ton of other allergens) is Enjoy Life. I love their Vanilla Honey Graham and Sugar Crisp Crunchy Cookies as well as their baking chocolates. Recently I tried out their Decadent Bars and you can read my opinions below. These bars would be great for kids with any allergies. Find out where to buy here.
Cherry Cobbler: I really liked this one a lot, especially warmed up.
Chocolate Sunbutter: One of my favorites if you like sunbutter you will LOVE this bar.
S\’mores: This was is great, but when you heat it up it tastes even better. I have been enjoying it with a cup of cocoa.
Cinnamon Bun: LOVED this one. Anything cinnamon is my favorite and these were nothing short of what I expected.
Canine: Apple Cinnamon Cookies
80% of the treats Jack eats are homemade by me; you can find some past favorites (here, here, here and here). With all the pet treat recalls lately I have decided that every Thursday from now until Christmas (except Thanksgiving) I will be sharing homemade dog treat recipes that your pup big or small will absolutely love. Starting with these apple cinnamon cookies.
Apple Cinnamon Canine Cookies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour*
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 medium sized peeled apples pureed*
1 egg
1/3 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla (I use a lot you can use less such as 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup cold water * (as needed)
*flour: I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1.5 cups crushed oatmeal (made it flour consistency in my blender). You can also use whole wheat flour (I do not because it gives Jack terrible gas).
* apples: I removed the skin from the apples, cut into pieces and pureed them in my blender. You can also cook them on the stove until they become mush.
* Water: My apples produced enough juice I only used a tablespoon of water the first time I did this recipe with honey crisp apples. The second time the apples hardly produced any juice and I used a half a cup of water so just use how much you need for a dough consistency.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. Blend flour and cornmeal together in a large mixing bowl.
4. Mix in pureed apple, egg, oil, cinnamon and vanilla.
5. Add water as needed.
6. Flour your workspace and roll dough to desired thickness.
7. Cut treats with cookie cutters. (I used a large apple)
8. Place dog cookies on baking sheet.
9. My cookies were larger and Jack likes softer treats so I baked mine for about 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness. Just cook your until your desired crispness.
10. Once cooled add to Ziplock bags or an airtight container.
Note: I only leave out a few cookies and freeze the rest. They\’ll last for up to six months when frozen and under a week when left out.
** The above recipe is for treats only, and should not replace your dog\’s regular meal plans. Any questions about your pets diet should be directed to your vet.
Fashion meets Food 