A Recipe for A Snow Storm

Could you use stevia instead of white sugar? Or doesn't it work?

Charlotte

Thanks for the reminder that not all things need to be "diet food". Every once in a while, we need a little bit of indulgence, otherwise we'll just end up binging. (Or just being miserable.) A cookie secret that I like a lot is to make a regular batch of your favorite recipe, but just bake a few at a time. Scoop the rest out with a cookie scoop onto a sheet of waxed paper and freeze for a couple of hours. Once frozen, the cookie sized scoops of dough can be transferred into a resealable freezer bag. Viola! Add an extra minute or two (depending on the recipe) to the baking time and you can have fresh baked cookies anytime. All of the convenience of store-bought cookie dough and none of the preservatives.

Bittytux

I like you, Snack Girl. You're cool and you work hard and you talk a lot of sense.

Amanda

Couldn't agree more :) We're in Middlesex county MA and staring at over 2 feet of snow...we made chocolate chip cookies the night before the first snow day. Somehow I ate a big pile of them, but then I just said well, that was my week's worth of treats. ;) My daughter is 5 and so far she really doesn't know that cookies can come from a box; we either make them or sometimes we get the ones from the grocery store bakery as a treat. Those are a full of junk, but they are soft and delicious and a real treat, which in my opinion no packaged cookie can ever come close to being. (My neighbor selling girl scout cookies this year even offered an option to buy cookies and have them directly donated to a women's shelter, so I could still support the troop but not feel compelled to eat the cookies.) Anyway - keep calm and treat on!

Christine

I do like Bittytux and make a full batch, flash freeze flattened dough-balls for cookies on demand in limited quantities. Sometimes you just gotta have a CC cookie! Its nice too, when there's extra people over and a dessert is needed asap. I keep an assortment of unbaked mini scones, cookies and already baked tea breads in my freezer. For tea breads I pre-slice then slip a double layer of wax paper between slices for a quick single slice as "needed" :) [wax sandwich bags cut in half are perfect for this!]

Barb L

Love the "1"s to remember...Love the comments on freezing individual cookie doughballs. Question - I thought that brown sugar was typically used in choc chip cookie recipes because it keeps them chewy after they've cooled. ?

Karen

Awesome. I think I will make some tonight with my daughter. We only got 3-4 inches of snow in DC suburbs, but enough to close schools for one day. My favorite recipe is chili - I throw every vegetable I can into it, corn, peppers, onions, celery, lots tomatoes, tons garlic, black beans, even canned pumpkin--I think that was your idea... my chili still has huge chunks of ground beef-- otherwise my clan would not eat it without the meat but they don't even notice the extra veggies I add. Delicious and so warming!

Jacki

Hot Chocolate

When we were kidz growing up in Minn, Mom would make the warm milk with Hershey's syrup for us when we would come in from school or skating on our own backyard rink. Nowadays I like warmed skim milk with a drop of almond extract and a little sweetener.

BTW, yesterday here in NE Texas, temp was 80 degrees; hubby and I were out biking in shorts!

Mary

I envy all of you that live in rural areas! I love my city home here in Baltimore but miss the clean county type of snowfalls. Anyway, I usually make soup and bread.Hubby freezes all the leftover chicken carcasses so I get to have some fun and get a lot of my favorite soup, Chicken Noodle!!

Debbie

Great recipe! What do you recommend as a substitute for white sugar??

Kristen

Making large pot of cabbage soup,baked oatmeal muffins and trying a new recipe(as long as I have the ingredients)

margaret

I find coconut palm sugar a perfect one for one replacement for all refined white sugar. Even in my coffee. I don't use brown sugar anymore either and do not miss it. My baking goodies are less sweet which is preferred.

My fav cold weather hot cocoa is 2cups whole milk simmered slowly with 1/4c ghiraridelli dark chips.

Barb L

Margaret! Please share recipes for cabbage soup and oatmeal muffins; sounds hearty, healthy and very good on a snow day! :)

Barb L

Awesome!! My favorite cookie too. I just hate making cookies because it takes too long. We don't have snow where I live but I will try this recipe. Thank you!!

Diane

Does anyone know a good gluten free substitute for wheat flour? I am new to it, so not sure. And why isn't there brown sugar? I make my own oatmeal and add a titch of maple syrup and brown sugar so I know it's at least the best I can do. We are also high fructose free. (Watch the movie on how they make it and you'll stop eating it pronto. I feel better and am sleeping better. Thx for all the suggestions.

Laurie

Yes!! You're so far better off eating a homemade cookie than some prepackaged, processed "health food".

Ellen

Barb - try Snack-Girl to the Rescue's Baked Oatmeal Muffins. They're a breakfast staple for me.

robin

Very appealing! Lest anyone criticize this recipe, know that NYT health writer Jane Brody has advocated butter in sweet treats--why indulge if u don't do it right? (In the unlikely event that you have leftover cookies turning stale, they can be refreshed with a very lite spray of water, then wrapped in wax paper & microwaved on the lowest setting for a minute or 2.

mitzibeth

I LOVE how realistic and normal you are! And you still give advice about how to be healthier when indulging in treats.

Thank you, you down to earth woman!

Dx

Dielle

Hi everyone - nothing to do with cookies but this contraption has been phenomenal in the cold weather here - I made a gorgeous spicy parsnip soup for 54cals a service. Idiot proof easy (and I'm particularly useless in the kitchen!).

Snack girl - you have to try the soup maker! http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/giles-posner-electric-soup-maker

Dielle