Monday, February 14, 2011

E: Vegan Almond Butter Cookies, Mounds Cookies & Waffles

First- Thank you for the sweet comments on my pregnancy update. Second- Happy Valentine’s day!!! I hope you all have a little extra love in your lives today :). Josh and I don’t usually go all out for Valentine’s day. This year, we decided to each get some new workout shoes. I also made him up a special waffle dinner last night & mounds-like cookies for today(recipe links below!). I am hoping for a bag of cinnamon gummy hearts (I’m not really a chocolate girl). Do you do anything special to celebrate Valentine’s day?

I wanted to share two recipes from other bloggers that I made this weekend. First up, vegan almond butter cookies. I was amazed how little flour was used in these cookies and how truly delicious they turned out! I used Trader Joe’s raw, unsalted almond butter and added about 1 tablespoon more water than was called for (to get the batter to come together). The result:

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These are the cookies that ruined my dinner Saturday night ;).

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Sunday night, I wanted to make Josh a special pre-Valentine’s day dinner. He LOVES waffles and I rarely get out the waffle maker. I used Maria’s recipe for honey yogurt waffles (but subbed in Stonyfield full fat vanilla yogurt for the Greek yogurt and vanilla extract) and topped them with fresh strawberries.  The resulting tower of waffles:

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I think Josh was super excited about these!

I had previously used this Whole Foods recipe to make oatmeal coconut sunflower seed chocolate chunk cookies.  This time around, I halved the recipe, removed the sunflower seeds, added extra coconut and used this fun chocolate coconut bar instead of chocolate chunks:

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I got this bar from the nice people at The Simply Bar company (disclaimer: I received this chocolate bar for free) from a contest I won on Meals and Moves. The outcome was a Mounds-like cookie:

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As a side note, I was finally able to get back into a little bit of group fitness teaching!! I taught Pump this morning for the first time in four months and it felt fabulous. I am only going to be teaching this one class a week and will be lifting lighter weights.

Enjoy the rest of your day!!

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45 comments:

Lauren said...

Oh my, your V-day sounds like it was full of love and chocolate! Just as it should be. ;) So cute that you made Josh waffles. Toly loves homemade waffles too but I haven't been able to make them for months since our maker is in storage. :) Maybe this will be our first Sunday breakfast in the new house. ;)

Glad you had a great weekend. All of your cookie creations sound incredible! (as always!!!)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Wonderful celebration, baked goods, and cute Frank :)

Jessica @ How Sweet said...

What a fabulous day! And how exciting that you are able to teach a bit more. So happy for you!

Anonymous said...

FRANKLES! I just want to give him kisses forever! Happy Valentines to one of the sweetest couples ever!
P.S. I think I'll make those cookies!

Tiffany @ The Chi-Athlete said...

Holy smackers, that is one awesome, sweet weekend! That's so sweet of you to bust out the waffle-maker for the man!

Kayla says "HI, FRANK!!!!!!" *high paw*

Heather said...

Those waffles look fabulous (as do the cookies!). I always ruin my dinner when I bake, too - the dough/batter is the best part in my opinion! :)
Happy Valentines Day, Friend!

Paige said...

Yeah Shane and I don't typically go all out for V-day either. However, the years we say we're not going to do anything for it, it seems like the worlds even more pushy about the holiday! haha :)
Those cookies sound delicious - I love almond butter cookies!!

Susan said...

Those almond butter cookies look fabulous - I love really simple recipes like that.

And I'm so happy to hear you got some teaching time in this weekend - I know how much joy you get from that!

Have a lovely Valentine's day with your boys ; )

Megan D said...

This post title totally got me. Haha I really want to make those almond butter cookies! Love the Frank photos as always :)

erica said...

Oh my goodness! Could those cookies look any better! Yum!!! I made some heart sugar cookies and now I am thinking I definitely need to make those Vegan Almond Butter Cookies. Yum!

Happy Valentine's Day gorgeous!

xo

Heather (Where's the Beach) said...

Aw cute puppy pictures! I think those cookies would end up ruining a meal for me too - they look great. We don't really do anything for V-day. Love the idea of new workout shoes though. Hope you have a good one!

Jenna said...

Frank!! Do you think he'd be my Valentine? I can have two this year, Mike and Frank. :)

Have a fabulous Monday and Valentine's Day!

RunToTheFinish said...

i've been horrible about commenting lately, but wanted to say your little baby belly is adorable! your valetine looks well yummy!

Christina said...

love these cookies! i hope you, josh, baby, and frank have a wondeful v-day!

Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg said...

BOTH of these cookies look amazing!! Happy Valentine's Day!

Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather said...

You treat Josh so well! Those almond butter cookies sound so so good!

Hope your body pump once a week continues to go well :)

Faith said...

The waffles are such a sweet pre-Valentine's meal...bet Josh loved them! Happy Valentine's day to you both!

Corey @ the runners cookie said...

Both of those cookies look amazing - I am definitely trying the almond butter ones!! That is so exciting you've been able to get back to teaching..I hope it's going well! Happy Valentine's Day!

Stephanie @cookinfanatic said...

Happy Valentine's Day to the parents-to-be!!! The Man is cooking me dinner tonight (I know, right?) and I spotted a bag of goodies from Whole Foods with dinner ingredients too -- I'm so proud ;) Have a great night hun!

Renee Paj said...

I have never baked anything vegan, but I am hearing great things about how stuff comes out...I may have to give a recipe a try!

I don't make waffles very often either, but when I do, the boys seem to love them..I usually cheat and use a mix from Williams sonoma that has malt in it...yum!

have a great day, honey! Glad you are able to get back to teaching fitness classes!

Anonymous said...

Happy v-day to you! The hubby and I are keeping it low key tonight, but maybe we'll do dinner this weekend.

The Blonde Duck said...

Happy V-day! I'm glad you can teach again!

The Blonde Duck said...

Happy V-day! I'm glad you can teach again!

Laural (bhealthier) said...

Yay Frank! Those mound cookies look yummy! We love tradition but kinda feel like valentines day is so hallmark-y. I want to be loved everyday of the year ya know!

Though we are both at work, we are playing scrabble via our phones today. Maybe that will be our v-day tradition!

Janetha @ meals + moves said...

Wow, I want those cookies to ruin my dinner. They look awesome and I love the chunks of chocolate. As usual, love the Frank photos. Happy V Day! XOXO

Krista said...

I love that coconut chocolate bar! Great idea to use it in cookies. I always love your baking, Erica. Josh is a lucky man. :)

Becky at VintageMixer said...

Thanks for the link! Your version turned out lovely. Happy Valentine's Day.

teresa said...

what delicious cookies, i love them both! and nothing is better then a big tower of waffles, my guy would have gone nuts for them too!

i went to pump this morning too! it will be a week or two until i increase my weight, but it sure is a killer workout.

Anonymous said...

Ahh I love the squishy face!!
We always go out for dinner on the weekend closest to Valentine's Day. It's nice to have some quiet time outside of the house.

Holly said...

Um, you are the best Valentine ever!!! I could easily eat all of those almond butter cookies in one sitting, I am sure. :-)

I love Frank's sweet face! Happy Valentine's Day!

Annie said...

oo you're making me crave waffless!!!

Michelle @ Find Your Balance said...

We don't do a big Valentines thing either, but Max did get me beautiful flowers :-)

Simply Life said...

oooh those cookies look so good!

Simply Life said...

oooh those cookies look so good!

Lea @ Healthy Coconut said...

All the cookies looked good, but you had me a coconut cookies. I baked cookies for this week already so I will have to wait another time to check it out.

We celebrated Vday this weekend so we are having a simple dinner tonight and coconut dessert!

I'm happy that Pump is back in your life.

fittingbackin said...

Glad pump felt so good! And heart the waffle v-day! We don't do anything - I don't know - it's just not for us. And now we're both home sick - lamers. So we're on the computers while the puppers wrestle between us! Speaking of puppers- GREAT pictures. :)

Priyanka said...

lovely day. I think those cookies look great!

Julie said...

i think frank should be my valentine because josh is yours..

hahaha cuhreeep <---
th
anyways! i LOVE mounds flavor so those cookies sound like a bite out of heaven. and almond butter cookies? yes PUHlease especially bc i have a new addiction to AB!

yay for getting back into teaching! 10 bucks your baby comes out knowing all the choreography! ;) happy vday girrl

Averie said...

the cookies (both kinds) look amazing!

i am espi intrigued by the first ones b/c of A.B.

and the 2nd ones...
b/c they taste like mounds bars.

so happy for you that you're teaching again, just easy does it, momma :)

MaryBeth said...

My vegan friend Whisper would love these recipes, I will have to share them with her.

BroccoliHut said...

Totally bookmarking that waffle recipe! Seth is a huge fan of waffles too, but I always forget about the waffle maker hiding in the cabinets.

CaSaundraLeigh said...

Thumbs up for not one, but two great recipe turn outs! Your baked goods always look so perfect. I always look forward to seeing the recipes you try out!! Have a great week Erica :-)

Lindsay @ http://pancakesnpajamas.blogspot.com/ said...

I'm so glad you got back to teachin! I know you are super happy. :) Totally ready to see your face in the near future!

Yelena said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and offering a cookie recipe- it looks like the recipe you posted is something that I can make and enjoy with only one small tweak. I'm so excited!
Your doggie is adorable- that face. Oh my gosh.

Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) said...

Those cookies and the waffles....yum yum! Yay for being able to teach pump again! :)