Copycat Doubletree Hotel Cookies- The Perfect Recipe for a Snow Day

Yum-chocolate chip cookies! Even better- Doubletree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies. Just the thought of these sweet and chocolaty treats makes me melt.

As soon as I found out that today was a snow day for my family, I began thinking of the delicious goodies we could make together. The Doubletree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect cookie- soft and chewy on the inside (from the ground oats) while still being perfectly crisp on the outside.

These are now my go-to chocolate chip cookie because they are a little different (thanks again to the oats,lemon juice, and touch of cinnamon).  Best of all- you do not need to spend a night at the Doubletree to have these fabulous cookies!

Copycat Doubletree Hotel Cookies

(recipe make approx. 3 dozen cookies)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
• 2-1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 cup of softened butter
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 cups of chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

•  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

• Using a food processor or food mill, grind your old fashioned oats to a flour-like consitancy. Pour into a bowl and add: flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside for later.

• Using a mixer, combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat for 3-4 minutes until fluffy.

• Add the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.

• Now, add dry ingredients in 3 batches and beat until combined.

• Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and stir by hand. 

**For large cookies- drop 3-4 tablespoons of cookie dough 2-3 inches apart**

• Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.

• Let cool on wire racks.

* These cookies freeze well. I packed 2 cookies per snack bag and then in a freezer bag. These are perfect to pull out for a snack or for lunches.

I hope you enjoy these heavenly chocolate chip cookies. You'll never want to make Tollhouse Cookies again!

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How to Make Homemade Granola Bars

Granola bars are a favorite snack in my house. My preschooler likes them for a snack and my husband and I grab one each morning for a quick breakfast. Between the three of us, we can go through at least 2 boxes a week. I think we have tried every variety of organic granola bars offered at both our local grocery store, as well as Whole Foods, but we can never seem to agree on a favorite. When my son suggested we make homemade granola bars, I jumped at the idea. I took a look at a few recipes online and adjusted them to my family's taste. 

Chewy Organic Chocolate Cranberry Granola Bars

Ingredients

• 3 cups organic rolled oats
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (chopped)
• 3 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. chocolate (chopped) 
 

Organic Cranberry Chocolate Granola Bar Ingredients

1. Start by combining the oats and chopped dried cranberries in a large bowl.

Organic Oats and Cranberries

2. In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil, honey, and brown sugar. Once the mixture begins to bowl, lower your hear to a simmer and stir for another minute.

3.Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.

4. Pour the hot and gooey mixture over the oats and stir until the oats and cranberries are well coated.

5. Using wax paper evenly press the mixture into a 13x9x2 in. pan coated with cooking spray.

6. Lastly, spoon chopped chocolate on top and press evenly again with wax paper.

7. Cool for a few hours (I placed the bars in the refrigerator for an hour or so to harden.)

8. Cut into granola sized bars and enjoy!

The granola bars turned out delicious! I kept a few out for the week and wrapped the rest in wax paper and froze to have later in the week.

Delicious Homemade Organic Granola Bars- Ready to Cut and Enjoy!

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Have You Had Your "Green Smoothie" Today?

I often struggle getting my 3 year old to eat his vegetables. It was easy when he was younger; he loved to snack on peas, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Now that he has a taste for other foods, it is harder and harder to convince him to eat his vegetables. With our 13 month old now eating those same foods, I am trying to find creative ways to have those important greens in all of our diets.

We have found green smoothies to be a solution to our anti-vegetable dilemma. There are so many delicious recipes for green smoothies, but I like to keep it simple with organic yogurt, juice, and a selection of our favorite fruits and vegetable.

• First, add 1 cup of yogurt to your blender. We like StoneyField Farms Organic Low-Fat Plain; but you could use vanilla or any other fruit flavor.
• Add 1 cup of orange juice and 1 cup of low-fat milk.
•  Next, add your fruit. We love to use frozen fruit because it is always fresh and it makes the smoothies ice cold. I recently found a few different varieties of organic frozen fruit at our local Costco including 3 Berry Blend, Mango, and an Ant-Oxidant Blend. We love the anti-oxidant blend because it includes the super-fruits: blueberries, cherries, and pomegranates. 
• Now add your vegetables. We usually switch between organic baby kale or baby spinach. With the kale craze these days, organic baby kale is readily available at most grocery stores including Wal-Mart. My baby boy loves when we add the kale and refers to them as "leaves" (I don't think he qualifies them as vegetables at all.) If I have baby carrots on hand, I will add them as well. You could really add any vegetables you like.
• It is time to put your blender to work. I usually start mine on the "crush ice" setting to crush the frozen fruits and then switch to the "stir" option. Blend for about a minute.

If you have a picky eater like I do; they will not be disappointed. The berries and juice provide the perfect cover-up for the vegetables and is an icy, sweet, refreshing treat. This recipe is not recommended for younger babies because it has a few ingredients not suitable for babes under 1 year (orange juice, low-fat yogurt, and low-fat milk). However, you could easily adapt the recipes so your baby could enjoy the green smoothies as well.

My family enjoys eating our veggies this way and I hope you will too!

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New Tradition:The Christmas Eve Box

This weekend, I began to think about how quickly this past Christmas had come and gone. As much as I tell myself each November that I will slow down and really enjoy the season, the hustle and bustle of daily work schedules, family commitments, baking, and shopping make the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas fly by.

Last Christmas, baby girl was only 4 weeks old; so we were really just enjoying Christmas while getting used to being a family of four. This year, we knew we wanted to start special Christmas family traditions of our own. We had planned on a trip downtown to see a "Santas Around the World" display, but the stomach bug hit our family just days before Christmas. With our trip downtown being out, I began to explore my Christmas Pinterest board for ideas. If you are on Pinterest, I’m sure you have seen the “Christmas Eve Box”. The idea is to give your children each year on Christmas Eve a gift of new pajamas, a holiday book, movie, and a snack. Easy enough. I had already picked up the matching boy and girl version of snowman pajamas. A trip to Target completed the box with the book, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, the DVD “The Cat and The Hat Knows A lot About Christmas”, and a box of Annie's Organic Honey, Chocolate, and Chocolate Chip Bunny Crackers. The Christmas Eve box was festively wrapped and placed under the tree as the first gift of Christmas. Our course, my 3 year old wanted to open it right away, but we managed to wait until after the Christmas Eve church service.

Christmas Eve Box

The Christmas Eve box was a hit! The favorite gifts were definitely the DVD and Annie’s bunnies. Later, we all curled up together enjoying our snacks while we watched the “Cat”. And luckily, I remembered to wash their pajamas before wrapping the gift, so they were soft, clean and ready to be worn as they dreamed of St. Nick. 

What's Inside the Box?

New Christmas Pajamas

 Do you have any special Christmas or Christmas Eve traditions?  I’d love to hear about them!

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