oatmeal

Coconut-Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches (recipe)

I finally dove into the Christmas cookie baking and came out with a really simple recipe that can be made any time of the year. I don’t think for something to qualify as a Christmas cookie it has to be shaped like a snowman or taste like gingerbread. Some of the best holiday parties I’ve been to have featured a variety of desserts, tables lined with creative cookie ideas that you might not have had a chance to showcase any other time of the year.

So if you’re looking for a cookie recipe that can be made year-round (but does feel double decadent while listening to Jingle Bells and drinking eggnog) give this a shot!

Coconut-Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 375.
Combine flour, sugar, coconut, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
In a standing mixer combine the melted butter, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix for a few seconds until combined and smooth.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in the mixer. Mix until just combined. If the dough is too dry, add 2 tbsp of milk.
Drop teaspoons of the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between each cookie.
Bake in oven for 8 minutes, or until the sides start to brown. The cookie will continue to cook on the pan even if it’s not in the oven. Wait a few minutes before removing the cookies onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.
Melt the 2 oz of semi sweet chocolate in the microwave, being careful to stir every 30 seconds so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
Spread the melted chocolate on the bottom of one of the cookies and place another cookie on top, creating a cookie sandwich.

Enjoy!

Question:

What’s your favorite kind of Christmas cookie? I love way too many to pick just one — but I do love pizelles (google it!)

on the go: adventures of the 13 hour work day

Luckily today went a lot more smoothly than yesterday. I’ll just attribute it to first-day jitters 😉

I stayed in the city last night to avoid another hefty train ticket (I’ll be buying a monthly pass on Sept. 1 to save some money). Last night I was ecstatic about not having to make the commute, but this morning I realized it left me feeling like a chicken with its head cut off. I forgot to pack any food for the day, left my mascara at home, and only brought my work shoes (and while they’re cute, they certainly aren’t made for the 50 minute walk that I had to take to get to the office this morning). Because of the whole situation I was left to buy all my meals today; so much for saving $$, right? I really have to get it together if I’m going to make this whole living-in-two-places, working-two-jobs, and posting-on-a-daily-blog thing work.

Breakfast ended up being a surprisingly healthy instant oatmeal package at my desk.

Look at the ingredients! (Sorry for the blurriness…I still feel awkward taking pictures at work so I take them as fast as possible haha). Usually when I have to buy a prepackaged breakfast I’m horrified by what I read, but it seems like Quaker has their act together. Paired with coffee and a banana an hour later, it was a decent breakfast. I mean it was no homemade egg sandwich but it got the job done.

Work was a little slower today so I really felt like I had time to get myself together. Staying organized throughout all this has been a challenge. I’ve been relying on my Mary Poppins purse to carry my entire life, and between my snacks, makeup, extra shirts in case I stay the night, wallet, laptop and chargers, it’s a miracle the thing hasn’t snapped yet. I’ve been psyching myself out by convincing my brain it’s just an extra workout 😉

I left the office for lunch today and dined outside at the ever-fancy Potbelly.

Turkey on wheat with mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle.

It felt so so nice to sit outside, enjoying the sun and solitude.

I have to work at the restaurant tonight so I’m currently blogging from the train on my way home. I was hungry again so I picked up a Jamba Juice smoothie at the station. As I do so many times, I made the mistake of thinking with my eyes and not my stomach.

Blogging on the train 🙂

Original Mango-a-go-go + soy protein powder. Too big for the “snack” it was supposed to be! See, this is why I need to get back to my kitchen at home and pack my meals/snacks. I need to start saving money, plus I enjoy that kind of food so much more.

Sadly a workout probably isn’t going to happen today, but I’m in the process of organizing my life so that I’ll stay in the city every Wednesday night so I can enjoy “Yoga in the Park” with Megan a la Lululemon. Don’t you just love how they offer free classes like that?

The amount that my life is changing at the moment is insane—and I know it would be so easy to let my health and fitness fall to the wayside. That’s why it takes serious dedication and effort to schedule workouts just like any other commitment. I still want to workout 5-6 days a week, no exceptions. Like I’ve said before, I’m a better person when I take care of myself, and fitness is a huge part of this. Getting that daily sweat in is so important!

I’ll be back tonight with a restaurant review! It’s a good one and if you’re headed to Chicago soon you’ll definitely want to check it out.

I hope you’re enjoying your humpday! If not, go outside and soak up some sun! That never fails to brighten up my day.

throwback friday

Today was a throwback! Why? I’ll get to that in a minute.

I woke up and went on a slow, scenic 5 mile run. The last mile of the run I did “that thing” where I sprinted during the refrain and walked during the verses of the song I was listening to. Does anyone else do that? It really pumps me up at the end of a run!

Nevertheless, it was a beautiful run.

Post-run breakfast was peach oatmeal:

Peach cobbler in a bowl. Yum.

Back to the throwback!

Megan and I went back to visit our high school today! It was a crazy bittersweet experience. It’s funny how you can go back to high school and your teachers seem so much more like your peers. Especially since some of our friends are going back and teaching there this year. It’s pretty bizarre!