TJ kid favs and Biscoff love

Lately, I've been buying a lot of snacks that are more for people under the age of 10, but I really like small portions and sweet snacks! These Cinnamon Schoolbook cookies are just enough to cure my sweet tooth after dinner without being too much. I can eat a few, spell my bf's name, and I'm happy. I also really like the Cinnamon Cats and Ginger Cats at TJ's.

I like Clif bars, but most of the time I can't finish a whole one by myself. Plus, they are a little to dense for me. I tried these and they are the perfect size and sweetness, and then I don't need a chocolate chip cookie or brownie (even though I still gotta have them every once in a while!).

The Iced Oatmeal Cookie bar (not pictured cause I ate them all) are my favorite. They're kind of like an oatmeal creme pie if you just try to imagine really hard! The Honey Graham is my 2nd favorite, and kind of tastes like Teddy Grahams as a soft cookie.

I've always loved strawberry applesauce in the little cups, and this is just the same delicious applesauce but you can eat it while driving, typing, hiking, or if you lost your spoon.

This cocoa isn't from Trader Joe's, but I just wanted to share it because Salted Carmel and Chocolate are delicious together. I picked it up at Amy's Candy Bar on Damen, and I can't wait to drink some tonight, especially because it's supposed to snow again tomorrow but yet it was 80 degrees here yesterday!!!! So ridiculous.

My love for Biscoff is getting outta control, and I love when I find new things to eat it with. I used my mostly empty jar of Biscoff to make overnight oats with chopped banana, and it was SO yummy. I really enjoy making overnight oats when I have time and remember the night before, but I just wish I had a ton of empty Biscoff jars to make them in!

This is my usual breakfast of Biscoff on an english muffin and banana slices on top. Isn't this banana the biggest thing you've ever seen?

Yesterday, I found the newest of my Biscoff obsessions, Biscoff Banana donut pockets at Stan's Donuts. I don't think I'll actually eat another one of these for a while, gotta eat somewhat healthy sometimes, but it was so good!!

 

Stan's had a lot of really unique donuts. Besides the Biscoff Banana pocket, I got a banana peanut butter pocket, Nutella pocket, pretzel glazed, pistachio lemon, and vanilla old fashioned. They were all great, and I only wish I lived closer and could eat these all the time!

 

Brownie Cookies

I've been trying to find a good double chocolate chip cookie recipe by the request of my man, aka my cookie taste tester. I tried adding cocoa to the regular chocolate chip cookies I make, but they just weren't chocolatey enough. So when I saw this recipe on Cookies and Cups blog, I knew it was the one, especially since it's more like a brownie. It's the perfect combo pretty much.

 

Man, I love those crinkles. These cookies are so soft, almost a little too soft if you don't let them sit for a few minutes right out of the oven! I also thought they might have been just a little too chocolately. I know that's crazy, but overpowering chocolate gives me a headache! It has semi-sweet chocolate chips, so maybe I could try using less, or use a different type of chocolate?

 

I thought they tasted even better with a little peanut butter in between 2 cookies to make a chocolate peanut butter sandwich. The cookie critic, however, said that peanut butter is too strong and overpowers the chocolate, so he preferred the cookie as is, with a big glass of milk of course.

 

Brownie Cookies
Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 lb semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• *optional peanut butter to sandwich in the cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner, set aside.
3. In medium sauce pan melt butter and chopped semisweet chocolate over low heat, stirring frequently until just melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes until warm.
4. Meanwhile, while chocolate is cooling, in a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
5. In another medium bowl whisk together eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.
6. Add chocolate to egg mixture slowly, stirring as you're adding. Stir in the flour mixture next and finally the milk chocolate chips.
7. Scoop dough by the heaping tablespoon onto lined baking sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
8. If desired fill cookies with peanut butter to form sandwiches.

Since it's still the worst winter ever, I've been trying to do things to not get cabin fever, like taking a pasta making class! There was a Groupon for this class at Cooking Fools in Bucktown, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was pretty fun, and now I can make my own pasta and ravioli at home IF I buy a pasta machine!! They actually have one for only $30 at Target... I just don't have enough storage or counter space in my tiny kitchen to get one.