Easy & Delicious Cookies :: Butter & Eggs NOT required

I really really love this cookie.  I'm a big fan of oatmeal cookies to begin with, except this one is taken to different level with the addition of carrots and a kick of ginger.  Neither Cy nor I are vegan, but the fact that it's so easy to make with absolutely no eggs and no butter only makes it that much better.  I am always amazed at the perfect consistency - the somewhat crispy outside with the super moist inside.  I love this cookie with the currants and ginger, but really you can do any combination of flavors.  White chocolate chips, cinnamon instead of ginger, the possibilities are endless.  I used a combination of almond and whole wheat flour here, but you can also use regular flour, or whatever flour that floats your boat.

It's a perfect snack for when Cy and I are craving that sweet bite :)

{Domo Cookies} A Happy Birthday to a Friend

Today is my good friend J's Bday up in NoCal. So just wanted to give a shout out to her - Happy Happy Birthday!

I baked these Domo shortbread cookies with a friend this weekend and if J was in LA, I would've shared them with her.  The  Grrh I-will-eat-you-up-if-you-mess-with-me-expression of Domo somehow reminds me of her (I say this with ♥!)  

I know that my last post was for shortbread cookies too, and I know that they are not exactly the healthiest treats in the world, but these were just way too cute.  Thanks to this site i felt very inspired to make them and share them with you.  I promise I will get back to my healthier posts soon!

{Penguin Icebox Cookies} for a Happy Valentine's

Valentine's day is a silly holiday really - you shouldn't need a specific day to show your love and appreciation for someone.  Having said that however, it always makes for a very good excuse to bake cookies and decorate with lots of ♥s ;)

Last year, I made some strawberry & banana muffins (decorated with ♥s of course) but this year, I happened to see these - so perfect for Cy!  It's not exactly healthy...but it was too cute to pass up! I played with the recipe a little bit, swapping some of the flour for almond flour and some of the sugar with truvia to try to cut down on the sweetness for Cy.  I'm not going to post the recipe since it's available on the link, but if you want to know what substitutions I made, feel free to email!

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but I will get back to posting more regularly again soon!

It's spring: Cherry Blossoms!

Really I think I just wanted to do this post because I seem to have an attraction to cherry blossoms.  As much as I love the sunny weather out here in California, I admit that I feel as if we are missing out on experiencing "the seasons" like they do in other parts of the world.  I did see some Cherry blossom trees in bloom though the other day and it made me happy.  It reminded me of around this time last year when Cy and I were in Japan and had the chance to experience "Spring" in full - mainly in the form of Cherry blossoms.  Seeing and smelling all the beautiful pink blooms, tasting all the amazing cherry blossom flavored foods.  Not always so diabetic friendly, but still fun to look at.

Whenever I go to Japan or when one of my friends go to Japan, I usually ask them to bring me back some baking ingredients.  Everything from freeze dried purple potato flakes to cherry blossom extract.  And more often than not I end up hoarding and "saving" them for ''special'' occasions...meaning they end up sitting in the cupboard for a very very long time...

In anycase, in honor of springtime, I thought I'd pull out my salted cherry blossoms and actually try to bake something with them.  My version of cherry blossom shortbread -  the flowery saltiness of the cherry blossoms perfectly complimented the sweet shortbread.

When cooking for a diabetic, there's a lot of thought that goes into choosing certain ingredients over others.  For example, there's a lot of debate over various sugar alternatives and how they affect your blood glucose level and how its metabolized in the body...one of these days,  I would love to research and do an in depth post on it for my own knowledge. For now, I am going with splenda.

If you feel like baking these, they do carry salted cherry blossoms at Japanese grocery stores if you're lucky enough to have one nearby, or you can always find them online.  

OR I'm always a fan of altering recipes - If you're able to come up with any alternatives to Salted Cherry Blossoms let me know!