These cookies taste just like your favorite brownie! They even have the iconic crackled top. They are chocolatey and chewy and go great with a glass of milk. Everything is mixed by hand, so no electric mixer required.

Ingredients:

8 oz semi sweet baking chocolate (not chips, but Bakers semi sweet bars that you find in the baking aisle)
1/4 C salted butter (if you only have unsalted, add 1/4 t more salt to the dry ingredients)
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line baking pans with parchment paper.
2. Break up the Bakers chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl with the butter. Microwave in 20 second increments (stirring in-between) until melted. Set aside.
3. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl whisk by hand the brown sugar, white sugar, and eggs for 5 minutes. Don't skimp on the step. It's what helps give the cookies their shiny crackled tops.
5. Add the melted chocolate/butter and vanilla to the egg/sugar mixture and whisk until combined.
6. Add in the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula just until the flour is all mixed in. The dough will be very soft and will remind you of brownie batter or chocolate frosting.
7. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop dough onto the parchment-covered baking sheets, placing them 2 inches apart.
8. Bake for 9 minutes or until cookies are set on the edges and has a crackled top. They will still look soft in the middle but will firm up after cooling. Fully cool the cookies on the pan before removing them to serve. 

 This is a twist on the traditional peanut butter blossom cookie. You know, the peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss pressed in the middle that everyone makes at Christmas. I wanted to make some treats for the librarians and nurses that my dog Jasper and I visit to do pet therapy, so I thought turning those traditional cookies into "puppy paws" would be fun. They are very tasty, and they were definitely a hit with our pet therapy clients. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used No Sugar Added Jif)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies (approximate amount - may need more or less)
1 10z pkg of Ghirardelli Dark or Milk Chocolate Melting Wafers (you will not use all of  them)
1 pkg of Nestle Semi-Sweet chocolate chips (you will not use all of them)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beath together the butter, peanut better, sugar and brown sugar using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer until ingredients are smooth and creamy.

3. Add the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla and mix until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and mix on slow speed until just combined.

6. Using a small cookie scoop (1 T size), scoop dough and then roll into a ball. Roll ball in sugar. Place sugar-covered dough balls on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

7. Bake for 7-9 minutes. The cookies will still be a bit puffy when you remove them, so don't worry about that.

8. Press 1 chocolate wafer into the bottom center of each cookie. Add 4 chocolate chips, pointed side down, above the wafter to look like the toes of the paw print.

9. Cool cookies on a wire rack to let the chocolate set before storing them or stacking them. These do freeze well.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

These are super tasty muffins that are my go-to muffin when I need a quick grab-and-go breakfast. They do not have any flour or refined sugar in them. Don't let that scare you! They are moist, delicious and filling. Even my hubby loves them!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (divided)
• 1 cup natural unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (you can use honey as well, but will have added calories)
• 3/4 cup skim milk (if you don't want to use dairy, you can sub unsweetened oat or almond milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• dash salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with parchment baking cups (keeps muffins from sticking to the papers). I use a 12 hole pan and a six hole pan.
2. Grind 1 1/2 cups of the oats in a food processor until it resembles flour. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the applesauce, syrup, milk, and vanilla. Stir until well combined (I use a whisk).
4. Add in the ground oat "flour", the remaining oats, the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir together until combined. 
5. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes to allow the oats to absorb some of the milk.
6. Scoop batter into muffin cups (divide equally among the 18 cups).
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 18 servings of 1 muffin

Nutrition info from My Fitness Pal

Recipe modified from Big Green House

I've been trying to cook more things that do not rely as much on processed foods like canned cream of whatever soup. One of my husband's favorite comfort foods is tuna noodle casserole, which traditionally is made with canned cream of mushroom soup. I made an attempt today to make this dish without canned soup, and it turned out to be spectacular! My hubby immediately went back for seconds and was trying to claim the leftovers for his lunch the next day. This makes a large portion that is great for a family, or if you just have two people like us, you'll get multiple meals out of it. It's simply yummy!

Ingredients:

8 oz. wide egg noodles (I used No Yolks brand)
2 T butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
2 T flour
1 cup skim milk
1 cup chicken stock (no salt added)
4 oz. shredded reduced fat cheddar (I use Cabot 50% reduced fat cheddar)
2 cans tuna in water, drained
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add noodles, and cook until done (about 8 minutes). Right before the noodles are finished cooking, add the frozen peas to the pot and let cook for a minute. Drain the noodles and pasta. and set aside.

2. While your noodles are cooking, in a large skillet, add 1 T of butter and the chopped onion and cook until slightly soft. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Turn heat to low while you start the sauce.

3. In the same pot that you cooked the noodles (you can use a new pot if you don't mind creating another pan to wash), add the second tablespoon of butter and melt over medium heat. Whisk in the flour to make a paste, and then immediately whisk in the milk. Heat until it starts to thicken, and then whisk in the chicken stock. Add in the cheddar and whisk together until you have a smooth sauce.

4. Dump the noodles and peas into the large skillet with the mushrooms and onions. Immediately stir in the sauce. Add in the tuna. Sprinkle the whole dish with salt, pepper and garlic powder to your taste.

Makes 6-8 servings
(If you divide it into 6 equal servings, it is 8 WW Freestyle points and if you divide it into 8 equal servings, it is 6 WW Freestyle points)

I've posted this recipe before when I made it with blackberries, but I thought I would give it a re-post since I'm on a blueberry baking spree today. :)

Ingredients 

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup stick butter or margarine
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups blueberries
 
For topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
 
Directions

Grease bottom and sides of 13x9x2 baking pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, and baking soda.  Set aside.
Cream the sugar and butter.  Mix in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture.  Carefully fold in 1 pt. blueberries.  Spoon into pan. 

(Tip: This batter is really thick and sticky. To get it into the pan nicely, cover your hand with a plastic bag sprayed with nonstick spray and use that to press the batter into the pan.)

Mix sugar and cinnamon for topping; sprinkle over batter.
Bake about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe Source: Bonnie Matzat

This is a great cake to make during blueberry season. It's loaded with berries and topped with a sweet, sugary glaze.

Ingredients:

For Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 pints (4 cups) fresh blueberries coated with 2 T flour

For Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spary with flour like Baker's Joy.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined.

Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium-low. Add vanilla, almond extract, and eggs (one at a time). Continue beating for an extra 2 minutes, scraping down the pan once or twice so that everything is well mixed. Add in half of the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just combined. Add in half of the Greek yogurt, and beat on low speed until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and Greek yogurt, beating until just combined. (Do not overbeat.) Fold in the blueberries by hand.

Pour batter evenly into the pan and spread the top of the batter with a spoon until it is smooth.. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, or until the metal pan is lukewarm to the touch (and not hot). 

Invert the cake onto a cooling rack or serving dish, and let it cool completely. 

To make the blaze, whisk ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar. Drizzle the cooled cake with the glaze.

Serve immediately, or store covered for up to 5 days.

Recipe modified from Gimme Some Oven

This is a really delicious, moist blueberry bread recipe. I often choose to make it in muffin form instead of loaf form. You just have to cut back the cook time to about 15-20 minutes (makes about 21 muffins). I also make mini loaves (also reduce cook time - makes about 4 mini loaves). 

Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries + 1 tablespoon flour (I often use 1.5 - 2 cups of berries)
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (you can substitute applesauce if you want to lighten the calories a bit)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup rolled oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a small bowl, toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, eggs, oil and vanilla. Fold into dry ingredients. Gently stir in oats, followed by the blueberries. Batter with be thick and sticky.

Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Source - Let's Dish