Molasses chocolate chip cookies recipe

I tried to donate blood yesterday. For the third time this year, my iron levels were too low to donate (not too low for my health, though). Frustrated, I stopped by the store on the way home and bought a big ol' bottle of blackstrap molasses (it's high in iron) and then made these cookies.

Here is the original recipe: www.averiecooks.com

I modified it to suit my desires and I think they turned out really well: chewy with a little bit of crunch, courtesy of the sugar you roll the balls of dough in before baking.

Ingredients

• For the Cookies
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup blackstrap molasses
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon brewed coffee -OR- natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• 3-4 ounces (1/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3-4 ounces milk chocolate chips
• 3-4 ounces white chocolate chips
• 3 ounces raisins
• For the Cinnamon-Sugar Coating for Rolling
• about ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. For the Cookies - Melt the butter in a large bowl and cool slightly. Add the next ingredients, through salt, mixing well. Add the flours and baking soda and stir to just incorporate; batter will be thick.
2. Fold in the chocolate chips and raisins. Cover mixing bowl and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days, prior to baking.
3. Preheat oven to 350F, line two baking trays with parchment paper.
4. For the Cinnamon-Sugar Coating for Rolling - In a small bowl, combine about ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and stir to combine.
5. Scoop out balls and roll them each in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and place on baking trays, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until tops have just set.
6. Makes about 40 cookies.

If you're interested in learning more about iron and the many things that inhibit the absorption of it and so on...it's pretty complex...go ahead and google it. I take a women's multivitamin, but the calcium in it prevents the iron from being fully absorbed. Fiber (like in beans and lentils, which are good sources of iron), cocoa powder, some teas, and many other things block iron to some degree. And, obviously, I'm not eating these cookies solely for their iron-boosting properties. We love spinach, beans, lentils, nuts, raisins, and many other non-meat sources of iron, but maybe the other nutritional properties of those foods are not allowing me to get all I need. My goal is to donate blood five times this year, so I'm taking an iron supplement with some orange juice (vitamin C aids the absorption of iron) before bed every night to try to keep those levels elevated.

Aaaand, done!

Took a couple months (mostly while watching hockey games- go Coyotes....) and about 5,500 seed beads. It measures about 7.5" across. Yay!

2 things I've been working on...

1) Beady #5 (almost done!)
2) GIFs

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

My kids love this smoothie, which is great because it's easy to make and packed with good stuff (assuming you're not allergic to peanuts or dairy, I guess) for busy little ones who don't love to sit still and eat.

I have a VitaMix that holds about 64 ounces, so my recipe is scaled to use the whole canister. Use a kitchen scale. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the EatSmart precision pro digital scale. It's $20 well spent.

Ingredients:
6-7 Bananas (about 25-30 oz)
25 oz Half and half (same number of ounces as however much banana you have)
5 oz Peanut butter (almond butter works well, too)
1 T Vanilla (0.5 oz)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:
Add all ingredients to the canister of a blender and...(wait for it...)...Blend!

Pour into 6-oz Mason jars, attach lids, and freeze! Makes about 10 or 11 smoothies, which can be thawed in a microwave in about a minute. Easy!

*Yawn! Stretch!* 6 years later...

5 things from 2/5/18

1. The amaryllis I got for Christmas has exploded into bloom. It's like a never-ending crimson firework.

2. When I read well-known stories to Marty and JD sometimes I like to mess with the words, like, for example, the beginning of most Curious George stories: “This is Pokemon. He was a good little watermelon and always very jumpy.” They laugh and tell me to stop.

3. Tonight while Marty and I were saying goodnight to each other:
Me: Goodnight.

Marty: Goodnight.

Me: Sleep tight.

Marty: Sleep tight.
Me: Sweet dreams.

Marty: Sweet dreams.

Me: See you in the morning.

Marty: See you in the morning.

Me: I love you.
Marty: I love you.

Me: Purple elephant.

Marty: You’re funny, Mom.

I was just checking to make sure he was listening.

4. Today was a busy day and it went fast. I did four loads of laundry, vacuumed downstairs, made bread, did dishes, made chicken soup. Marty and JD loved the soup, Marty raved about how delicious the broth was. They always surprise me- I'll make something for dinner that I'm pretty sure they won't love, but then they end up devouring it.

5. It seems like all conversations with my boys inevitably wind up on the subject of poop, bums, or death.