“Your job, throughout your entire life, is to disappoint as many people as it takes to avoid disappointing yourself.”
Of all of the things that I was excited for about my little babe turning ONE (!!) at the beginning of the month, introducing him to my world of baked goods was among the top few! No, I didn’t just let him run wild with chocolate and cookies and cakes, but giving him tiny bits of cookies or bars has been the most fun to see him reaction!
For his birthday, we did it true pandemic style and had a big zoom party with the family, including singing, balloons, streamers, and, of course, CAKE! I made him a (basically) no sugar added carrot cake with a peanut butter frosting. I have loved this recipe forever, and just wanted him to have SOME health to it! Let me tell you - it was not a love at first bite kind of moment. Oliver was so delicate with the cake, taking a tiny lick from his finger, but once my husband gave him a spoonful, it was ON! Oliver kept wanting more and more, then became ultra silly, giggling, screaming, it was a blast! Of course, we took a mid-cake break with some actual lunch for him, but he couldn’t get enough! The small 6” cake that I made for him was probably about a quarter of the way eaten when we realized that we should probably take it away from him! All in all, a huge success in my book!
Moving on to these cookies. I was graciously gifted these Honey Mamas bars, which are UNREAL! They seriously taste like a chocolate bar, yet there’s no processed ingredients in them at all. Like, go get yourself some! I shared a lot with a friend who hikes almost every other day and she was OBSESSED! Anyways, now that Oliver can safely eat honey, I figured I would chop up a bunch of them and throw them into these cookies! Incredible idea, Katie! These cookies aren’t overly sweet, are full of some good fats, some great fiber, just all around wonderful! I want Oliver to love food yet also benefit from everything he is eating. So, if I can make him some chocolate chunk cookies that just happen to be slightly more healthy and wholesome than your average cookie, I’m taking this as a win!
Do you need these Honey Mamas bars to make these babies delish?! Not at all - any chocolate chunk works! I just love the added richness, so I highly recommend!
ingredients
Coconut Oil—6 oz, or ¾ C
Peanut Butter—7.5 oz, or ¾ C
Brown Sugar—8 oz, or 1 C
Eggs—3
Vanilla Extract—1tsp
Baking Soda—1 tsp
Salt—1 tsp
Flour—20 oz, or 4 C
Cinnamon—2 tsp
Oats—3 oz, or 1 C
Chocolate Chunks—11 oz, or 2 (heaped) C
(DF) Milk—2 oz, or ¼ C
process
In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the coconut oil and peanut butter until smooth, scraping down the sides every few minutes.
Add in the brown sugar, mix until smooth.
Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, mix and scrape.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Slowly add this to the creamed mixture and mix until just combined.
Add in the oats and chocolate chunks, mix until just combined.
Slowly add in the milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time.
Once everything has been incorporated and your dough has come together, slightly sticky, remove from the mixer, place in a bowl, covered, and into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350˚F.
Using a scoop or your hands, form cookie balls that are roughly 2 Tablespoons in size.
Place on a baking sheet that has either been sprayed with non-stick spray or use parchment/Silpat.
Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on a cooling rack before enjoying!
Store in an airtight container.
Bon Appétit!