chewy molasses cookies with orange sugar

WARNING: There's a lot of pictures of cookies for your eyeballs contained in this post. You may drool. You may cry. You may eat your computer screen. Or at least try. It's the thought that counts, ya know? If you follow me on instagram, maybe you've been hating my stinking guts Little Rascals-style the last few days because of the peeks I posted. Maybe saliva has been forming a steady stream out the side of your mouth since you saw those pictures. I duuuuuuunno. Proceed with caution. And yah, that's all. 

I love when things work. Who doesn't though? I'm trying to get back on the totally gluten, dairy, and refined sugar-free train again because I seriously can't eat cookies or cake and fully enjoy it because I know my skin will throw a fit the next morning. What kind of a world is it when you can't eat cake and enjoy it? NOT A GOOD ONE, MY FRIENDS. Not a good one. 

I know Christmastime is kind of a weird time to decide to do this again, but I'm determined and sick of zits. Honestly, I just want to kill them all. OXY POWER!!! ANYways. My family is going all out with buckeyes and frosted sugar cookies and I'm just sitting in the corner eating energy bites. It's horrible. So I decided to attempt to healthify a few Christmas-y recipes. First up, MOLASSES COOKIES. 

We've had this container of blackstrap molasses chilling out in the back of our baking cupboard for it seems like, since the beginning of time. We bought it, my mom probably made gingerbread once upon a time, and then that was the last we saw of it. It's like that jar has been staring at me the last few weeks every time I open up the cupboard to grab a handful of nuts {or chocolate.}, begging to be used. Well little 'ol pal, you are destined for greatness. 

I can't even to begin to explain to you these cookies and how happy I am with them. By some act of God, they're gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free other than the coating. It's ridonk-itonk. For one, they're freaking gorgeous! Hello little orange sparkles, I want to cover my body in you. THEN they're really awesome and chewy and sweet and taste like a legit molasses cookie that's typically loaded with all sorts of crap. 

The only complaint I have {and my family ever-so lovingly pointed out} is that the texture is just a little off. But that's because of gluten-free flour and there's not really much you can do about that slightly gritty texture of brown rice flour. If you're able to find some finer gluten-free flour, use it and you are seriously gonna DIE of heavenliness when you bite into these cookies. The orange sugar forms a crispy little coating, the cookie is chewy on the outside, and soft in the middle. By far the best healthy cookie recipe I've made in a long time. I almost feel guilty calling them healthy because, feed them to any human being, and they'll never know! Be a sneak, it's ok. 

{p.s. if you have any healthy-ish recipes for Christmas cookies you think I should come up with a recipe for/try, please share!}

chewy molasses cookies with orange sugar

3/4 c. brown rice flour

1/2 c. all-purpose gluten free flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tbsp. molasses

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1 large egg

1 tbsp. melted coconut oil

orange sugar: 

3 tbsp. sugar

zest of one orange

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder and baking soda, and spices. Add the wet ingredients and mix until evenly combined. Cover dough and refrigerate for 2+ hours. Once chilled, roll dough into balls {it should make about 12}. If you're using the orange sugar, add the sugar and orange zest to a small bowl and pinch with your finger tips until it's evenly incorporated. Roll the balls in the sugar and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350ºF for about 8-10 minutes. Once they're out of the oven, press down slightly with the back of a spoon. Let cool before moving to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container. 

orange strawberry muffins

When I'm asked what I miss most about the US {I get asked this. A lot.}, my number one answer is almost always... the FOOD. I miss Starbucks the most, with Chipotle, McDonald's, Culver's, Subway, and IHOP up there on the list too. Sure, I've become quite the health nut in the last year and a half, but who doesn't love a big bowl of RICE with veggies {mmm carbs. my fave.} or a frappucino with a gallon of whip to top it off? When we were in Cape Town, South Africa with my grandparents in February, we heard there was a McDonald's there. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that was our first stop when we arrived. I put all health aside and downed a chicken sandwich and fries. Oh my word, you guys. That crap mystery meat had never tasted so good in my LIFE. Last week at youth group, my friend told me there was going to be a McDonald's in Windhoek {the capital of Namibia}, just 3 hours away! Yes, you guys. In a couple months, I'll be 3 hours away from a McDonald's. Dangerous if you ask me. Anyways, when he told me this I freaked out, jumped up and down, squealed a little bit, and then put on a straight face and said "Boy. Don't lie to me. This is serious stuff." He wasn't lying. And I'm really excited. Seriously, all we need is a Target and Forever 21, and I am good. to. go.

Anyways, for the next week and a half {errrr something. I seriously have no idea.}, we're having a small group of some 'merrrricans staying in Otji with us! Yay! I love having visitors. I mean, we've only had one so far, but it was wonderful. Something about having people here that you already KNOW from the States is just kind of great. Familiar… Yah, that's probably it. It's so fun being the ones who know what's up and I love showing people what our life is like here. Pictures, words, and blog posts don't do our life in Africa any justice. Not to mention the fact that they bring with them loads of goodies {hello homemade maple syrup. reese's. new TOMS.} I also love having an excuse to bake and try out new recipes. Sometimes I'll make something and it's sitting around for days. But when there's a group of people, whatever I choose to whip up is gone in a matter of minutes. 

As we all know, the weekend is not complete without a good feast of a breakfast. Although breakfast for me is like that prooooobably almost every morning. I'm a freak, but breakfast is really important to me. Since our little team was on a plane for a million hours {weeeee-all. Like 24. Same dif.}, I'm pretty sure they were lacking good food in their bellies. Airplane food is ick. I made sure to have some good muffins made {because duh.} for their breakfast and we also had fruit, yogurt, granola, toast, and hardboiled eggs. I dig it. These muffins are really yummy and fresh and I actually made them gluten free {no one could tell. and I didn't tell anyone. Muahaha.} Oh, a quick little tip! I didn't chop up the strawberries at all and they got kinda… Weird. So just be sure to chop them up a little bit before adding them to the batter. You can use fresh strawberries if you have access to them {sadly, we don't. if only those could be sent with visitors. ha.}, but I used frozen ones. To thaw them, I filled a glass bowl with hot water, set the strawberries in a strainer, and placed the strainer over the hot water while I prepared the rest of the batter. It worked perfectly, just be sure to pat the strawberries dry. I had issues with that and they were slipping and sliding in the batter. Ok, I'm done talking now. I hope you have a happy, muffin-filled weekend!

orange strawberry muffins

2 c. stawberries {fresh or frozen and thawed}

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. freshly grated orange zest

2 eggs

1 c. plain greek yogurt 

1/3 c. honey

1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. baking powder

3 1/2 c. gluten-free flour

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, rub together the sugar and orange zest with your fingertips. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, orange sugar, honey, yogurt, and orange juice. Add flour and baking powder and stir until combined. Gently fold in strawberries. Scoop batter into a lined or greased baking tin. Bake for 15-25 minutes. 

Orange Muffins with Fresh Orange Glaze

 

I'm proud of myself. I made my first recipe from ABSOTOOT scratch. The result was amazing… Life changing, maybe? I don't know. 

We had like two bags of oranges laying around so obviously I was going to make something with oranges in it… And that I did. 

These babies were so insanely moist that when I cut into one and took a bite it almost seemed underdone, but it wasn't.

That meh friends is just how awesome I am. 

OOOOOOH let's talk about the glaze. I'm pretty positive it's the best part. 

If I was stranded on island for 11 days and could choose one drink, it'd be this glaze. 

Yup. I drank the glaze by spoonful. Don't judge. 

If you were in the same situation I was in, you'd do the same thing. 

Guaranteed. 

AND I worked out and went on a walk today so basically I'm covered. 

Except that I probably shouldn't put another ounce of sugar in my body the rest of the day… 

Whatever. 

I ate healthyEEEEEEEEERRRRRR this week, but I've noticed that when I do that, I basically lose control and get wobbly in the knees when I face the temptation of sugar on the weekend. 

I GIVE UP! 

I'd rather go eat a muffin. Or two. Or three. 

Orange Muffins with Fresh Orange Glaze

1/4 c. butter, melted

1 c. sugar

3/4 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. plain greek yogurt

1 1/2 c. orange juice

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Fresh orange glaze {recipe follows}

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Add in the yogurt and orange juice. Stir until combined. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until smooth. Scoop the batter into a greased or lined muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool, and drizzle with glaze. 

Fresh Orange Glaze

1/2 c. milk

1 c. orange juice

3 c. powdered sugar

In a small mixing bowl, stir ingredients until smooth. 

P.S. 

Lookin' for a yummy cookie recipe? Stop on over at Persnickety Plates and check out my recipe.

Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake Loaf

There are certain things in life that are just meant for each other…

Coffee and cookies.

Messy-buns and yoga pants.

Chocolate and peanut butter.

Pigs and southern accents. 

Paris and rain. 

Me and Justin Bieber.

And cranberries and orange.

The freshness of the orange zest and the sweet pop of cranberries. Yum.

And of course, what's a coffee cake without some crumble topping? A very very boring

coffee cake, I tell you. 

Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake Loaf

1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) butter, melted

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp of sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup of milk

1 scant cup of flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup of cranberries

zest from one whole orange

dash of orange juice

Crumble Topping 

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 tbsp. flour

1/2 c. oats

dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  

To prepare the crumble, mix all ingredients together until the texture of wet sand; set aside.

In a bowl whisk together the butter, sugar, egg, orange juice, and milk.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add that, plus the oats, to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.  Fold in the cranberries and orange zest.  Spray an 8X4 pan with nonstick spray and pour the batter inside, making the top as even as you can.  Evenly top with the crumble topping.  Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out evenly.  Let cool completely before removing from pan and slicing. 

Orange Dreamsicle Cookies

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who emailed me about guest blogging!

It was a busy-bloggy couple of days scheduling and 

emailing back and forth, but I'm so thankful for all of you who are

willing to post! And I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. 

We filled lots and lots of spots, but if you're still interested in posting, 

email me and I'll give you some dates.

I had one of those days today where I did school all day, not caring one bit about my appearance.

I was sitting in the kitchen still in my jammies at 2 o'clock in the afternoon thinking to myself
"Wow. I'm so home schooled."
But it is indeed true, so I guess it's time to face the music.  :)

I love the taste of fresh orange in cookies! Wait, I take that back. IN ANYTHING!

Seriously. When I was juicing the orange for these cookies,

my kitchen smelled like… fresh squeezed Florida oranges. Yum. 

I have a recipe for lemon crinkle cookies {that I still have yet to try} but I thought I'd 

remake them using orange instead of lemon and adding white chocolate chunks. The cookie was super soft and chewy, and had little buttery chunks coming from the white chocolate. It. was. so. good.

Orange Dreamsicle Cookies
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. orange zest
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 egg
1 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 white chocolate bar, chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Whip in egg and vanilla, orange zest and juice.
Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined.
Add in white chocolate chunks.
Drop by tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

P.S. 
GUYSSSSSSS! I'M HAVING MY 
FIRST SPONSORED GIVEAWAY!
Oh my gracious, I'm so excited, aren't you?!
Come on ova and check it out!