salted chocolate peanut butter cookies

Moving on is something I'm really struggling with lately. I know that some people come through our lives to stay. And some are just merely passing through for the purpose of teaching us lessons and helping us to discover ourselves. But sometimes, they meld together and look like the same. You'll think someone is there for you always {the kind that sticks around.}, but it turns out they're just one of those ones that you learn something from and you're supposed to forget and move on after they've done their time.

I'm doing my best to put this all into perspective, but sometimes when you don't have much going on for you, it's hard to take a step back and see the big picture. I'm thinking of my life as a book- there's events that come and go and characters who soon fade away into the first few chapters. As much as you loved those characters or you loved those cliff-hanging events, you have to keep reading to see what happens next, regardless of who comes and goes. If you sit there thinking about how the way things COULD have turned out, you'll simply scan over the words of the present and miss out on the next big thing.

It's so so hard to let go of a friendship I thought would be a lasting one. But things change. People change. And I know I've got to move on, but I can't stop clinging to the past and the things that used to be. This letting go has been one of the hardest things I've gone through in all my years and has been in the painful process for months. I keep feeling like I'm on the mend, but if I think of or see the littlest thing that reminds me of the way things used to be, I burst into tears. This afternoon, it was a full on lay-in-my-parents-bed-in-the-fetal-position-head-in-my-hands-sobbing-my-eyeballs out. But I know I'm supposed to be learning something about myself, about life in general. So thank you to the ones who have come and gone and taught me things. I'll keep on moving. Life goes on before and after you. 

After I had my little meltdown, I dragged myself out of bed, eyes red and puffy, and decided to make some cookies. I knew it would help- it always does. I'm thankful for friends I can talk to, peanut butter, chocolate, and chunks of sea salt. And I put them all in cookies and great things happened! Errrrr waaaaaaaait. I don't put friends in my cookies. That is one thing you will not need to run to the store and grab for this recipe. You'll need them for other things, not eating. This is getting awkward.

salted chocolate peanut butter cookies {gluten & dairy free}

3/4 c. peanut butter
2 eggs
1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 c. oat flour
1/2 c. gluten-free flour
1 tsp. sea salt + more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease or line a baking sheet. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, peanut butter, and eggs until smooth. Add in cocoa, flours, and salt. Mix until evenly combined. Scoop onto prepared baking sheet. Press down slightly and spindle with sea salt. Bake for 7-10 minutes.

banana oatmeal pancakes

There is one thing I've been learning lately. It basically came out of nowhere, hit me on the head {ahem. figuratively speaking.} and told me I cannot depend on anyone for my own happiness but myself. Happiness is a choice that only you yourself can make. Since moving to Africa, I've seen countless people who literally have nothing. But if you met them, judging by their attitude and their beautiful smiles spanning their face, you wouldn't assume it one bit. If they can be happy when they have nothing, I can be happy too. 

It's been so difficult, finding friends, having friends, and losing friends. Over the last few months, I've learned who my real friends are and aren't. People I thought I would be in relationship with the rest of my life, people I thought would always be there for me, people that I thought I would have fun times and laugh with… They just disappeared and proved to me, all of that was nothing. My life seems to be on this big roller coaster and I can't seem to depend on anyone. I'm learning I can't sit around waiting for that one person I wish would make an effort to make me happy. Because it's not gonna come. 

I'm sharing this not because I want people to feel bad for me or give me sympathy. I like to keep my blog free of negative thoughts, but it's what's up in my life right now. And I know there are people who are going through a similar situation. And if you're one of those people, I want to encourage you because it will get better. We're put in these situations to stretch ourselves and step out of our comfort zones to become the person God wants us to be. My piece of advice is to take your time. Go slow, breathe in the fresh air, and take your time. With everything. When you're taking your time instead of zipping right through life, things seem to get better. It's just how it works. But PLEASE. Don't wait around for people to make you happy. Because as cliche as it sounds, waiting for someone else to make you happy is the best way to be sad. Trust meeeeee, I know. When you let go of all expectations you have of people, your happiness returns and all that sadness just floats away. Let stupid people be stupid people. Don't cling to them. Wait for the ones who are worth your time and don't put you down constantly. You're worth more than that. 

So while I'm waiting for some rad people to come into my life {I know they're out there somewhere!!}, I can make my own kind of happy. Happiness doesn't have to mean having all these things, having a bunch of friends, going out every weekend. It doesn't have to be like that… Trust me, I'm learning. I can find happiness instead in the still of life. Bask in the quiet mornings and lazy afternoons. Whatever that little thing is that brings a glimmer of joy to your soul- do it. I encourage you. Don't wait around for someone else to come around. Make your own kind of happy, whether that be going for a long run, eating a huge slice of chocolate cake in silence, taking a hot bath with some candles, baking a cake for no apparent reason, do some yoga. Whatever it is, go and do it. 

My kind of happy? Starting my morning off with some yoga {in my pajamas, thanyouverymuch} on the porch, making pancakes, sipping my second cup of coffee, and blogging while I take advantage of the beautiful cool breeze that blows through my windows before it turns into sweltering hot African heat. Oh, and staying in my 'jams until noon. Because I have nowhere to go. Nothing to do. But I can still be happy. All I'm gonna say is, thank you Jesus for the carby greatness that is pancakes. 

banana oatmeal pancakes

3-4 bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1/4 c. milk

2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. ground oat flour

1/2 c. wholewheat flour

1/2 c. quick cooking oats

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth. Scoop onto a greased skillet or frying pan over high heat. Let pancakes cook for about 2-3 minutes before flipping to the other side. Cook until golden brown and crispy. Serve with maple syrup. 

almond coconut crunch bars

The past few weeks, our life has been so crazy and school has definitely taken the backseat. It seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day for me, even though I feel like I have absolutely no life. Weeeeeeird. After two weeks of doing only a science or math lesson here and there, I'm back to school this week. UGH. I always tell myself if I keep putting it off, I'll pay for it later. And I am. I'm paying alright. After my morning run, I was literally plopped in front of the computer, sitting on my exercise ball for like 6 hours straight studying and catching up on the schoolwork I'd been putting off. The worst part was that I didn't have time to eat a good lunch {I'm so high maintenance.} and ended up eating a bowl of steamed veggies at 2 while studying science. Whenever I have such long days, I always ALWAYS end up in the kitchen. It's approximately 1909998º outside and still quite steamy in the house even though the curtains are closed and we have a million fans blowing in our house that looks more or less like some sort of dark dungeon. The only way to stay cool is by sitting in front of a fan ON HIGH, not moving an inch, with minimal clothing, and some ice on yerrrrr neck. What I'm trying to say is… Turning on the oven was tooooodes out of the equation unless I had a death wish. And I really hate summers in Africa. Yuck.

Ok, so these bars? Ugly, I know. They're definitely not the most photogenic things I've ever made. I absolutely hate when pictures don't turn out the way I'd like {or… Anything for that matter.} BUT. They're so unbelievably quick and easy to make, I'd be some kind of foodie criminal to not share them with you. I've seen recipes for homemade crunch bars popping up on Pinterest and food blogs like some sort of forest fire spreading. I was skeptical when I saw that the base was coconut oil and cocoa powder. GROSS? Nope. It literally tastes like you just melted a whole bunch of chocolate chips. I'm so excited to experiment with that base recipe and see what else I can come up with. But for now, these bars are pretty dang amazing. I feel like I say this every single post {I do, in fact say this every post.}, but these bars are surprisingly healthy, raw, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free. My family, who usually totally rips on all my healthy desserts actually loved these and they were gone in about 24 hours. You know they're good, you knooooow ittttttt.

P.S. If you're wondering, no. These are not three of the same picture.

almond coconut crunch bars 

3/4 c. melted coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. liquid sweetener {I used maple syrup, but you could use honey.}

1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3 c. raw almonds

2 c. puffed brown rice

1/3 c. shredded coconut

line a 8x8 pan with parchment paper. in a large bowl, combine melted coconut oil, vanilla, sweetener, and cocoa powder. Add in puffed brown rice and almonds. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with coconut. Place in freezer for at least an hour before cutting into squares. Store in freezer. 

XXL dark chocolate & sea salt brownie cookie

So I'm kinda on this chocolate kick lately… Exceeeeept when am I not on a chocolate kick? Hi, my name is Sophie and I am addicted to Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate. {Hiiiii, Sooooophiieeeee.} No but really. This is getting out of hand. Looking back, I just realized there hasn't been a day in the last- oh, I don't know- EVER, that I haven't had chocolate in some way shape or form. It's a crazy love for the stuff. A yearning. A desire as strong as Channing Tatum's abs. A BURNING PASSION IN MY SOOOOOUL. 

I'll stop. 

I've come to the mature decision to feed this obsession in a good, healthy way. Although if you ask me, chocolate is pretty healthy in and of itself. It's just probably not very good if you go and eat the whole bar of chocolate, batch of brownies, pint of ice cream… You get my gist. I'll admit. I basically eat chocolate in every single way possible. In my oatmeal? Dunnniiitttt. Definitely not a bad idea, if you're wondering. Smoothies? Check. Healthy brownies? Shooosh yahhhh. Eaten the whole dang pan, in fact! But let's not go there. 

AND NOW. COOKIES. Actually, cookiEEEEE. Just for you and your pretty little chocolate loving face. 

This cookie is kind of sort of a freaking SUCCCCESSSS. I've tried making a healthy single serving cookie before and oh my gross, you guys. So did not work. That experience kind of scarred me for life and I was hesitant about trying out a new recipe. Thank heavens I did though. I basically saved all of humanity with this cookie. {things get baaaaad if I don't satisfy my cravings fast.}

This cookie is going to blow your mind. It's soft and chewy AND CHOCOLATEY. So much chocolate. So much happiness. GET EXCITED. The cookie itself is like a little hunk 'a fudgalicious brownie. And if that couldn't get any better, I pressed some of my beloved 70% on the top. And if THAT couldn't get any better… Sea salt. This is just pure chocolatey, fudgey greatness made JUST for you in a matter of minutes. 

It's actually healthy too. I know, weird huh? WHOOODA THUUUUNKED IT? It's dairy-free, gluten-free, and processed sugar free. Which MEANS. You can eat it for breakfast. With a cup of hot coffee? Oh my gosh, that is like. Heaven. Like suddenly, all is right in the world while you dip your fudgey cookie in a ginormous mug of coffee. 

No more werrrrrrds.

…… Except I do have a few more. My sincerest apologies.

You know that song "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran? I am making a parody… Caaaaaalled. {drumroll please.} "Give Me Fudge". Give me FUUUUUUUUHHUUUUDGE… Hmmmm myyy myyyuhhhh hmmm myyyyyy myuuhhh. Give me fuuuuuuudgeeeeee. I sure hope you've heard that song before because otherwise, you're totally thinking I'm a fool right now. And you would be correct. 

Ok, thanks for listening! Now go make yerrrsehhhlf a cookie.

XXL dark chocolate & sea salt brownie cookie

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil

1 tbsp. nut butter {I used peanut butter. duh.}

dash of vanilla

2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

1/4 c. gluten-free flour

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. baking powder

pinch of sea salt

1 square 70% cocoa dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine egg, coconut oil, nut butter, vanilla, and maple syrup. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and sea salt. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and form into a disk. Press dark chocolate chunks onto the top of the cookie and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes. 

banana bread granola parfait

I'm an absolute freak about breakfast. Like a total, legit fuhhh-reeeeeak. You know those people who couldn't care less about breakfast and are like "OOOOH YERRRRRR, I forgot to eat this morning."?? I'm the absolute farthest from that person that you'll ever meet. I go to bed with breakfast on the mind. I wake up with breakfast on the mind. I workout with breakfast on the mind. It's like some sort of disease I have. OOHHHH WEEEE-AAAALLLL. 

Even though I love it, doesn't mean I get bored though. As we all know, I have the attention span of an ADHD ant, so I need to switch it up quite often. I kind of go through spurts with my breakfasts. One week all I want is oatmeal. The next is smoothies. Sometimes eggs. Toast with peanut butter, banana, honey, and cinnamon. Toast with smashed avocado and fried eggs. I love it all. Espeshhhh granola. My favorite way to eat it is with yogurt, but then I realized that dang dairy is what makes my skin get all wonky-tonk. I didn't totally give up dairy because herrroooo, it's one of my favorite foods ever. But I still eat yogurt about once a week to prevent me from opening the fridge and downing a whole container of it. It could happen. 

Anywho, this parfait is pretty dang simple. Banana bread granola- which totally tastes like banana bread. Ironic, no? It's sweet, chewy, and chunky. Mehhh jam. Layered with plain yogurt and sliced 'nerrnerrs. Now you've got yourself a banana-rama-licious breakfast! Rejoice. DISCLOSURE- Usually when I eat granola and yogurt, I just throw it in a bowl with some fruit. It's never layered and pretty like you see herrrrrr. In fact. After I finished the pictures, I just dumped it in a container to eat for breakfast the next morning. HEHHH. Classy. Oh, P.S. Combining the granola, yogurt, and banana in a bowl and letting it sit in the fridge overnight… NOT a bad idea. Like my beloved overnight oats but with a little more chew to it. Noms. 

banana bread granola 

2 c. oats

1/3 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c. mashed banana

1/4 c. honey 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. coconut oil

1 c. banana chips

1/2 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease or line a baking sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, stir all ingredients except banana chips and nuts until evenly combined. Pour onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes stirring about 3-4 times until golden brown. Add in banana chips and nuts and transfer to an airtight container or jar. 

Parfait: 

1/2 c. granola

1 large banana, sliced

1/2 c. plain yogurt

In a small bowl or glass, layer half the granola on the bottom of the glass, half the banana, half the yogurt and repeat. 

stuff 'n things {no. 4}

// my new favorite lunch- dark rye crackers, smashed avocado, sea salt, and hard boiled egg. AMEN. 

// I'm a total rain-freak. Unlike some people who think it's depressing, rain only feeds my energy. Considering the fact that we hardly had a rainy season last year {darn you, desert.}, I got so excited when I heard rain outside. And then it ended likeeeee 5 minutes later. I felt so let down. 

// Ya know what's the worst? Having the serious URGE to bake, but then you don't have the ingredients to make what you want. I want to shoot something. 

// these easy stick buns with bacon… What theeeeeeeeee.
// Apple pie pancakes. Because there's no such thing as too many pancakes. 
// these fig orange and almond scones. YERRRM. I wish I could find figs here, goshdanggit.
// caramel chocolate slices… The fact that they're good for you makes me want them like 10098888x more.
// coconut angel food cake with greek yogurt frosting. LOOKS SO GOOD and floooooofy.
// OMGAWWWWSH- the cuteness.
// more pancakes. Ahhh, mehh lyyyyfe. 
// Literally was drooling over these pretzels. Like full on, drool forming little pools in the cheeks. Gross, sorry.
// ultimate raw vegan ice cream sandwiches. HOW ARE THESE HEALTHY, WHAT?
// Homemade peanut butter chips? BOOM! That was my mind. Being buhhh-looown. 
// Must we sift this flour? Loving this Baking 101 series from Joy!
// this post all on eating well and in moderation. Spot on. PLUS… A chocolate chip cookie recipe. Moderation, guyzzzz.
// brownie belgian waffles. WUHHHHHT.

strawberry muffin bread

I've hardly had any time to EAT lately let alone bake something presentable, jot down recipes, take pictures, and post it on the interwebs. But hey! I did it. At first I thought this bread was gonna be a legit fail. At least looks-wise. I mean, I'm all for "Beauty is what's on the inside" and whatnot, but when it comes to food blogging, I don't care how it tastes, it's gotta look dang good. When I first looked into the oven, the batter was overflowing, forming weird little wrinkles and craters in the bread. Some would say it's ugly. I say to heck with ugly, I think it's attractive {in a I WANT TO EAT YOU kind of way.} It's now summer in these regions, and I've got jumbo, fresh, juicy strawberries up the wazoo!!! What is a wazoo anyway?? Well I got strawberries up it. And I loveeeeee it. Since finding strawberries at the grocery store isn't like finding bars of gold {or costing about that much.} anymore, I thought I'd start some berry bakin'. Fresh strawberry bread? Uh yes. The sweet, fruity, vanilla-y aromas that were lingering about like little berry fairies in the kitchen was enough to make me swoon. And salivate. Sure it looks ugly, but y'all. It tastes fresh and wonderful and just slightly sweet.

strawberry muffin bread

2 large eggs

1 c. plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. maple syrup

6 tbsp. granulated sugar {1/4 c. + 2 tbsp.}

1/2 c. oat flour

1/4 c. gluten free oats

1 1/4 c. gluten free cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. roughly chopped strawberries {about 10-12 strawberries}

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, vanilla, maple syrup, and sugar. Add flours, oats, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until smooth. Fold in strawberries and mix until evenly combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.