Toffee Crunch Cookies

How would you like to be able to give your family a snack that not only tasted fantastic, but was good for them as well? To be able to answer your children’s plea for cookies after school with a resounding yes, offering them not one, but two? Now you can! This amazingly good cookie contains both chia (a good source of calcium, phosphorus, dietary fiber, and manganese), and flaxseed (a good source of calcium, phosphorus, dietary fiber, manganese, and thiamine), thanks to the inclusion of Clean Snax®, a wonderful product from Melissa’s Produce. For this recipe I used the almond variety, but they have five different flavors from which to choose. (You can read more about them here.) I also used a cup, but the amount can be increased to suit your needs (while decreasing the butterscotch chips and brickle bits if you are going for more nutrition).

Cookie lovers are going to love the crunch and taste, but you will know that these pack a nutritious wallop as well. Try them!

Toffee Crunch Cookies

1 cup Crisco
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup Heath Bits of Brickle Chips

1 cup Melissa’s Almond Clean Snax®, rough chopped

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

In a large bowl, cream together Crisco and sugars.

Add eggs, vanilla, and water, beating until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture, blending well.

Fold in butterscotch chips, brickle chips, and the Clean Snax®.

Using a small cookie scoop, drop onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool on pan slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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This post is linked to:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Wake up Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Crunchy Chocolate Clusters

Fess up. You love chocolate, right?  And while it has been found that dark chocolate can be beneficial to health, my guess is that a portion of you aren't that keen on the bitterness that can sometimes be present in the cacao rich dark chocolates, am I right again?  So, how do you eat milk or semi-sweet chocolate to satisfy your chocolate cravings and still feel virtuous?  Easy!  Make yourself a Crunchy Chocolate Cluster, the basis of which is Melissa's delicious, and super nutritious Clean Snax™ .  Chock full of nutrient-packed chia and flaxseed, and laced with honey and light salt, Clean Snax™  is also gluten-free and absolutely magical when covered in chocolate. You will love them, your kids will love them, and they are nutritionally sound. Who could ask for anything more?

Crunchy Chocolate Clusters

 1 container Melissa's Clean Snax™ in your choice of one of the following flavors: Almond, Pumpkin Seed, Coconut and Cranberry (I chose coconut).

1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cover a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper (or a Silpat).

Using a sharp knife and a cutting board, carefully cut each Clean Snax™ square into quarters. They will crumble, and that's fine. Largely you just want to break them up and have both big and small crunchy bits.

 In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate chips. When chocolate is melted, fold Clean Snax™ into chocolate, coating well.

 Using a tablespoon, scoop up mounds of the chocolate-coated goodness and plop it onto your covered cookie sheet. Allow to set out until cooled and the chocolate has hardened.

Chow down and feel virtuous!

This post is linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday 
Melt In Your Mouth 
Amaze Me Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Foodie Friday

Clean Snax™ A Truly Healthy Snack...no kidding!

What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say “healthy snack” (after you stop laughing, that is)? Impossible?  Non-existent? Tasteless? Cardboard? Or worse, perhaps?  If you, like me, have always found snacks that fall into the “healthy” category to be sorely lacking in everything from taste to texture to true nutritional value, let me tell you that this problem has been solved. 

Melissa's Produce, a name synonymous with good health and quality, has recently introduced four varieties of their Clean Snax™ (Isn't the name alone a comfort?  Clean.) Square morsels of crunchy goodness, gluten free Clean Snax™ contain both chia seeds (that alone pack a powerful nutritional punch), and flaxseed (a nutritional Amazon, with some evidence that they may help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes). That's a lot of benefits in a snack food!

They come in four tasty varieties to suit every palate (though I find them all equally yummy): Almond, Cranberry, Coconut, and Pumpkin. Most importantly, they are good, very good. Mr. O-P had no idea that he was eating something good for himself when he popped open the lid on the convenient plastic container of the cranberry variety, and started noshing away. Considering he has been known to run from healthy food, if you don't tell him how good these are for him, neither will I.

 
A great snack to keep in the car for a boost of energy on a long drive, or to revive kids after a hard day at school. The perfect take along for camping, or for getting some protein into that afternoon coffee break.  These crunchy nuggets also make a great breakfast food crumbled a bit and drizzled with milk. Use them to top yogurt or pudding parfaits, crumble them into pancake or waffle batter, stir them into cookie dough in place of chocolate chips, or use them in place of streusel on baked goods. You are limited only by your imagination. But here's a tip: If you can, buy these by the case. You'll thank me later.

Disclaimer: I was provided with these snacks to sample from Melissa's Produce in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, you will love them.

This post is linked to:

 Show and Tell Friday 

Friday Unfolded
Fridays Flash Blog

Simple and Sweet Fridays