Back in the Deep Freeze

I think this picture just says it all!

Ugh! This winter is a tough one! Honestly! Enough with the deep freeze! It’s getting harder and harder to stay positive about winter.
I’ve been trying. I really have! In spite of this extreme cold, I have been going outside.
I went skiing in minus 24.
We went to Winterlude in minus 23.
I took Boyd for a walk in minus 30.
I’m trying to enjoy it!

I love looking like Frozen Rose floating on the board from Titanic!

Boyd, as usually, looks adorable! He loves the cold.
But on the bright side- this is the perfect weather for baking!
Lately I’ve been drawn to chocolate chip cookies. Classic. But cleaned up versions.
My kids (in spite of the extremely cold weather) have been organizing tobogganing parties. There is a small hill behind our house. My kids have been inviting their friends over to the hill the past couple weekends so I’ve been supplying the snacks. I can’t think of anything better than a warm chocolate chip cookie after a few sledding runs.

The first recipe I tried was this amazing Whole Wheat Toasted Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. The toasted oats really kick this cookie to another level! To make them, you will need:

1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour from Bulk Barn)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar (yes real sugar… I know but they are cookies!)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (ditto- sugar- eat sugar in these yummy cookies!)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
You can find the directions here. Definitely don’t skip the toasting the oats step. It really adds a depth of flavour to the cookie.

By the way, if you are looking for a real quality butter, I recommend Sterling Creamery Butter.

I know what you’re thinking, “Butter is butter”. Well, you are wrong! This butter is phenomenal! I found mine at Giant Tiger, but I’ve also seen at Farm Boy and at the B & H store in Kemptville.

The second cookie I tried didn’t have any butter in it. This one uses coconut oil instead of butter! For the Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies you will need:

1 cup coconut oil, in it’s solid state
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp corn starch
2½ cups flour
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
2 cups chocolate chips

You can find the directions here.
Even with the coconut, the cookies taste like a classic chocolate chip cookie but you can enjoy them even if you are lactose intolerant.

The batter produced beautiful cookies!