Healthier Peanut Butter Coconut Granola Bars

THESE are super yummy! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

o    1 cup peanut butter (or a favorite nut butter)

o    1/2 cup honey

o    1/2 cup coconut oil

o    2 1/2 cups rolled oats

o    1 cup shredded coconut

o    1/4 cup chocolate chips (or mini chocolate chips)

Directions:

1.    In a medium pot, melt together nut butter, honey, and coconut oil over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from stove and stir in oats and coconut.

2.    Spoon mixture into silicon baking cups, I tried to put this in a baking dish the first time I made them and it was a pain to get them out. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

3.    Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm, then enjoy!

4.    Store granola bars in the refrigerator or freezer, individually wrapped in baggies. Or if you don’t plan to pack them in lunches, you can simply store them in an airtight container with wax paper separating the layers. These are SO GOOD! They may be some of my favorite things ever, and they are relatively healthy for you.

Boxed Cake and 'Sugar Cookie' Icing

T and I aren't the hugest cake/cupcake fans, but this actually tasted pretty good. So here are a few TIPS when making a boxed cake to make it better, and here is a 'sugar cookie' tasting icing to go with it.

Boxed Cake Tips
Hot Water- nearly all boxed cakes call for water, if it is chocolate cake, use hot water and it will help the coco powder 'bloom' therefore becoming more flavorful
Add 2-3 more Eggs- I didn't say it was healthy cake
Use Butter instead of Oil- Oil isn't very flavorful... Butter is, this should have been a duh to me
Line Cake Pans with Parchment Paper. Helps those cakes come right up
Add a bit of sugar to the top of the batter in the pan to help the cake not rise so much. If you are going to be stacking your cake.


Now this icing tastes like sugar cookie dough before it is cooked, and don't ask me how I know

5 TBsp Flour
1 C Milk (whole or high fat tastes best)
1 tsp Vanilla
1 C Softened Butter
1 C Sugar

1. In a medium sauce pan place the 5 tablespoons of flour into 1 cup of milk. Once mixed well turn on stove to medium high heat, whisk as it heats up it will thicken, stop when the mixture is very thick. COOL COMPLETELY. The first time I made this I was in a bit of a hurry and the icing fell apart.

2. After the flour mixture is cool add 1 tsp of vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl whip 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of softened butter. Whip it good! Whip it REAL good! ;-) I turn on the mixture for a couple of minutes.
4. When the flour mixture is COMPLETELY cool and the vanilla is added to it, mix the flour mixture with the butter mixture, whip it hard for about 45 seconds but not for much longer than that. The molecular consistency of this icing is pretty fragile. It isn't the same consistency of buttercream frosting but we all thought it was good here.