Fall Spice Oatmeal Cookies

I love autumn. The spell of burning leaves. This crispness of the morning air. The amazing colors. And the delicious tastes of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger that are so prevalent this time of year. Thus was born my Fall Spice Oatmeal Cookies that I took to work a couple weeks ago (yes, it's taken me a while to get around to blogging this! lol) I used the same base recipe as my Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies, but I added some spices to the dough and added pumpkin spice chips, cinnamon chips, and chopped crystalized ginger. These are warm and spicy and aromatic and absolutely delicious! When my daughter tried the first one of the batch she said that they tasted like fall. If you love fall and fall tastes too, then you really should try this!

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp clove
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cups oats
12 ounces Pumpkin Spice Chips
6 ounces Cinnamon Chips
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, clove, and nutmeg in a bowl and whisk together. Crystallized ginger is pretty potent, so chop it into pretty small pieces. 

Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla extract, and blend until combined.

Add flour mixture, and blend until incorporated. 

Mix in the oatmeal, pumpkin spice chips, cinnamon chips and crystallized ginger.

Heap by rounded teaspoon full, or medium cookie scoop if you have one, onto parchment lined cookie baking sheet.

Bake cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 9-12 minutes until cookies begin to turn golden brown. Cookies will continue to cook and set after being removed from the oven, so do not overcook. Allow cookies to rest on the pan for 3-5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to completely cool.

Spicy Chicken Wrap

I love spicy food. I think peppers make most meals better. Not only do the spices and peppers make this meal delicious, but it's pretty healthy too. As it's prepared below this is how a wrap stacks up: 267 calories; 9.7 grams fat; 88.7 mg cholesterol; 19.9 carbs; 35 grams protein. I like to cook up 3 or 4 chicken breasts, slice them and then eat on it all week.

1-2 lbs Chicken (I prefer breast, but use your preference)
Olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder
paprika
cumin
Adobo seasoning
pepper spices (cayenne, chipotle, or any kind you prefer)
Xtreme Wellness Spinach and Herb Tortillas
Quesadilla cheese (or your preferred cheese)
Salsa Verde
Romaine lettuce (thinly sliced)

Clean and prep the chicken. Salt, pepper and apply the spices the each side of each piece of chicken. Apply the amount of spice that matches your tastebuds. Start with a light coating on each side.

Heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken on each side several minutes until browned. If your chicken pieces are thinner, ensure that the chicken is cooked through and stop here.

If the chicken pieces are thick, foil line a pan, and after browning the chicken on each side, bake in the oven 10-15 minutes until it is cooked through. Let chicken cool 10 minutes or so and then slice thinly. Prepare the wrap by adding 3-4 ounces of chicken, an ounce of cheese, a tablespoon or two of salsa verde, and an ounce of your favorite lettuce. Roll up and enjoy!

Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I love autumn... the beautiful colors, the amazing smells, that crisp cool touch to the morning air. It's such a wonderful time of the year. Now that we are officially into autumn and tomorrow is October 1, I thought I would make a cookie to honor this time of year. Enter Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Cookies. Upon tasting the cookie, my daughter said that it tasted like fall in a cookie. I used my Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies recipe but  altered it. If you love this time of year, you are going to want to give these cookies a chance. The chips are part of Nestle Toll House's seasonal chips, and they are wonderful!

1 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups dark or light brown sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
sprinkle of pumpkin spice (optional)

12 ounces Nestle maple chips

12 ounces Nestle pumpkin spice chips

3-6 ounces cinnamon chips

1 cup pecans pieces

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin spice; set aside. 

In large bowl or stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until smooth.

Add vanilla and eggs and mix. Scrape down sides and ensure it is mixed well. 

Add flour mixture, and stir until combined. 

Add chips and pecans and mix until incorporated.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto baking sheet. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool on tray and then transfer to cooling rack.