Honestly, I don’t bake cookies very often. Except during the holiday season, and then I make them all the time! Sometimes I will get a craving for a real, ooey, gooey chocolate chip cookie and bake a big batch. Growing up, my mom would always whip up brownies and cookies and cakes. The only reason I haven’t entirely embraced this tradition is because while boxed & bagged cookies hold little appeal, I can easily eat an entire batch of something freshly baked in two days.

Case and point, eating a huge Christmas dinner and following that up with a nice half dozen of my dad’s homemade chocolate chip cookies. Get in my belly!

This phenomenon explains why I was both excited and hesitant to try Purely Elizabeth, an organic chocolate chip cookie mix made with almond flour, chia seeds, and coconut palm sugar. Words on the package like “free of refined sugar” mixed with mildly entertaining phrases like “nourish your mind” made me wonder if I’d found a “healthy” homemade cookie.

Check out all the chia seeds!

At the same time, could anything that required applesauce, olive oil and vanilla as the only wet ingredients really take the place of butter and brown sugar?

Well, no. To be fair, I don’t really love loads of olive oil, so that flavor was really dominant for me. Yet I thought all the crunchy seeds and hearty flours were great.

I still have a few bags of this mix, so I think I might try them next with a substitute for the EVOO. Until then, I’ll rely on my favorite cookies of all time:

  1. Homemade chocolate chip (Nestle toll house style. Duh.)
  2. Peanut butter blossoms
  3. Snickers bar cookies – If you haven’t had these before, you are seriously missing out!

I’m really happy it’s already mid-week. Julia and I just made spontaneous plans for homemade Indian food and shopping after work, whoo! Most likely a glass of wine will make it into the mix as well. Speaking of shopping…

What I Wore Wednesday:

Cardigan: Heritage

Tank: Gap

Skirt: American Eagle

Tights: Target

Shoes: Nine West

The striped cardigan I got from my mom for Christmas. Don’t the bright colors make you smile? The sweater and tank top are both definitely weekend wear, but the skirt is work-only. It’s actually light wool and another that I’ve had for ages, but keep in my closet because it’s colorful but the perfect length/material for the office.

Speaking of bright colors, I’ve developed a craving for BEETS lately. Apparently the ones I tried a million years ago weren’t fresh and roasted, because they are ah-mazing when cooked that way. If you can avoid eating them straight from the pan, they taste great paired with mixed greens, roasted brussel sprouts/radishes/onions and goat cheese. No dressing needed!

Just be comfortable with the fact that your hands, countertop, knives and sink will turn a lovely red/purple while preparing these beets. Also, you might have to prepare yourself for a little known side effect: beeturia. It has a name and yes, it’s real.