Dessert
About a year BB {before baby}, I quit my job as a renal dietitian to become a private practice sports dietitian. Best. Decision. Ever. I went the low risk route- I didn’t jump in and rent an office, shell out a ton of dough on new tools or gear, or pour money into advertising and branding. I did whatever I could myself and figured everything else could wait. Quitting a job with a steady salary is risky enough; I didn’t need to blow the savings I’d so carefully sacked away to make this “one day” a reality.
Since I didn’t have an office, I did most of my counseling online. That meant I spent a lot of time at home. Working at home? Dream job, right? Of course.
Until you spend hour after hour sitting at your desk talking to no one but yourself. Even the lively interweb of social media didn’t cut it sometimes. It got lonely and depressing. I could literally go for days without talking to a real live human being face to face {when the husband was out of town}. So I turned to a favorite workplace of freelancers- Starbucks.
Outlets, WiFi, windows, music, coffee, snacks, and most importantly, human interaction all in one place. Given my undying love of all things coffee, it was the perfect set up. Just a couple hours here and there was enough to get me my fix. {Of people that is. My coffee fix was never satisfied. 
}
And thus began my love affair with one of my now-favorite Starbucks treats: the cinnamon chip scone.
I loved them so much. I didn’t so much love the nutritional profile. I mean a treat here and there is no biggie, but with the record I was started to accrue, it could’ve gotten dangerous.
So I made my own version. Still a treat; much healthier; just as delicious. The only problem was I couldn’t find cinnamon chips. Because I was so desperate to recreate my treat, I made my own cinnamon chips. The were delicious. But seriously, who has time to make cinnamon chips when the craving for a scone strikes? Not me.
Enter step-dad to the rescue. He hunted down the chips, sent a few bags my way, and has kept replenishing them. I started slacking in the baking department and suddenly I had an excess inventory of cinnamon chips.
What to do, what to do… Back of the bag to the rescue! Problem. Solved. Coconut Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars.
I subbed coconut oil for the butter and tossed in a handful of coconut flakes. There’s a reason the recipe’s on the bag– delicious.
And since everything’s better with sprinkles:
Highly recommended.
Today on tiny sneakers I’m looking for advice on beach travel with a baby. You can also read my sob story about my bout with mastitis.
Recipe
I seem to have picked up quite the sweet tooth recently. Not that I need an excuse to bake cookies, but that’s my excuse. These are just sweet enough to satisfy my craving, but still packed with good, wholesome ingredients so there’s no guilt included. Plus, oatmeal is supposed to be good for breastfeeding, so really I’m making the cookies for health reasons. 😉
These cookies take your basic oatmeal cookie recipe and jazz it up trail mix style. I love the combination of cinnamon chips, dried cranberries, and walnuts, but feel free to toss in any of your favorites, like M&M’s, peanut butter chips, or pecans.
by Heather Neal
Keywords: dessert vegan cookie
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cup old fashioned oats
- 1 Tbs flax seed + 3 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- ¼ applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup cinnamon chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Mix together flax meal and water. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar.
Add in molasses, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat until combined.
Mix in remaining ingredients.
Divide dough into 1 inch balls. Place on baking sheet.
Bake 10 minutes at 350.
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What’s your favorite cookie mix-in?
Recipe
When you’re self-employed and most of your work is online, it’s not hard to go a little…insane.
To keep my head on straight, I try to get out of the house to work as much as I can. Enter my best friend, Starbucks. Not because of their piping hot lattes and iced chai teas, but because of their free WiFi.
When I’m feeling a bit cooped up or unproductive I grab my mug, my laptop, and my power cord and head out the door. I’d feel bad for just using them for their internet, so of course I give my due patronage. {Like it takes a lot of convincing for me to buy something there.
}
My favorite work fuel? A soy cinnamon dolce latte and a famous Starbucks cinnamon chip scone.
Of course I can’t always work at Starbucks, so it’s nice to be able to whip up my own latte and a scone or two to go with it. I’ve been making cinnamon scones for awhile, but they’ve never been quite right.
Until my stepdad saved the day. He hunted the aisles of copious grocery stores until he came upon exactly what my scones needed: cinnamon chips!
Scone making no longer requiring me to first make a batch of cinnamon chips, I was now able to throw together a more authentic {though less sugar-laden} version of my favorite coffee shop delight.
Ingredients
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp flax seed meal
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 T sugar
- 1 T brown sugar
- 1/4 cup vegan butter {or regular}
- 1/4 cup cinnamon chips
Instructions
- Mix together milk & lemon juice. Set aside. Mix flax meal & water. Set aside.
- Stir together dry ingredients.
- Using pastry blender or a pair of knives, cut in cold butter. Pop mixture in the freezer if it gets too warm.
- Mix in liquid ingredients.
- Fold in cinnamon chips.
- Dough may be slightly dry- add more liquid if you need to, but not too much- use your hands to finish mixing the dough.
- Roll dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick.
- Slice dough into triangles {like a pie}.
- Place on greased or lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.
- Optional: sprinkle with sugar
3.1
https://www.sideofsneakers.com/cinnamon-scones/
What’s your favorite coffee shop indulgence?
