How does the saying go?….out of the mouths of Babes!
Kids are so smart aren't they? Growing up my daughters would frequently share something which they were certain would change my life....in a positive way!
As young children their wisdom came from the latest infomercial they noticed while watching cartoons on Saturday morning. One particular morning my oldest daughter followed me into my closet and asked me if I had tried a certain facial cream which she had recently learned about. I told her no, and she promptly replied “But mom, you too could achieve amazing results overnight by using this cream!” Mind you she was only 7 years old at the time and I was in my 30’s so…hmmm I guess I already needed some emergency help? Out of the mouths of babes I guess, right?
The next infomercial wisdom she shared was the Ronco Dehydrator….and yes you all probably know I bought that!
So what does this have to do with Chocolate from the heart? Well, that too was based upon the love and advice from a 7 year old. You see her 2nd grade class was studying the heart and healthy eating! The teacher decided to share a heart healthy recipe with the class that day. My daughter felt this would be something we all needed to know about at home. That evening she shared her school work with the family; a colorful hand decorated diagram of the heart. She had written the recipe for special heart healthy cookies in the center of the heart. We proudly displayed that on the fridge for quite the while, AND the recipe became a popular cookie recipe around the Bird nest!
There have been a few changes made to the original recipe using natural sugar and nut butters, making the recipe even healthier. I shared these with our neighbors this weekend so I thought I would share with my Steemian friends as well!
The Bird family Chocolate Cookie Squares…from the Heart!
Heart Healthy Ingredients
- Organic Maple Syrup (1/3 cup)
- Almond Milk (2 tbsp.)
- Coconut Oil (3 tbsp.
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (1/3 cup)
- Cacao Powder (2 tbsp.)
- Gluten Free Oats (1/2 cup)
- Organic Natural Peanut or Almond Butter (1/2 cup)
- Vanilla (1/2 tsp)
The Chocolate…
Combine the Cacao, Maple Syrup, Almond Milk and Coconut Oil in a saucepan and bring to a low simmer. Stir, stir! Burned chocolate is a not what you want. Let this simmer for a minute or so.
Remove it from the heat and stir in the peanut butter, coconut and vanilla. Again…Stir!
And the Oats…
Finally toss in the oats and give this yummy batter one last stir for good measure!
Sprinkle...
Line your favorite baking sheet with parchment or grab a fun candy mold! I chose my candy mold, sprinkling coconut in the bottom of each candy slot.
Into the fridge
Without eating too much of your batter….you know you will! fill the molds with your batter. (Or if using a baking sheet drop rounded teaspoons of batter on the parchment). Refrigerate for about an hour.
Pop the cookies out of the mold and Enjoy!
I promise your kiddos will love you! (both big and small!) I would love to hear what wisdom your children have shared....from the heart!
Thanks for stopping by the Bird Nest today
And as always, blessings to you all