Lemon Turmeric Energy Bites

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If there is an event that involves me, then you know there will be treats. I had so much fun hosting a private Beyond 500 class for friends and followers last Sunday. I wanted to bring something sweet to reward everyone for the hard workout, but I didn't want to blow all the work we would be doing in the class. Energy bites (not energy balls, I refuse) were the perfect post-workout treat. 

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Lemon Turmeric Energy Bites
yields 20 bites

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
6 oz pitted dates
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
Put all ingredients into your food processor and process until everything comes together, about 3-5 minutes. Stopping and scraping down the sides every minute or so. You want to make sure the nuts, seeds and dates are finely processed and it comes together like a dough.  

Using a tablespoon size cookie scoop, portion out the dough and roll to form balls. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Each bite is only 85 calories. 

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With protein from the cashews and chia seeds, natural sugars from the dates, and an energy boost from the lemon and turmeric, they make for the perfect pre-or post-workout snack. 

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Annie

Bites of My Life

Last week was active, literally and figuratively. I always feel like my week gets off to a nice slow start then ends up going 100 mph by the end of the week. I have a feeling this week will be no different. A concert, roadtrip to Tulsa, multiple fitness classes, soccer game, lunches, dinners, and getting prepped for the week, I'm exhausted from the weekend and currently enjoying a nice slow Monday from the comfort of my living room. 

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-I've been doing my best to stay committed to eating Whole30 during the work week. That means Lunch Boards on repeat. 
-I somehow made my Perfect CCCs even more perfect, did you see the updates in last week's post?
-Elle's favorite nap spot is in Aunt Annie's arms. 
-Lake Street Dive at The Jones had me playing marketing manager by day, roadie by night. Please notice my walkie talkie making me look concert offish. 
-Learn acro yoga got checked off the bucket list this weekend while celebrating StudioHop launching in Tulsa! If you are in the Tulsa area, my code 'AnnieHop20' still works to get $20 off your first month!
-Lemon Turmeric Energy Bites for a healthy sweet treat. Recipe coming tomorrow!
-Post-workout snacks after a sweaty Sunday at Beyond 500. 
-#TeamTakeaBite went beyond. Thanks for having us Beyond Studios!
-Embarrassed at how quickly we demolished this fruit and charcuterie board, even with the large meal we had following. Sunday Supper at mom and dads is the best way to end the week.

Annie

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies Updated

As if they couldn't get more perfect, well they just did. Perfect CCCs are upgraded and this is now THE only CCC recipe you need. They are my go-to for any event, potluck, or those times when I just have an itch for baking.  

The recipe is very similar to the original Perfect CCCs, with a few extra additions to give them a sweet and salty touch. I have added olive oil in the batter and flakey sea salt on top. But, my secret ingredient is adding a chopped up Hershey's milk chocolate bar to the mix. make sure to read the TIPS section at the bottom of the recipe.

Try not to omit the Hershey's bar if you can. It's worth the trip to the gas station to pick one up. The combo of the semi-sweet chips that stay firm through baking mixed with the melty milk chocolate bar gives it the edge they needed!

I have found myself chopping up leftover Dove Valentine's hearts or Easter chocolate bunnies in place of the Hershey's bar. A great way to use up leftover candy. Halloween, I see you.... I have also been known to add festive sprinkles to fit the occasion. Muli-colored sprinkles for birthdays, red, white and blue for the 4th!

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Perfect CCCs Updated
yields 32 cookies

Ingredients:
Β½  cup unsalted butter (I recommend Kerrygold), melted
Β½ cup olive oil (use a basic, not fancy olive oil)
3 cups all-purpose flour (if your dough looks too loose, you can add 1/4 cup extra of flour)
1 ΒΌ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Β½ tsp. salt
1 Β½ cups light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed*
Β½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
10 ounces, semi-sweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped
1 Hershey’s Chocolate Bar, roughly chopped (optional, if choose to omit, use 12 ounces choc chips)
Maldon Salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl mix both sugars. *You can use light or dark brown sugar. I like a dark cookie so I prefer dark brown sugar, but I switch off depending on what I have on hand. Pour the melted butter and olive oil into the bowl with the sugars and whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine. Stir in the vanilla.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture. I found a wooden spoon to be the easiest for this job. Once the dough has almost come together, but still a little floury, add the chocolate chips and Hershey's bar. *I roughly chop my chocolate chips, so I could get more chocolate in each bite. I also love those little shavings of chocolate sprinkled through the dough! 

Form 2-3 tablespoon size balls. I use a 2 tbsp. size cookie scoop, but overload the scoop a little bit to get a larger ball of dough. Place them on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart and fluff them a bit*. Do not overcrowd the pan. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with flaky Maldon salt and any extra chocolate bits left over from chopping.

Bake for 9 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through. Bake until just barely golden around the edges, the key is to not overbake these! Shy on the underdone side.

TIPS:
Olive Oil: I note above, but when it comes to olive oil, please use a basic light olive oil. Nothing fancy or imported from Greece. You don’t want your cookies to taste like olives. I use Trader Joe’s or Bertolli light olive oil.

Butter: I love Kerrygold butter and can truly taste a difference when I splurge and use this butter. It’s suggested, but not required.

Chocolate: I love using Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chunks for this recipe. They bake up very dark despite being semi-sweet and I love the color contrast compared to the lighter milk chocolate Hershey’s bar. Please include the Hershey bar. It makes it!

Sugars: Do NOT, I repeat, do not use Trader Joe’s cane sugar or brown sugar. I love their olive oil and chocolate chunks for this recipe, but their organic cane sugar and brown sugar do not cut it. I’ve had multiple people, including myself, use these two sugars and say their cookies didn’t turn out. The sugars are not granulated enough. I don’t know quite how to explain it, but they are coarse and lead to a weird texture in the cookie.

Fluffing stage: After using the cookie scoop, I give the cookies a β€œfluff.” Simply just rough the cookies up a bit so more chocolate chips are showing on the top and they are more rustic-looking balls of dough instead of perfectly scooped. Then sprinkle with Maldon and more chocolate if needed.

I firmly believe this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's easily become my most popular recipe on the site. Thanks to everyone who has made their own batch of Perfect CCCs. And if you haven’t yet, it's time to whip up a batch!

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:
To save your cookies for a rainy day, pre-scoop your cookie dough into balls onto a lined cookie sheet, β€œfluff” them, and then place the cookie sheet in the freezer to flash freeze them. One they are cold, transfer the balls of dough to a freezer-safe bag or container to freeze until you need them!

To bake, pull your frozen dough balls from the freezer and place on a lined cookie sheet. Let the dough come to room temperature for about 30 minutes or while your oven is preheating. Don’t forget to sprinkle with Maldon Salt, and then bake as normal!

Annie

Bites of My Life

I haven't "gone back to school" in a couple years now, but hearing about schools starting and having a teacher as a roommate, I have a sense of the school year creeping in and can feel my routine starting to fall back into place. Summer has been c-r-a-z-y and I don't expect much less this fall, but the idea of a routine amongst the crazy sounds pretty nice. 

-I'm really trying to take advantage of what StudioHop has to offer, by exploring studios outside my comfort zone. I stepped into Four Graces pilates studio last week and fell in love. Use my code, AnnieHop20 to get $20 off your first month and hop to pilates with me. 
-Easy tuna nicoise salad for dinners last week. Canned tuna, soft boiled egg, olives, green beans, cherry tomatoes and salty capers!
-Annie through the years while cleaning out old boxes and organizers. I found a slew of old business cards from my high school entrepreneur adventure to my summer gig in D.C.
-Friday started off slow and easy with this at home smoothie bowl. 
-Friday ended a little more wild being transported via party bus.
-Beer, nachos, fried chicken and okra. Solid Oklahoma night at our state's oldest bar. 
-Shnugs and snugs with Claire now that she if back from NYC.
-From living with Matty girl when she first met Steve to then seeing them get married is something rare and so cool. Funnest night celebrating the Behms.  
-StudioHop recently launched in Tulsa and I'm so excited to have Katie repping SH up north. Catch us both at their Tulsa Launch Party this Saturday at Lululemon on Brookside!
-The Matcha Flotcha Flame from Wheeze the Juice is my version of matcha heaven. Just matcha, coconut milk and cinnamon. 
-A rainy weekend, fallish temps and having someone around who geeks out over pumpkin seeds, resulted to these Double Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Cookies along with Perfect CCCs being baked up yesterday.
-A healthy twist on Shrimp and Grits coming soon!

Annie

Bites of My Life

The whole fam damily was reunited this past weekend to celebrate Elle finally joining the party and oldest sis getting married! In Tucker fashion our weekend consisted of lot's of eating, with the addition of a family Cyclebar session and lot's of squeals and stares at the new kid in town (Elle). I love having the whole crew together! Before we are Brooklyn Bound for C & M's big day, a stop in Miami is on the horizon for a little bachelorette fiesta!

-Decided to go vegan, Monday through Friday morning. Why? For the pure reason to see if I could. Results. I ate so many carbs in replace for meat and dairy.  Will I do it again, probably not. Why until just Friday morning? Because like I said above, I knew our weekend would consist of some delicious eats I wasn't going to miss out on. 
-My oldest friend with my newest friend :) A special Monday indeed. 
-Had been on the hunt for the perfect modern but still vintage looking oriental rug. With the help of Libby's post, I scored this rug for my bedroom. Full room shot to come. 
-The strawberry almond milk from Wheeze 1. is delicious 2. is the prettiest shade of pink and 3. I'll by any healthy food that comes in the prettiest shade of pink.
-Exhibit A of all the carbs while going vegan. Will I go vegan again, no. Will I make this pasta again? 100% yes. Recipe can found here
-The best mornings are when I get a work out in early enough to still have time to enjoy a walk before work. Caffeine and company make it even better!
-Needing killer photos taken? Contact my girl Madi. Need a killer lunch or dinner spot? Visit us at The Jones Assembly
-If you haven't had the salmon ceviche at Barrios you are wasting your time. Whole 30 approved and the best dish eva. 
-Elle girl ready for some fun in the sun. 
-From Oklahoma to New York to Australia, it's time to get Claire and Mike married!
-Tucker Time in full affect.
-Today is sister's bday, but we celebrated yesterday while the whole fam was still in town with these waffles.

Annie

P.S. A big congrats to my girlie girl and blogging bestie Molly on she and William's engagement