Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies (vegan)

Growing up, I could always count on having cookies around Christmas. Even now, cookies are a must in the season. Naturally, I've made a few batches this season, and of course I had to share a cookie recipe. The best part is that I'm not only sharing these delicious peanut butter coconut cookies, but a bunch of other yummies as part of a virtual cookie swap. How fun is that?! You'll find those creative and delicious recipe links at the bottom of this post.

Of course, gingerbread is a natural choice for the Christmas season, but a friend inspired the combination of peanut butter and coconut and not long after, I found these scrumptious yummies coming out of my oven. I was slightly hesitant at first, but they have quickly become an official favourite in our house.

Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies
Makes: About 2 Dozen

what you need:

what to do:

1) Cream together the sugar, coconut oil and peanut butter.
2) Stir in applesauce and vanilla.
3) Mix dry ingredients separately and add. slowly to wet ingredients until all are mixed.
4) Chill dough 30 - 60 minutes.
5) While preheating the oven to 375 degrees F, roll dough into balls, and flatten gently with a fork.
6) Bake 10-12 minutes, until slightly brown.
7) Remove from oven and cool completely
8) Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil using double boiler.
9) Dip cookies into the chocolate and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons organic shredded coconut (unsweetened) 

3/4 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoon coconut oil
shredded coconut for sprinkling

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What are your favourite cookies during the holiday season? Try these and the recipes from the cookie swap below! Let me know if you've tried these with the hashtag #MapleAlps

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Speculoos Button Cookies via Katherine in Brooklyn

Chocolate Dipped Matcha and Ginger Shortbread Cookies via Madeline Marie

Walnut Pepita Chocolate Chip Cookies via Nommable

GF + Vegan Gingerbread Men via Soul and Spoon

Chocolate Peppermint Coconut Macaroons via Pumpkin & Peanut Butter

Almond Spritz Cookies via Flours In Your Hair

Coconut Peanut Butter Cookies (vegan) via Maple Alps

Flaxseed & Pistachio Shortbread with White Chocolate Ganache Glaze via Lyndsey Eden

Speculoos Coffee Caramel Slices via Les Filles de Madeleine

Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies via The Foodwright

Dark Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies via Seek Satiation

Pretzel & Caramel Drizzled Snickerdoodles via Hopeless Thunder

Faith and Travel

Sometimes it takes going somewhere to see the beauty that God has laid out before our very eyes. On a recent trip to Eastern Oregon, this girl from the flatlands was traversing the mountain roads and caught her breath a couple of times as she saw the world fall away over the edge. Once I was assured I wasn’t going over the side of the mountain, my eyes went towards the heavens, toward the mountain peaks bringing the words to the hymn “Oh Lord my God when I in awesome wonder consider all the world’s Thy hands have made” to mind.

I need to get away from the duty that everyday life requires. Away from the cell phone, because you can always be found. Out in the woods I can forget the writing deadlines and family obligations. Being in nature and among the trees brings me to my knees in wonder at all God has created, and reminds me just who He is. It brings me back to Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” That reminds me of just how great He is.

Different travels have brought different awakenings. In Paris, a visit to The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris amazed and enlightened. The beauty, the sheer spirit, that surrounds you there is almost overwhelming.

I am a traveller, I write about travel and farm things. A couple of years ago my husband Keith and I had been travelling a lot and we were talking about the fact that we needed to get back to church while we were attending an International Harvester winter show. I write for Red Power, an IH publication, and I was gung ho to interview this wonderful engineer that had been instrumental in developing the IH Cub Cadet, a lawn and garden tractor built in the 1960’s.

After talking to the gentleman, I learned he was a pastor and he invited us to come to his church the next day. The connection was instant and Keith and I just looked at each other. There was not a decision to be made; God had spoken to us through this man, and we went to his church and were blessed. Just before his story went to print, the minister passed away. I don’t know if he ever knew how he touched us while travelling, putting us back on the right path, God’s path.

Travel brings so many different and distinctive individuals into the sphere of our lives. My faith has grown because of what I have seen and expanded when I have had to face what I don’t understand. God has made a big beautiful world and with His blessings, I hope to see as much as I can in my lifetime. For me, faith and travel go hand in hand.

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Cindy Ladage is an award-winning columnist for Farm World. She recently won the American Women in Communications Clarion award for her column Wrenching Tales.  Cindy is a frequent contributor to the Illinois Times travel guides, a freelance writer she specializes in stories about people and places.  Her travel blog is http://travelingadventuresofafarmgirl.com.   Cindy writes for antique tractor and toy magazines along with other publications like Senior News & Times. She has co-written three children’s books with Jane Aumann her first solo children’s book When Matilda Made Time Stand Still.

Cindy has three fiction books that have been published as well as a series of short stories.  Cindy was a contributor to Canning, Pickling and Freezing with Irma Harding.  She lives with her husband who is a farmer in central Illinois. They have three grown children and two grandchildren

Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico

Winter getaways are always welcome for us. We have made it a tradition to get out of the cold every year and go someplace warm. This last cold season, we actually made 3 trips, but one of our most memorable was Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving. It was perfectly green and lush, and because we opted on going the local route, we felt that our trip was also educational. Thought I would share some of the highlights on the blog. 

It was fun riding in a plane together. In our 5 year relationship, this was only the third time traveling by plane together - which is really ironic since we were long distance. I guess we only traveled to see the other person in a plane, never with. Huh.

The views were breathtaking! 

Aibonito was fun to see - a really cool place to visit.

Not going to lie, I do not remember which beach this was since we saw so many!

Rincón is a hot spot for surfers and the waves didn't seem too disappointing. Some highlights we saw were Antigua Planta Nuclear, Maria's Beach (not pictured), Punta Higuero Light and Balneario de Rincón.

Finding this spot was definitely the highlight of our trip. There was a rope to swing into the pool, and it was a lot warmer than I had anticipated. We didn't take too many pictures because we were having way too much fun swimming around to take more pictures, but that doesn't bother us at all. 

Old San Juan and the fort El Morro (a 17th-century Spanish fort) were pretty cool to see too. The views were spectacular and totally worth the climb in the hot sun. This iguana seemed to be enjoying his little perch too. Do you see him up there?

Have you ever been to Puerto Rico?

Luxurious Whipped Cocoa Body Butter

It finally happened. I ran out of my precious Body Shop body butter. Let me tell you about this butter: I've been using it for YEARS, and since my favourite flavour is blueberry, I would wait till it came out every year, and then buy enough to last me a year. And that is all I would use. Because lotion never cut it for me. Plus, who can resist those blueberry fumes?! Not this girl.

Well, that is until I found cocoa butter, smelled it, and figured out it was WAY cheaper to make my own amazing body butter - plus I didn't have to wait a year to find my favourite flavours!

This post contains affiliate links.

It amazes me how far I've come in my quest for homemade and natural alternatives for every-day essentials. I've always been a fan of being more on the natural side, but never in my wildest dreams would I have seen myself making my own products to save money and save myself from the chemicals that are lurking in many toiletries on grocery store shelves - the ones I've been using for a long time! 

I vowed that once my blueberry body butter ran out, I would make the switch to homemade, and let me tell you: I've not yet looked back!

This body butter is so smooth, soft, luxurious feeling and SMELLS AMAZING. It also feels so great and does not feel greasy at all. It's also super easy to make, and easy on my wallet.

I'm confident it will be a perfect moisturizer as Winter makes it's way here. 

What you need:

1/2 C Cocoa Butter (I used this one)
1/2 C Shea Butter
1/2 C Coconut Oil
1/2 C Sweet Almond Oil

what to do:

1) Using double boiler, melt everything together.
2) Add to mixing bowl and place in the fridge until solid, but still soft (about 50-60 minutes).
3) Using electric hand mixer, whip mixture until light and fluffy.
4) Transfer to glass jar and store in cool place. 

Note: mixture will hold texture perfectly fine at 75 degrees F (about 24 degrees C) and below.

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Needing a new body butter to prepare for Winter? Ever tried making your own?

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"Meaty" Black Bean Vegan Burgers

This weekend we celebrated Fall with a Fall Fest, complete with a hayride, veggie dogs and all the potato salad you could imagine. Now, we do love veggie dogs, but I think I've finally reached my limit for the year. Interestingly enough, we haven't had one burger bonfire, and I think next summer, we'll have to make that happen. Until then, I'll be experimenting with some patties, and sharing them with you.

In all honesty, these burgers are a result of wanting to use up leftovers in the fridge. Just goes to show, that your fridge can indeed be carrying treasures you didn't think of.

Beans are a serious staple around here. Once I started understanding how to prepare and keep them so that I don't have to buy cans of the stuff anymore (cheaper and healthier to buy dry!), life became so much easier. I had made some enchiladas with these beans. Since I had plenty left, I figured a burger would be the perfect project. 

I wanted something more "meaty" in texture, however; something a little chewier... That does sound strange now that I type it out, but I'm just going to leave that there. I decided to add some TVP and see what happened. 

Because the beans were already cooked, it cut down greatly on prep time for these delicious burgers! I even called a friend to come over for lunch, and did we feast! We topped them with fried onions and had sweet potato fries on the side.

What you need

1 ½ C black beans - cooked (you could use canned too)
2 C TVP
1 large yellow onion - caramelized
¾ C vital gluten flour
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp sea salt
BBQ sauce

What to do

1) Soak TVP in about 2C hot water for ten minutes and drain well
2) While soaking, caramelize your onion and set aside - low heat and slow cooking is the key!
3) Add back beans to food processor and pulse until almost smooth. Add caramelized onions and pulse until a paste forms.
4) Add paste, drained TVP and spices to large bowl. Mix well and then add vital gluten flour.
5) Combine and start creating patties out of the mixture. You will get 8-10, depending on the size.
6) Heat a bit of oil in the pan and place a few patties in to pan fry. Slather each side with BBQ sauce and flip. 
7) Serve with your favourite toppings and enjoy!

PS: If you prefer something gluten-free, try these Juicy Smoked Chickpea Burgers

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We love these topped with fried onions and with sweet potato fries on the side!

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