Cake

• 7 ounces (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
• 9 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• Grated zest of 2 large or 3 small blood oranges
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 10 ounces (2¾ cup) almond meal
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3½ ounces (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 2 teaspoons ground fennel seed (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• 3 to 4 blood oranges, thinly sliced into rounds, rind removed, for the top of the cake

Blood Orange Syrup

• Juice of 2 large or 3 small blood oranges
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup sugar

If you have a hankering for some great , crispy+chewy chocolate chip cookies, might we suggest these babies? Chock full of chopped toasted hazlenuts, chopped bittersweet chocolate, toffee chips and oats to make it healthy, these are just what you need to get you through the day. They can easily be made with almond or other gluten-free flour for those who are limiting gluten. They're delicious either way.

Our favorite part of these cookies is that we tossed in the chocolate dust that forms when you chop a thick chocolate bar. It's distributes the chocolateyness throughout, with larger studs of chocolate here and there. We toasted our peeled hazelnuts and then chopped them roughly (no smaller than 1/4 of a nut). You can grind for a smoother cookie if desired.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen 2-1/2 inch cookies. They keep well in a sealed container for several days at room temperature. The cookies or dough can be frozen for up to two months.
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1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Finely chop about half the oats in a blender or food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. Using your stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or your flat beater, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
5. Add the flour mixture at lowest speed and stir just until blended. Some visible powdery dry ingredients are fine at this point.
6. Again at lowest speed, stir in the toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips. Dough will for a heavy clump.
7. For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1-inch apart (do not flatten dough). We used a 1 Tablespoon scoop to more uniform cookies, but be aware that these chunky treats do not give you a perfectly rounded cookie. The portioning is more for even baking.
8. Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will puff a little, then flatten quite a bit), 10-12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes to allow to set up. ​Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

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HINT: For thicker cookies, refrigerate the dough for an hour or overnight and bake as indicated (it will take an extra minute to bake if cold.) If you chill for more than an hour, allow the dough to warm up for 15+ minutes so it's scoopable.

Looking for a chocolate frosting that's not too sweet or cloying? This is it, my friends. For those of you who are non-frosting lovers, this light, not-too-sweet frosting with a hint of salt will be your new favorite! It whips up easily with SideSwipe and spreads with just a swish of your spatula. We didn't even need a crumb coat!

This recipe, slightly adapted from Brian Hart Hoffman's Bake From Scratch book, is our new go-to frosting. This recipe generously frosts a single 9-inch layer cake or about 12 cupcakes. You'll need more for more layers or if you plan to do towering frosting on your cupcakes. We, being in the less-is-more frosting camp, need less. 

The recipe calls for buttermilk, which adds a tang to your frosting, but you can substitute whole milk or heavy cream if you like. The frosting will still be light and delicious.

Hint: We recommend that you weigh your powdered sugar so you don't add too much. If you don't have a digital kitchen scale, whisk up your sugar a bit before measuring. Confectioners' sugar is notorious for sinking and getting heavier as it sits.
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If you love peanut butter, you're going to love these cookies. Soft, tender and loaded with peanut taste, these cookies are also perfect for people with special diets. The recipe is both gluten-free and vegan, but you'd never know it. 

These cookies are quick to make and bake - no chilling/resting period and only about 8-9 minutes in the oven. Don't try to use natural peanut butter in this recipe. If just seems to turn out really greasy and flat. We prefer Skippy for PB cookies. Not sure what is in their formula that makes it best, but we think it's great for baking.

This recipe makes a small batch, about 18, 3-inch cookies, so feel free to double. A stand mixer is a real help when mixing peanut butter and oat flour (which we made by tossing rolled oats for a minute or so in the food processor). Of course, SideSwipe makes mixing effortless - especially if you are doubling up!

We adapted the recipe from one from Blissful Basil. The cookies can be baked a little longer if you like crunchier cookies, but we think they're best in their softest form(8-9 mins). They will keep for a couple of days at room temperature. We haven't tried freezing them (they were gone pretty quickly!), but they should freeze well for at least a month.

Calories: About 150 each for 18 cookies made from a single batch.
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• 1 cup peanut butter (can also use almond butter or sunflower butter)
• 1 cup brown sugar or other natural sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup oat flour (use 1 cup if you prefer firmer, sturdier cookies)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 cup filtered water (can use  1/4 cup almond milk)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. In your stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter and brown sugar for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add in the vanilla extract and beat for another 15-30 seconds.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (oat flour, baking soda, and salt).
4. Add the oat flour mixture and beat on lowest speed until a crumby dough forms. Add the water and continue to beat on lowest speed, just until oats appear to be well distributed. Do not over mix.
5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liner.
6. Roll the dough into balls (about 1-1/2 Tablespoons per cookie), drop onto lined pan, and flatten with a fork one way and then the other to create a crisscross pattern.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden at the edges (keep an eye on them toward the end).
8. Cool completely on the pan to allow cookies to set before moving. Enjoy.
9. Store in an airtight plastic container to keep the cookies soft and chewy.

We have an old Pampered Chef sliding measuring cup that we use to measure out peanut butter. It has a plunger that pushes measured ingredients out - no mess, no digging into a standard measuring cup. They still offer their Measure-All cups online.

You can also purchase a dishwasher-safe product by KitchenArt, Adjust-a-Cup with the same features, including being dishwasher safe. Click on the photo below to go directly to Amazon.
If you purchase, we may receive a small referral fee. Your price will remain the same.