Tag: snack

Oreo Macarons

Published on by Mareike's Cozy CornerLeave a comment

Macarons are the queens of sweet treats. A little taste of heaven. They make for the perfect dessert, as they are an ideal union of the slightly crunchy and soft cream textures/flavors. Whenever I eat one, it reminds me of my college year abroad in France. We all know the standard version with chocolate ganache, vanilla, raspberry, you name it. But how about Oreos? After all, they are sort of following a similar “design.” I asked myself this precise question and came to the conclusion that this is something I should definitely get onto. So this is my take on Oreo macarons. This recipe makes approx. 35 macarons.

Ingredients

  • 4 medium-sized egg whites20170617_123839
  • 20 Oreo cookies
  • 1 ¼ cups (255 grams) of powdered sugar
  • 1 cup (110 grams) of almond flour/grounded almonds
  • ¼ teaspoon of either cream de tartar or baking powder
  • 1 cup (200 grams) of sugar
  • 60 grams of butter
  • 7,5 ounces (200 grams) of cream cheese

Beat the egg white until stiff, then add the ¼ cup (55grams) powdered sugar through a sieve and mix in the baking powder or cream of tartar. Then mix the sugar with the almond flour in a separate bowl until no large chunks are left. Add the sugar-almond mixture to the egg white. Then separate the Oreo cookie shells and scrape out the filling. Ground the Oreo shells and add them to your base mix. Now we are all set.

To make sure the macarons are all more or less the same size and have a very even round form, I highly recommend getting a silicone macaron sheet (like this, if you are in Germany or this if you are in the US). Place about ½ to 1 teaspoon on each of the round circles of the mat. Bake them in the oven at 290 degrees Fahrenheit / 145 degrees Celsius for approx. 15 min.

While the first batch of macaron shells is in the oven, we have plenty of time to prepare our filling. Mix the original Oreo cookie filing with the butter (make sure it is at room temperature). Once blended in, mix in the cream cheese and then sieve in the remaining powdered sugar.

Keep the filling in the fridge until the shells have cooled down. Once that is the case, spread 1 teaspoon of the cream onto a shell and cover it up with another. And voilà… your first macaron is now ready! Whether you indulge right away or keep them in the fridge for a while is down to the strength of your mental capacities and will power. Mine is weak. But then again a little quality testing doesn’t hurt, right?

Enjoy!

Protein Peanut Butter Cups

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We all want to eat healthy, but might crave a sweet treat after a workout or just because. Wouldn’t it be awesome if this moment of indulgence could still be healthy? The good news is: it can. Even with something as naughty as peanut butter cups. Here is how. The recipe below is good for ten peanut butter cups.

Ingredients

  • 6 scoops / 150 grams of chocolate-flavored protein powder (see product recommendation below)
  • 6 tablespoons / 80 grams of unrefined coconut oil
  • 6 ounces / 170ml of water
  • 6 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter

Mix the protein powder, coconut butter and water in a bowl and place half of it evenly into 6 silicone cupcake baking forms. Use silicone ones, as it makes the job of getting the cups out of their form much easier. Let it chill in the freezer for 10 minutes, till the mixture has hardened. Then spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter onto each of the cups as a second layer. Place it in the freezer again for another 10 minutes. Afterwards, fill the remaining half of the protein powder mix into the cups to create the top layer. Let it rest in the freezer for approximately 45 minutes. Congratulations, your protein peanut butter cups are now ready to be served! Any treats that you want to keep for later should remain stored in the freezer. So yes, sadly this probably wouldn’t work as a ‘take to work’ snack, as the cups might melt on the way, but they are just perfect for an evening treat at home on your porch or balcony.

A last few words regarding the protein powder. We always use the products of Myprotein, simply because they are one of the few brands that do not overload their products with sugar. This is a very important aspect. Plus, they don’t compromise on taste. So you get yourself set up for a win-win-situation with this one. We usually use the stevia one, but I can also highly recommend the peanut butter chocolate flavor they offer.

Shopping links for German readers:

Shopping links for American readers:

Oreo Cake

Published on by Mareike's Cozy CornerLeave a comment

It’s my fiancés birthday today and every year I bake him a birthday cake. He loves Oreos so this year’s choice was an easy one to make: a moist Oreo cake.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (100 grams) of flourIMG_20170525_130142_295
  • ¼ cup (30 grams) of baking cacao
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) of sugar
  • ½ cup (100 grams) of sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup (75 ml) of vegetable oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2/3 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla aroma
  • 3 cups (600 ml) of heavy cream
  • 48 Oreo cookies

For the dough, mix flour, cacao, the egg, oil, ½ cup (100 grams) of sugar, sour cream salt, baking soda and 1 tablespoon of vanilla aroma until smooth. Butter a round 9 inch cake pan (23 cm) and pour the dough into it. Bake it in the oven at 350 °F / 175 °C for approximately 20 mins.

Meanwhile whisk the heavy cream until it is stiff and firm. Mix in the remaining sugar and place it in the fridge. Then chop the Oreo cookies into small bits and fold them into the cream. This should give your cream a slightly chocolaty color, the smaller you chopped the cookies, the darker it will get. Then put the mix back into the fridge until the cake has cooled down enough (approx. for one hour).

When that’s the case, cut your cake in half horizontally. Then stack the lower half on your cake plate and apply 1/3 of the cream. Spread it out evenly on the cake and then place the second level on top. Apply the remaining 2/3 of the cream and spread it out evenly on top and on the sides. As for decoration I got colored black sugar and cut 2 of the Oreo cookies in half and used 3 halfs on top. Let your cake rest in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Fudgy glutenfree brownies with black beans

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We can’t fool ourselves. Brownies mean indulgence. They certainly don’t mean diet-friendly food. However there are definitly ways to make them a little bit healthier without sacrificing on taste. By using black beans instead of flour, we can lower the amount of carbs in our brownies, plus we also load them with fiber. And by using dark chocolate, we get a few health benefits thanks to the high cacao percentage. Cacao contains flavanols. The higher the percentage in your chocolate, the more of this substance you get. Now why should that matter to you: flavanols help lowering blood pressure for instance and supports your vascular system and the flexibility of your blood vessels so that oxygen and nutrients can be delivered through your body more easily. So this brownie is certainly a little less sweet than the classic version. But we don’t compromise on the fudginess and it is still damn delicious.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (400 g) of black beansIMG_20170523_100449_408
  • 5 ounces (100g) of dark chocolate (make sure you get 50% cacao or more, though the higher you go, the more you sacrfice on sweetness)
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • ½ cup (100g) of sugar
  • ½ cup (120 ml) of milk
  • 1 handful of walnuts or pecan nuts
  • Butter for the baking dish

Start with this recipe the night before – or if you plan on baking your brownie in the afternoon, start in the morning – by soaking the beans in water and let them rest for 8-10 hours. If you want to spare yourself this task and save the time, get the canned version and make sure you rinse and drain them well. Use a blender to mash up the beans.

Melt the chocolate and mix it with the blended black beans. Add sugar, backing powder, oil, milk and eggs. Depending on your personal taste preference, you might want to add vanilla aroma or cinnamon as well. Continue by choping the walnuts and stiring them into the dough. Butter a baking dish and heat up your oven to 350 F/ 175 C. Bake the brownies for approximately 25-30 min.

If you want to book yourself a ticket to food heaven, have your brownie with vanilla icecream while they are still warm. Yummy.