Holiday Cupcakes

These may not be the healthiest sweets, but anything in moderation is okay in my opinion. Last week the Valley News featured an article on Enjoy Cupcakes and their holiday creations.  It was fun having a photographer come into the kitchen and document what we do. She mostly took photos of just the yummy cupcakes, so I was excited to see the picture they chose. I don't think anyone was as excited as my mom. Here is a link to view the entire article http://www.syvnews.com/articles/2010/12/07/news/news02.txt ...Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays : )

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

In the most recent issue of Delicious Living, Elana Amsterdam from Elanaspantry.com shares some healthy holiday dessert recipes. Above is a batch of the cinnamon-walnut cookies I made this afternoon. In place of cinnamon I used pumpkin pie spice to keep it festive for Thanksgiving. The recipe is super simple and easy to make. I loved how they turned out. They are firm on the outside but once you bite in they are soft and chewy. 

Cinnamon-Walnut Cookies

1 cup walnuts

5 dates, pitted and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)

pinch of sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place walnuts and dates in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Pulse in oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt. Continue to pulse until mixture begins to form a ball.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough, 1 tablespoon at a time, onto prepared baking sheet, forming into balls with your hands; flatten slightly. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until firm. Cool on baking sheet.