Happy Veterans Day!
My weekend has been all about having fun and relaxing. I’ve been super sore lately and decided it was a good idea to let my body rest a bit. My physical therapist has been having me do a lot of glute and hip conditioning exercises. We’re treating my calf injury with a sort of all-around approach, not just working out the knots and scar tissue in my calf, but also strengthening my entire left side from my hip down. I think it’s great, but I’ve been working on smaller leg muscles that I probably don’t usually target, and it has certainly been leaving me sore! Outside of physical therapy, I’ve been doing workouts that focus on a lot of my upper body, resulting in achy arms and back muscles. All of last week I felt sore all over the place, and that’s why this weekend I’ve been taking it easy. Sometimes your body just needs time to recover! Besides stretching and doing some conditioning exercises, all I did workout wise today was take Harley for a 2.5 mile walk on the beach this afternoon.
Not too shabby scenery for some movement on an active rest day huh?
Another reason why taking it easy has been perfect for me today is because I went out last night to a dueling piano bar and am not feeling 100% today. I had a great time singing along with the pianists and having a couple of drinks, but I certainly am feeling a bit dehydrated and headachy today. What’s the perfect thing to do on a somewhat lazy Sunday afternoon in the midst of football watching? BAKING! And I knew just what I wanted to make…
Last week I was at Barnes & Noble perusing the cookbook section and spotted a book called The Sprouted Kitchen, which focuses on cooking with whole foods. The dessert section had some yummy looking recipes, and one in particular caught my eye: chocolate-drizzled oatmeal shortbread. The recipe seemed awesome as is, so I didn’t even change anything around on the ingredient list as I typically do.
I’m off to see the new 007 movie with my hubby and friend Jackie, and you better believe that I’m bringing some of these cookies for snacking! Here’s the recipe:
Dark Chocolate-Drizzled Oatmeal Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup [light] butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar plus more for sprinkling
- 2 TSP pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 TSP sea salt plus more for garnish
- 1/2 TSP nutmeg
- 2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the oats to create a coarse flour. Aim to keep some of the texture and not to puree until its completely smooth. (I counted 25 super short pulses.) Remove from processor.
- Add the butter and sugar to the food processor and pulse until combined.
- Add the vanilla and egg to the mix, and pulse to combine again.
- Put the oats, flour, salt, and nutmeg in the processor and pulse to combine. Scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Dust your counter surface with a handful of oats and a few sprinkles of sugar. This will give you a bit of an oat/sugar crust. Place the dough on the surface and roll it into a uniform log with your hands.
- Roll the log in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Cut the log into 20 slices and spread them onto the baking sheet.
- Bake until the edges begin to brown, 14-16 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to fully cool on a wire rack.
- Warm the dark chocolate in either the microwave or via stovetop. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate evenly onto the cookies. Allow them to cool again before eating.
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