Dark chocolate (Nutella) almond cookies

Chocolate Nutella Cookies


I made these dark chocolate cookies almost two months ago. Talk about a delay. :)

We had some dark chocolate spread in the house (knock-off Nutella), and I really wanted to make cookies with it. The above recipe is the one I chose, but I tweaked it a little. Instead of using chocolate chips and only 3 tablespoons of chocolate spread, I omitted the chips and used about 6 oz of chocolate spread, or almost half a container of the stuff. I also added almonds and sprinkled powdered sugar on the finished cookies.

These cookies would go perfectly with morning coffee. They are extremely dense but they are small, so they make the perfect bite. Nutella (hazelnut spread) or any other chocolate spread would work for this recipe. I know World Market carries a variety of flavors, like caramel, white chocolate, and the dark chocolate kind.

Savory oatmeal with fried eggs

I have always hated oatmeal. Don't most people? In the past I have taught myself to like certain foods because of their nutritional values. Skim milk...tomatoes...salad. But oatmeal...no matter how hard I tried to like it, I just couldn't. Even when I tried steel-cut oats, even when I mixed in cinnamon and honey, even when I put peanut butter and chocolate chips in it - I still felt like I had to force it down my throat.

But now...I have found an oatmeal I like.

The other day I saw a post (I can't remember where now) about savory oatmeal, with olive oil and herbs mixed in. Intriguing! I'd never heard of such a thing. Not the saccharine-sweet, brown sugar, milky cream oatmeal, but SAVORY! I finally tried it for myself last week and I was pleasantly surprised. A few nights later, as I was drifting off to sleep, I found myself CRAVING this oatmeal and scheming how I would make it again. I would spread the oatmeal out on a plate, then top it off with fried eggs.

And that's exactly what I did.

And it was good!

As far as how I made it: I used Quaker Instant oats and prepared one serving (half cup of dry oats) according to the package directions. It's better not to get it too soupy, so don't add too much water. A medium thickness makes it seem almost like risotto, which is perfect. Once it's hot, add in 1/2 TB of extra virgin olive oil, and salt and cracked black pepper to taste. (I love a lot of pepper). That's it! I haven't tried it with herbs yet but I'm sure it'd work great.