Lighter Honey and Brown Butter No Bake Cookies

The biggest lesson from the last month: brown butter makes everything better.

Absolutely everything.

Jessica over at How Sweet Eats feels the same way. Not only is Jessica full of wit, but she shares fantastic recipes and photos. If you've never browned butter before, jump over to her post here to see how its done.

A lot less sugar and a little more honey come together to lighten up one of my favorite fast treats. These can become lunch box staples. Just whip up a batch and divvy them up in little snack bags. They'll be ready for you in a pinch. 

Remember, these are still cookies, but a sweet treat you don't have to feel bad about. 

A quick and easy treat to combat the pies you might be making in the next week. Or maybe in addition to those pies. 

Lighter Honey and Brown Butter No Bake Cookies: 

Makes 12-14 medium-sized cookies

1/4 cup butter, browned and slightly cooled

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats

2 tablespoons flax seeds, ground

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.

In a small sauce pan, brown the butter. Set aside to cool. 

In another small sauce pan, add brown sugar, honey, milk, and cocoa. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for another minute. Remove from heat and stir in browned butter and peanut butter, stirring to melt the peanut butter. Stir in vanilla. 

Pour cocoa mixture over oats and flax seed, stirring to combine. Drop by the spoonful onto lined baking sheet. Allow to cool and set up on the counter for 2 hours or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Store in an air tight container.

Sweet & Spicy Marinade

Sweet and spicy make a great couple. A little heat without burning lips can make for an excellent winter dinner. It's a great way to warm up without piling on the blankets or laying on your pets for warmth, though they are cute and cuddly.

Let's start with a simple marinade you can use on just about anything -- chicken, fish, seafood, beef, anything.

Sweet and Spicy Marinade:
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1+ tablespoon teaspoons Sriracha or chile paste
1 tablespoon honey

Whisk everything together in a small bowl. Remember, if you aren't so excited about the spicy half of our lovely couple, you can always start with half of the Sriracha or chili paste and add more to taste. Add more honey if you have gone overboard and your finger caught fire just dipping it to taste-test.

To use, marinate your meat of choice for 20 to 30 minutes before baking or grilling.


Well, now what do we do with it? Make up a batch of the marinade and use half to marinate 2-4 chicken thighs. Use the remaining marinade to baste the thighs as you grill them up. They come out like giant, delicious hot wings sans the fryer. Serve with brown rice and veggies and you have a complete meal.

After we feasted on the chicken thighs, I remembered a menu item from a restaurant I used to work in, one of my dad's favorites. The original recipe was fried chicken and shrimp sauteed in a spicy-sweet sauce over a pile of butter-cream pasta. Sounds delicious right? Of course it does, but we can all hear our arteries clogging and can only imagine how much extra we would have to work out just seriously considering eating it for dinner.

Let's not go there, let's have an alternative.

Kickin' Shrimp and Pasta:
Serves 2

1 batch of Sweet and Spicy marinade
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2-3 cups whole wheat penne pasta
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded, plus more for garnish if desired
1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Toss shrimp with half of the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions.

Heat saute pan over medium heat and add the remaining marinade. Scoop the shrimp out of the marinade and add to the pan, discard the first half of the marinade. Cook until the shrimp are done, they should be curled and opaque.

Drain the pasta and toss with Parmesan cheese, stirring until cheese begins to melt. Stir in yogurt, milk and garlic and continue stirring until the cheese has melted. Serve the shrimp over the pasta with plenty of both sauces.

Enjoy the salty-sweet-spicy goodness!