Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred Forty One (Back-to-School One Day Special: Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies with Splash of Kahlua)

BACK-TO-SCHOOL creates an urgency to buy new clothes, sharpen pencils, and make cookies!

Yet, this back-to-school mode was of the “one day only” variety, kind of like a quick sale.  

"One Day Sale – Get A Pair of 50 Dollar Jeans for Only 10 Dollars – but ONE DAY ONLY!  Hurry in quickly, before you lose your chance!"

That was our back-to-school event.  One day only.  

Hurry in quickly, or nothing will get done around the house, including making those cookies for school lunches. But why worry about school lunches?  We won’t need them for another 4 days, because the kids are on vacation again.

Not only is this schedule throwing off my equilibrium, it just ain’t fair!

Although Hurricane Irene did not pack a hard punch in our town, her impact is nonetheless being felt.  School opening was delayed for a day, which meant that the elementary schoolers were back to school for a day on Thursday until vacation started again Friday.  No school again until Tuesday.

This Labor Day schedule is causing more labor for me.  What’s the point, really? Please?  Why the false start?

No time to complain; just make the cookies before the kids get home and vacation starts - again.  

Here’s a delicious recipe made with100% whole grain – my guess is that they will be devoured just in time for school to start – again.

Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Splash of Kahlua

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter - REAL BUTTER softened

1 and 1/2 cups organic cane sugar (this stuff has sooo much flavor)

2 TBL pure molasses

1/2 teaspoon baking SODA

2 eggs

1 teaspoon REAL VANILLA – (I used 1 TBL Kaluha because I was out of vanilla)

2 1/2 cups organic whole spelt flour

12 ounces all natural chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth.  Add sugar and  molasses.  Keep beating until smooth, add in eggs and vanilla.  Keep mixing.  In separate smaller bowl, mix together spelt flours and baking soda.    Beat flour mixture into butter mixture, slowly adding in the flour.  Stir in chocolate pieces.

Whole Grain Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake in 375 oven for about 10 minutes.  Because these are spelt, they tend to flatten out.  Done when edges are slightly brown.  Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.   YUM!!

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Ninety-Three (For this Labor Day, Dessert First Please, Pure Decadence with a touch of Maine Style)

Recipe: Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter - REAL BUTTER (let sit at room temperature)- no margarine no way no how
1 and 1/2 cups organic cane sugar (this stuff has sooo much flavor)
2 TBL pure molasses
1/2 teaspoon baking SODA (whoops, I said powder earlier)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon REAL VANILLA - no fake stuff here
1 and 1/2 cups VITA SPELT organic or nonorganic white spelt flour (I use organic)
1 cup VITA SPELT organic or nonorganic whole spelt flour (I use organic)
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal
6 ounces, Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate chips
6 ounces, Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips


Recipe: Chocolate Milk

Oakhurst 1% White Milk
Trader Joe's Organic Midnight Moo - Chocolate Syrup
Angela Adams Lulu rock.

Directions for cookies:

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth.  Add sugar and  molasses.  Keep beating until smooth, add in eggs and vanilla.  Keep mixing.  In separate smaller bowl, mix together spelt flours, baking soda and almond meal.    Beat flour mixture into butter mixture, slowly adding in the flour.  It is great to have kids doing this by hand because it gives them a work out.   Stir in chocolate pieces.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake in 375 oven for about 10 minutes.  Because these are spelt, they tend to flatten out.  Done when edges are slightly brown.  Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.   YUM!!


Directions for Chocolate Milk:
Pour milk in Angela Adams Lulu designer rock (that means glass in designer lingo).  Add in desired amount of chocolate syrup.  Stir.

Suggested serving:  Perfect project for bored 8 and 9 year olds on a beautiful Maine Labor Day Weekend:  Serve two cookies each to two mischievous girls with chocolate milk delicately poured in an Angela Adams Lulu rock.  And for a special treat, serve BEFORE lunch or dinner, AND THEN, send girls outside to play until lunch (Spelt Right Pizza) is ready.