While cookies aren’t my favorite dessert, there are a few that I have a soft spot for. Soft, delicate lemon cookies covered in a powdered sugar glaze are definitely one of those few.

Even though there’s no chocolate in these, I find them just as addicting as if there were. The outside is sweet and glazed while the inside is chewy and slightly tart from the lemon. They’re perfect in the morning or after dinner with a cup of tea. And while fresh lemon juice surely would make these cookies taste amazing, using the plastic lemon juice is just as good, too.

The hardest part of making these cookies(which aren’t really hard at all) is getting the consistency of the dough right to shape them. When they’re too dry, the dough crumbles; adding a little bit of lemon juice to get them to the texture of Play-Doh makes them just right for shaping into cookies.

Gluten-Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16 cookies):

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + extra
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and baking powder until evenly mixed.
3. Add in the oil, egg, extracts and lemon juice and mix the dough together by hand.
4. Mold the dough into 1-inch balls and then flatten them gently into a cookie shape in your hands. If the dough is too dry and crumbles, add a little more lemon juice to wet it and bring it to the right consistency.
5. With clean hands, pour the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl or dish.
6. Drop the cookies on both sides onto the powdered sugar to coat the outside.
7. Put the sugar-covered cookies onto a non-stick baking tray and repeat until all of the dough is used up.
8. Bake for 18 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before moving them.
10. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature when not enjoying.

Peanut butter cookies are one of my favorite desserts to keep around the house. That’s probably because I don’t just eat them for dessert; they’re also great as an afternoon snack, crumbled on top of yogurt, right before dinner when you’re feeling snackish—whenever. They’re just the right amount of sweet and nutty to satisfy.

I’m always trying different peanut butter cookies recipes to see how the texture and flavor compares. These are one of my new favorites. Once these cookies cool, they’re the thick and chewy kind. They’re perfect for filling with ice cream and making a cookie sandwich, covering in melted chocolate or filling with a little raspberry jam.

I used gluten-free all-purpose flour for these cookies and they came out perfectly. If you use a gluten-free flour I’d recommend a pre-mixed blend for the best consistency. Your cookies should be rollable when all the ingredients are mixed but if the batter is still too thick you can add milk by the Tablespoon until it softens up.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 18 cookies):

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour OR 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon well.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the remaining ingredients until they make a homogenous liquid.
4. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry until it forms a uniform dough.
5. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a lined baking tray.
6. Press down on each ball lightly with the tongs of a fork in a criss-cross pattern on top.
7. Bake for 18 minutes until the center of the cookies are firm and the outsides are golden.
8. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before moving.
9. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

If there’s one thing I could make with my eyes closed, it’s brownies. I think my 6th sense is knowing when brownies are done in the oven without a timer. I can tell this is another brownie recipe I’ll come back to time and time again.

One commenter mentioned that she uses oat flour in recipes that call for almond flour regularly and I wanted to try that for myself with my almond flour brownies recipe. Almond flour is a great gluten and grain-free baking flour but I don’t always keep it handy.

This recipe is basically the same as for almond flour brownies except with a little bit of water added to account for the grains. The brownies came out perfectly moist and chewy. I think the grains made them taste a little bit more like regular brownies than their almond counterpart. They were also slightly cakier than the almond flour brownies but still completely enjoyable for fudgy brownie lovers. Overall these were definitely a winner.

You don’t need to go out and buy a bag of oat flour for this recipe; you can make 3/4 cup oat flour by grinding 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor or high-speed blender until it’s finely ground. If it’s big enough, you can even use the processor as a mixing bowl and blend the ingredients right in there instead of dirtying more dishes.

Oat Flour Brownies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules(optional)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 7oz semisweet or bittersweet baking chocolate, divided OR 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the oat flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, melt together 4 ounces of chocolate or a scant 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the butter.
4. While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, water, and coffee granules if using.
5. Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking until fully incorporated. Don’t go too fast so that the raw eggs don’t cook upon contact.
6. Add the chocolate mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix completely.
7. Pour the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan.
8. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate and gently press it into the batter.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

I always grab bananas at the store to throw in smoothies or have for breakfast. This week I guess I forgot to eat them because they were brown and mushy before I knew it. I’d much rather life hand me brown bananas than lemons because bananas are a lot more fun to bake with. I couldn’t decide on making banana blondies or banana bread and ended up settling for something in between.

I intended these to be a healthy afternoon snack, but then covering them in chocolate and peanut butter seemed a lot more fun. They actually aren’t bad for you with their whole grains, fiber, natural sugars and a little bit of healthy fats. The squares are definitely sweet enough on their own—adding a drizzle on top just makes them that much better.

The topping I used was just a chocolate ganache made with 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, and a Tablespoon of water and a peanut butter sauce made with 2 Tablespoons peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, and a Tablespoon of water all mixed and drizzled on top. This would also be really delicious with a vanilla or peanut butter buttercream.

Whole Grain Banana Cake Squares

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes one 8 x 8 pan):

• 1 cup(2 large) mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup(80g) brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the mashed banana, sugar, peanut butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Add in the brown rice flour, oats, and baking soda and mix well.
4. Pour the batter into the pan.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center has set.
6. Remove and let cool. Cover with frosting, ganache, or leave plan to serve.