Healthy happy hour with SOYJOY bars

SOYJOY

Samples provided for review.

When I get stressed, I snack. My go-to vices are white cheddar popcorn, and anything that combines peanut butter and chocolate. When SOYJOY offered to send me some fruit and soy bars for their Perfectly Paired challenge, I jumped at the chance to try to build all-natural recipes for a Healthy Happy Hour.

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SOYJOY bars are made from ingredients you can actually pronounce. Take a look at that banana SOYJOY label: soybeans, raisins, dried banana and pineapple, butter, sugar, corn starch, eggs, salt, and flavor. And they’re each only about 100 – 200 calories!

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I decided to host my own Healthy Happy Hour, so that my friends and I could each try some healthier snacks. Here’s what I came up with!

  • SOYJOY granola: 1 cup plain, nonfat yogurt, 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, topped with 1 chopped Blueberry and 1 chopped Berry SOYJOY bar
  • SOYJOY berry crumble: 1 cup chopped strawberries topped with honey, cinnamon, and 2 chopped Strawberry SOYJOY bars, baked at 450 degrees for 15 minutes
  • The Elvis: 2 100-calorie dark chocolate bars, broken in half and topped with banana slices, 1 tsp. peanut butter, and 1/2 a Banana SOYJOY bar

And because it’s not a happy hour without a cocktail: I also combined the fresh-squeezed juice of one grapefruit with 2 oz tequila in a glass with a salted rim, for a variation on a Greyhound. Grapefruits are rich in vitamin C, and have many other health benefits!

Feeling inspired? Now one lucky Cooking Catastrophe reader can win a SOYJOY prize pack of their very own!

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Enter to win a SOYJOY prize pack!

One lucky reader (within the continental US) will win:

  • A collection of SOYJOY bars
  • $25 to create a SOYJOY recipe
  • Appetizer plates
  • Inspirational cocktail napkins

Just leave your entry in the Rafflecopter widget below by Friday, May 30th, 11:00PM PST – we’ll then randomly select one winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chocolate Spice Crackle Cookies with Gingerbread Caramel

Chocolate Spice Crackle Cookies with Gingerbread Caramel
On Sunday morning, I will be appearing on Simple Kitchen with Missy Maki on AM 860 KPAM with a group of local food bloggers to participate in a fun cookie bake-off contest sponsored by Tillamook Butter, LaGrima Vanilla, Wild Friends Peanut Butter and Bee Local. Each of us have been assigned a special cookie recipe to bake and bring to the studio – I was assigned this delicious Chocolate Spice Crackle Cookies with Gingerbread Caramel, and I baked my first batch this afternoon. They turned out great and I plan on taking them to our family’s Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow!

Chocolate Spice Crackle Cookies with Gingerbread Caramel

Chocolate Spice Crackle Cookies with Gingerbread Caramel

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup Tillamook Butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg white
  • 2 teaspoon pure LaGrima Vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa

Instructions

  • 1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
  • 2. In a stand mixer, beat butter and shortening until smooth. Add brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Whip until smooth and fluffy. Stir in molasses and the eggs and vanilla.
  • 3. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Blend until smooth.
  • 4. Refrigerate dough for 1 to 2 hours
  • 5. Preheat oven to 375F. In a medium bowl, stir together 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon cocoa.
  • 6. Form dough into small balls (the size of one tablespoon) or large balls (the size of 2 1/2 or 3 tablespoons). Roll in sugar mixture.
  • 7. Place balls on a greased cookie sheet. If you would like crispy ginger snap like cookies, flatten the balls with a sugared glass until thin, about 1/4 inch thick. If you would like chewy and soft spice cookies, leave as balls and do not flatten.
  • 8. Bake small cookies for 9-12 minutes and large cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how chewy or crispy you want them. Let cool on baking sheet 3 to 5 minutes and then cool on a rack.
  • 9. Meanwhile, make the gingerbread caramel filling. Use this as an icing topping or as a filling sandwiched between two cookies: For the gingerbread caramel filling, heat the following ingredients over medium heat until bubbling: 2 Tablespoons butter, tiny dash of salt, 2 Tablespoons molasses, 8 Tablespoons sugar, 6 Tablespoons half and half. Cook for 6 to 9 minutes until caramel is thickened, keep in mind it will thicken a bit when it cools. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon allspice, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Allow it to cool. Sandwich caramel between two cookies or spread over a cookie as a topping. Eat up!
https://www.cookingcatastrophe.com/chocolate-spice-crackle-cookies-with-gingerbread-caramel/

Plate of chocolate gingerbread & caramel cookies

Portlanders: Tune into AM 850 KPAM on Sunday morning, December 1st at 10 AM to hear more about this and other delicious holiday cookies!