I'll be in Farmville, Virginia today and tomorrow; speaking at my alma mater this afternoon about life after graduation and all the weird and wonderful things you can do with an English degree. Wish me luck!

I might even share some excerpts from my speech here on the blog when I get back. Until then, stay tuned for a post tomorrow about my first 30 days of Pure Barre.

Happy Tuesday!

Photo from our engagement shoot at Longwood, by V.A. Photography.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by ConAgra PAM via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the sponsor.

I haven't made cookies in a while, and with this warmer weather, I was in the mood to try something new. I ordered some matcha powder online (although I'm sure you can find it at any specialty grocery store) and got to baking!

I thought toasted almonds and some chocolate chips would be delicious with the grassy, almost-savory flavor that matcha provides--and I was right. You could totally omit the nuts if that's not your thing, though. And I used PAM Coconut Oil spray to keep the cookies from sticking, which always works like a dream. 

This batter ended up spreading in the oven and the result was almost a cookie cake, so I cut out circles using a glass. I couldn't resist making a few mini heart cookies, since I just bought a little cookie cutter last weekend. You could stick to circles or make any shape you want!

Ingredients:

• PAM Coconut Oil
• 1 + 1/4 cups almond flour
• 1 tablespoon matcha powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 (or 2) handfuls of chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons of grass-fed butter
• 3 tbsp raw organic honey

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. If they aren't already toasted, heat almonds in a dry pan over medium heat for a few minutes, or until fragrant and slightly browned. Keep an eye on them!
3. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together (almond flour, matcha powder, salt, baking soda, then chocolate chips and almonds).
4. In a smaller bowl, mix the egg, butter, and honey. 
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Pour the batter onto a cookie sheet that's been sprayed with PAM Coconut Oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to get crispy.
7. Remove from oven, let cool, and cut out your cookies!

PAM Coconut Oil: PAM® Coconut Oil It's a gluten-free alternative to traditional coconut oil that you can feel good about. PAM Coconut Oil Spray has zero calories and zero grams of fat per serving.

Leaving up to *99% less residue, PAM is your ally in the kitchen and allows you to save time during prep and clean up. 

* vs. leading cooking sprays (except olive oil), after spraying on glass bake ware, baking at 400°F for 30 min, cooling, and then washing in standard home dishwasher with detergent and repeating 4 times.

On Wednesday morning I was driving through Cornelius, North Carolina--a quaint and sleepy-feeling town just about a half hour north of Charlotte. As I drove through downtown, three twenty-something guys were running at a quick pace down the sidewalk in running shorts and thin tee-shirts that were soaked through and clung to each one of their chests. They were tall and lean and all had the same hair cut--they looked like they were once cross country teammates and had been running together ever since.

Suddenly I thought of all the running I've done in my life, specifically at Ragged Mountain Running Camp--that hazy weather and the early runs in the still-dark morning of Crozet, Virginia. My best girlfriends, feeling more like family than ever in that old house at the bottom of the hill. The sports bras hanging in the shower, the beds we insisted on moving into one room so we could all be together the whole week. The bottled Starbucks drinks Shawna kept in the tiny fridge, the bunched-up newspaper we all stuffed into our wet and muddy running shoes after every run. It was breakfast in the cafeteria and afternoon races and baby I'll be your huckleberry playing on repeat.

I've lived in Virginia for most of my life (Minnesota was such a significant time and the Midwest really spoke to me in many ways, but I forget sometimes that it was only a year), but that morning, driving down the road in North Carolina, I felt so thankful to be back in the South. Thankful for this deep and Southern part of myself that I didn't realize I had. Thankful for life on the East Coast. And thankful for the friends that were once cross country teammates, who I've been running with ever since.