Don’t these look yummy?! They are, especially with a warm cup of coffee or tea. I like to have tea or hot chocolate in the evenings sometimes.☕️
Ingredients
3 cps. All purpose flour (whole wheat or white, I used wheat)
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup or more ;) walnuts, chopped
1/2 tspn baking soda
1 tspn salt
1/2 cup, softened, butter
2-3 tblspns vegetable oil
First, mix the butter (softened, I usually melt it for 20 -30 seconds) and then add both of the sugar ingredients and the eggs all together until you have a smooth mixture.
Well – I actually just mixed everything together all at once! So you can do it that way too.
Mix all the ingredients together!
They won’t be smooth at first. You’re working with bread dough. You don’t want your butter completely melted either, the idea is for the butter to be ‘creamy.’ So don’t completely melt it. You will have to dilute the ingredient combination with water after you put it all in a bowl. I don’t recommend adding more than a cup of water – use your best judgment – also add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil (included in the list of ingredients above). This is how your cookie dough should look after you add the water to smoothen it.
As you can see, I rolled them into balls, each one about half of an inch apart. They should make at least two dozen cookies! It’s such a delicious combo with the sugar, walnuts, and flour, and they turn out great if you make them correctly.
Don’t be afraid to use your hands!!! Clean hands can take you much further than trying to beat the mixture with a machine or even with a spoon. First I used a wooden spoon, the mixture was still pretty powdery and not coming together well. Then I used my hands to mix the batter and roll them into cookie balls.
Put them in the oven at 350 F for at least 10 to 12 minutes. You want to use parchment paper or aluminum foil. If the bottoms or sides are golden brown, then they are done!
Voila! Now you can cut them into shapes. I’ll be honest. Making cookies homemade from flour is not the easiest. But the more used to it you get, the easier it becomes. Again, you can add water to smoothen the batter. Not too much though. Too much water will make them liquidy and they will not form. Here’s some more pics!
Best of luck!🤶
These turned out delicious!🤶🍪☕️🎄
About Zina
Zina Hermez has authored the books, Not Without God: A Story of Survival and Not Without God: Hope In the Storm. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Zina’s written several hundred articles and has appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places.
Zina writes on faith and overcoming adversity. She also likes to write about health and science and loves to help others. Zina has created notwithoutgod.net as well as the Not Without God series/brand. She’s written articles for healthcare and she’s the creator/leader of Writing Because I Can’t Not Write – For aspiring and seasoned writers.
Each week she invites one author and hosts free masterminds for the public while showcasing bestsellers and award winners. She also teaches a free Zoom course each week to assist the public with improving their writing. Zina’s been an educator for nearly twenty years and has taught multiple subjects to thousands of students of all ages from many different backgrounds and parts of the world.
She’s been invited to speak at the Harvard University Faculty Club’s Business Expert Forum and holds a B.A. in English with a minor in History from Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Zina says the reason she majored in English was not primarily to teach; it was to write. When Zina is not writing or teaching, she enjoys cooking, listening to music, exercising, or socializing.
I’m not too sure how I feel about this bandana, thoughts? Anyway, you may get tired of my posts about food and diet lately. As some of you know, recently I created the page, “Zina’s Healthy Tips to Maximize Health.” 
#weightloss #goals #healthylifestyle #fitnessmotivation #paleo #mediterraneanchallenge #diet #healthy-living #goingfortenmore 😃🙏🎊
Note: when making home made french fries, be careful when transferring cut potatoes from (water) bowl to the oil. Water and oil=a dangerous combo. You dont need much (vegetable) oil anyway. A half cup will do. A half cup of oil can make several cups of fried potatoes. They are tasty with each cup only totaling 156 calories. Thats not too bad for a starchy vegetable.🍠 I also added a dash of crushed red pepper🌶 and dashed it with some salt and pepper! But first and foremost, I peeled, cut, then washed the potatoes. Slice them in even cubes for balanced cooking time. I added my favorite, kosher salt. But before I added the salt, I let them sit in cool water for a few minutes! This gives them a crispier effect after they come out of the oil! You can add them on the side with eggs for breakfast, a steak or chicken dinner. You cant go wrong! Tomorrow I am making a french onion chicken bake! Stay tuned!
Nowadays you would think I were a diabetic or living in an old folk home with the meals I’m preparing. I am not a diabetic, and I don’t live in a home/rehab facility. But here’s the thing: low salt, ‘brown’ rice (vs. white), a simple 4 oz. piece of shredded chicken and raw tomatoes are all healthy choices! As a matter of fact, we are all at risk for diabetes and heart disease (they are the number one diseases in this country); thus, we should eat as if we have them already. That means take out the McDonald’s, pizza orders, restaurant food cooked heavily in canola, and all the ‘junk’ food and greasy stuff. If you eat these items learn to eat them very minimally! I use the My Fitness pal app to monitor calories, steps, etc. Did you know the food you consume can actually make you slimmer? This simple lunch I had made me feel full. I often use olive oil, some salt, or as you can see-ketchup as a condiment. Black pepper is great. I’m not a huge garlic fan unless it’s minced and worked into gourmet dishes. I am eating healthier these days and achieving optimal health. Contact me for details if you want to get on the same path. I am offering free 15 minute consultations.
Today’s #healthychoice meal. A cup of grilled chicken pesto w/vegetables (145 calories)! A quarter cup of ‘minute’ brown rice (58 calories), and a chopped Roma tomato (17 calories). I love raw tomatoes!🍅 This lunch follows a heart-healthy ‘Mediterranean’ plan with a total of a low 220 calories you can’t go wrong. I guess the only downside (if there is one) would be the pasta combined with the brown rice. They are both considered ‘grains’ so that would account for two-grain servings for the day. More than enough. The chicken accounts for the protein and the tomato, the vegetable. Accompany this with some water to drink and you are on your way to living a healthier lifestyle! 🌾🍛🌿
Today’s lunch: a 4 oz. baked chicken breast[s] (110 calories), a cup of cooked broccoli flowerets (a low 20 calories 😄), a half cup of brown rice with added 1/2 tbsp vgtbl. oil (240 calories). Lunch was a total: 370 calories. Not including drinks or other condiments.
Here’s a tip: to make a 3-4 oz. piece of chicken thigh healthier and less calories tear off the skin before cooking. You’re only looking at about 109 calories. Add some salt and pepper. Accompany it with a side, 1/2 cup, of frozen (heated) vegetables. You can add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to give them more taste with a little salt. This dinner yesterday was very simple but heart healthy. You can add 1/2 of a wheat bun on the side to get a grain/bread and you’re running at about: 350 calories (this is including the one tblspn. of vegetable oil). Clearly, it wouldn’t hurt to have a second 3-4 oz. piece of chicken thigh or another half cup of mixed veggies!🥕🌽🌱
How about brown rice as an addition. On this diet, you are allowed rice and bread, but everything must be brown brown brown! Whole weat, whole grain, well, you get it! A personal sized loaf of wheat bread would usually run about 100 caloires. That is the amount of calories that is permitted for a serving of grains/breads on this diet. You are only allowed 2 grains/breads per day. At least that is what my customized plan says.:-) 
So There you have it. I have added turkey (3-4 oz.). I estimate that will be about 160 calories. Then I added the cup of asparagus. I googled it and a cup of boiled asparagus is a whopping 27 calories! lol A cup of cooked brown rice is 150 calories. So much better than mashed potatoes! ;-) I also added a personal sized wheat loaf. We will guesstimate that is about 100 calories. Your total Thanksgiving Mediterranean Heart Healthy Meal is going to be: 437. I almost forgot the tablespoon of olive oil added to your veggies: that is around 100 calories. There is your whole dinner. A low 500-550 calories.
Instead of my all time favorite pumpkin pie for dessert I may even substitute with a handful of cashews. Then I can also get in my “nuts/seeds” food group and avoid some of the sugar! Let me know what you think about this meal plan/idea in the comments. 
I started a 1,200 calorie per day plan accompanied with the Mediterranean Diet recently, and a friend suggested I call it the ‘Mediterranean Delight’ instead of a diet. I hate the word, ‘Diet.’ Lol On this plan you are allowed up to 4 proteins a day. A serving size is considered 3-4 oz. of meat, poultry, etc. and that is the size of a ‘deck of cards.’ I actually was having one egg every morning, but my doctor recommended two eggs for breakfast so this is about 1.5 scrambled eggs here. You are allowed 2 grains/bread per day each consisting of 100 calories, preferably dark (wheat) bread so I added this little bun. Finally, I added these delicious koftas which will put me at about two proteins so far between the eggs and meat. You can see I am having a warm cup of coffee with limited cream and sugar. Obviously, I have not started on fruit servings and vegetables along with nuts, seeds, etc. If you are looking to lose a little weight, I recommend the Mediterranean Delight (diet). Search it on google for a complete guide of servings and how much of each food group you can have per day. You won’t regret it!
Zina Hermez 