{Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Welch’s. Thank you for supporting brands that align with my mission and help make this blog possible. I was compensated for my time.}
Today we discuss…how to throw an indoor picnic.
Awhile ago I saw some instagram account (I think it was Pottery Barn) mention something about an indoor picnic. Ever since, I haven’t been able to get the idea out of my head. And my head is a very cluttered space so I’m impressed that this idea was able to stay afloat above all the noise. I think the idea kept screaming at me because in my head “how to throw an indoor picnic” is the same thing as “how to stay in bed on a Saturday morning even longerrrr”.
Let’s get down to it. These cookies have CAKE in the title…so they are more fluffy and cake-like than chewy. I liked them best after they had sat in the fridge overnight and they were just so moist and perfect to enjoy alongside a mug of coffee or a glass of Welch’s 100% Grape Juice.
I ate my cookies cold in the morning because I like ’em like that.
The cookies are refined sugar-free (they’ve got maple syrup) and the icing is made with Welch’s 100% Grape Juice that has no added sugar…it’s just naturally sweet. And while the cookies only have about 3 tablespoons grape juice with Concord grapes, serving these cookies with a glass of this Welch’s juice may help support a healthy heart.
So obvi these cookies were made for breakfast. Especially a weekend breakfast when you make the cookies the night before and you wake up and put everything on a tray (maybe add a vase with a flower in it if you’re feeling fancy).
Then it’s wonderful because you put that tray on your bed and YOU GET BACK IN BED. Ideal! I KNOW.
And as you’re in bed eating your breakfast cookie sandwich, you can pretend weekend chores (like laundry) don’t exist.
I have a tendency to go through laundry detergent WAY too fast. Before getting married, I didn’t know this was a tendency one could have…but apparently it is. Andrew says our laundry detergent should last 7+ months. The detergent bottle says it’s good for 100 loads and we do about 3 loads a week so it should last 30 weeks. Our last laundry detergent (which was the same size as the new one) only lasted 3 months (…I don’t keep track of things like that but someone in this house does). I guess I just wanna make sure the clothes are like REALLY clean, ya know, so then I use way too much.
But back to indoor picnics.
They’re nice because you don’t have to go to a diner where you may get stuck at a syrup-covered booth were everything is just.so.sticky.
Am I the only one who gets kinda creeped out by diners and their stickiness? We almost went here Sunday after church, it’s diner-y, but I decided I just couldn’t do it because I legit get grossed out by thinking of sitting in a syrup-covered booth (and parking was a nightmare). I felt very irrational in the moment. Sometimes I’m a stick in the mud. Honestly, I was made to be a homebody. Give me my puppy & husband & indoor picnics and I’m good to go.
So the steps to throwing an indoor picnic are simple:
I’m sensing this would be a wonderful idea for Valentine’s Day.
Fluffy (refined sugar-free) cookies make the perfect breakfast.
Yield: 6 large sandwich cookies
Prep Time: 30
Cook Time: 14
Total Time: 45 minutes
Carrot Cake Cookies
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup carrots, grated
1/4 cup raisins
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large banana, mashed (~1/2 cup)
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Icing
7 oz 0% Greek yogurt, plain
2-3 tablespoon Welch's 100% Grape Juice