oatmeal

Trail Mix Cookies

Trail mix is one of my favorite snacks.  I am not active enough to really need the calories and nutritional value it provides, but it’s still not as bad as chowing down on a bag of potato chips, right?  Right…

Not only is trail mix delicious, but it’s an easy snack to take along with you, and we almost always have a bag (or a few bags) of it in our house.  I was planning to make cookies for a trip we took to Angel Fire this past weekend.  My original plan was oatmeal raisin, but then I thought I’d use the trail mix instead.  Pure genius.

The trail mix I buy for Ben can be found at Sam’s Club, but when I don’t feel like going to Sam’s just for a bag of the stuff I buy it at Wal Mart.  It is a perfect mix of peanuts, almonds, cashews, raisins and M&M’s.

I used a simple oatmeal raisin cookie base, but instead of the cup of raisins I measured out 1 1/2 cups of trail mix, chopped up the larger almonds and cashews and stirred it in to the dough.  I added a few dark chocolate M&M’s I had left over from Valentine’s Day just to be sure there was enough chocolate in there : )

The combination of peanuts, raisins, M&M’s, almonds and cashews was terrific.  The final product was hearty and delicious.  Enjoy!

Trail Mix Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 cups oats
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups trail mix, larger nuts chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Beat butter and shortening until smooth, then beat in both sugars, then eggs until light.
  3. Add in vanilla.
  4. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  5. Stir in oats and trail mix until well combined.
  6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets.
  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

On any given day there are dozens of recipes that come into my Google Reader from the food blogs I follow.  It would be impossible for me to read all these posts, and even more impossible for me to try to make even half of them.  If something catches my eye, I’ll open it in another window and let in linger there for a few days, read through it a couple times, and figure out when (or if) I will have the time to make it.  This particular recipe was something I knew I had to make, I just had to find the time to get a few things at the store and a big enough chunk of nap time from Carson to get it done.

Bake or Break posted this recipe which is from a cookbook from Baked in Brooklyn.  I visited Baked last summer when I went to see my sister and her family.  I highly recommend making the effort to go there if you find yourself in New York City.   Here is the link to Bake or Break, and here is the link to the cookbook…which I am seriously considering purchasing.

Due to a lack of time, resources, and the memory to get cream cheese at the grocery store, I did not make the cream cheese frosting.  I instead opted to make a simple glaze of milk, powdered sugar and a little almond extract.  I glazed the cake in the pan after it had cooled.  The glaze is nice on this cake, but I am a huge fan of cream cheese frosting and will probably make this again to see how the two variations compare.

The method of soaking the oats in boiling water and melting the butter with that mixture was something I hadn’t seen or done before.  I think it gave the cake a moister and more delicate texture than if those ingredients were combined separately.  Mixing the chocolate chips with liquor (I used Courviosier…don’t ask me why I have a bottle of that) and then tossing in the flour was supposed to keep them from sinking to the bottom, but most of mine did sunk anyway.  Not a big deal.

I really like this cake.  It’s dense, moist, and has great contrasts in texture with the oats, chocolate chips and glaze.  Skipping the glaze and serving this warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce would be crazy delicious.  Why do I get these great ideas after I make something? (more…)

Oatmeal, Pecan, Coconut & Butterscotch Cookies

A bag of butterscotch chips in my cupboard greeted me (by falling out onto the counter) the other day and so I took this as a sign to make something with them.  I found a recipe for pecan and oatmeal cookies, and so I just added the coconut and butterscotch chips because I have this, well, it’s a problem.  I like to add too many extras to a cookie.  Sometimes I can keep it simple and show some restraint, but most of the time I have the urge to add more and more goodies.

These cookies are very sweet, so one was enough for me.  I could eat probably 3 oatmeal raisin cookies in one sitting, but one of these sweet little things is enough sweet for me.  You could easily leave out the butterscotch chips or replace them with chocolate chips.  You can play around with the add-ins, so make them how you like them.  Enjoy!

(more…)

Triple Peanut Oatmeal Cookies

An undeniable craving for oatmeal cookies struck me last week.  I rummaged through the baking cabinet…yes, I have a cabinet filled almost exclusively with baking goods and gadgets…and found a bag of peanut butter chips.  Mmm.  Then I went to the pantry and was drawn toward the jar of creamy peanut butter and the container of roasted peanuts.  Peanut butter oatmeal cookies were calling to me.  I toyed with the idea of adding some dark chocolate chips, or maybe some crushed pretzels, but in the end all peanut was the way to go.

I looked at a few regular oatmeal cookie recipes for some basic ratios and then changed and added as I thought necessary.  My final recipe is below.  There are a few things I might tinker with in the future, but these cookies were very good.  They have a nice full peanut flavor, a good contrast of salty and sweet, they are crunchy yet chewy, and delicious.

Triple Peanut Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups oats
  • 1 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1 cup chopped peanuts

Directions

  1. Beat together butter, shortening and peanut butter until smooth.
  2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, powder and salt.
  5. Mix in flour mixture  until just combined.
  6. Add in oats, peanut butter chips and peanuts and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
  7. Spoon dough onto baking sheets using a large scoop (2-3 tablespoons) about 1 inch apart.
  8. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
  9. Let cool on pan for a minute or two, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Oatmeal Crispy Bars

One of my favorite cookbooks is The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather.  I won’t say any more about it except for this: If you don’t own a copy, as I have said before, go buy one…now!

I made these quick and easy oatmeal cookie bars this past weekend when our small group from church came over.  Originally I was going to make brownies from a mix since that would not require too much in the ways of time or effort on my part.  I just did not feel like spending any more time than I had to in the kitchen that day.  When I came across this recipe and realized how simple they would be, I had no choice but to make them.  Homemade is always better than a box.

The ingredients and preparation for these crispy oatmeal bars are both incredibly simple and easy.  You probably have everything you need in your kitchen.  The prep could be done with your eyes closed.  They bake for a measly 20 minutes and are ready to enjoy or drizzle with chocolate soon after making their exit from the oven.  Easy and delicious.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

I melted my chocolate chips in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup.  Zap the chips on high for 30 second intervals, stirring in between until the chips are smooth.  I didn’t do the best job of drizzling.  A few spots were more globbed on than drizzled.  Another good idea is to chill these after drizzling the chocolate to let them harden up a bit before removing them from the pan and plating them.  A few of my crispy oatmeal treats broke when I took them out, which is a blessing in disguise because that means more for me!  These treats are a simple and humble cookie, and they are definitely worth the time and energy it takes to make them.

Oatmeal Crisps

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (if desired)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray
  3. Melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan set over medium heat.  Stir 1 to 2 minutes, until brown sugar dissolves.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in vanilla.
  4. In a medium bowl stir together oats, baking powder, salt and coconut.  Add butter mixture and stir to combine.
  5. Spoon the batter into the pan and with fingers coated in cooking spray, press the batter evenly into the pan.
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool for 20 minutes and cut into bars.
  7. Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle over the bars.  Chill in the fridge for a few minutes to let the chocolate harden.

Cherry, Almond & Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

When Ben ate one of these he practically fell over, overtaken by deliciousness.  The tart cherries, sweet coconut, crunchy almonds and oats make this an incredible cookie.  I have nothing else to say.  Enjoy.

Cherry, Almond & Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups quick cooking oats
  • 1 cup blanched, chopped
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 cup dried cherries (or cranberries)
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°
  2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar until fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla.
  4. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats, almonds, coconut and cherries until just blended.
  5. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets, about 6 to a sheet.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes rotating half-way through. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Simple Oatmeal Cookies

This past weekend Ben and I went to Angel Fire, New Mexico and spent all day Saturday skiing.  That’s right.  I skied for the first time in 10 years.  And get this, I did not fall, even once.  Maybe that is because I played it safe and stayed on greens and easy blues.  I was pretty proud of myself, regardless.  Even Ben, the man who owns his own skis, said I did a “very good job”.  This means quite a bit to me.

Here we are before the day began.  The weather was great, and the snow was the best Ben has ever seen by New Mexico standards.  I had such a great time!  Who knew that I would ever get a renewed love for skiing?   This statement will come back to bite me sometime soon, but I must say this…I like to snow ski.  If Ben hadn’t encouraged me to try it again, I don’t know if I would have.  Thanks, Ben! 

Speaking of Ben…his favorite cookie is the classic oatmeal raisin.  I have become enamored of this cookie as well during our 7-year relationship.  The hearty oats in the butterery dough with tart, sweet raisins is delicious and utter perfection.  I made a few hundred of these cookies as favors for our wedding in 2006.  My lovely and incredibly helpful aunts and cousins from California came in about a week before the wedding and helped prepare the 250 packages of cookies in cute cellophane bags and tie them with blue and brown ribbon and a “Carrie & Ben” hang tag.  I found them to be adorable, but I don’t know if people even noticed them.  Oh well.  I guess there are things you make for your wedding that you put incredible blood, sweat and tears (or butter, eggs and flour) into that no one really notices…

Back to the real subject here, cookies!  Sometimes you want a plain and simple oatmeal cookie.  No extras, nothing to take away from the pure goodness of the oats, butter and warm brown sugar.  These cookies fit perfectly in that simple, no frills category.  I used a recipe from allrecipes.com with one change; I used half butter and half shortening.  I think it yields a more sturdy cookie while maintaining the lovely butter flavor.  These cookies are incredibly easy and crazy good.  The amount of salt in this recipe surprised me a bit, but it was wonderful against the sweet sugar.  A little salty-sweet is great in a cookie.

Soft and Simple Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups quick cooking oats
Directions
  1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, shortening, white sugar, and brown sugar.
  2. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
  3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
  5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lazy Sunday: Coconut, Oatmeal, Toffee Chocolate No Bake Cookies

These little “cookies” are pretty tasty and incredibly easy to make.  Since these cookies are ball shaped they reminded me more of a truffle and less of a cookie.  From start to finish, including the 30 minutes chilling time, these were ready in less than an hour.  Pretty close to instant gratification.  I used a 2 1/2 quart saucepan and it was big enough to do all the melting and mixing so clean up was a breeze.  Well, we are dealing with melted marshmallow, butter and chocolate so clean up isn’t really a “breeze” but it’s just one sticky pan, not half a dozen, like some recipes require.  So it isn’t too bad.  Great for a lazy day when I want to do a little cleaning as possible.

The cookies on the left were just scooped, the center cookies were scooped, then rolled between my palms, and the far right were rolled in my palms then in coconut.

nobakes

The combination of flavors and textures is terrific.  The sweetener in these candies/cookies is marshmallow instead of the usual white sugar typical in no-bake cookies like this.  The oats make the cookies hearty, the coconut gives them a nice chew, and the toffee pieces add a nice crunch.  So, if you need a sweet fix and you’re not in the mood to bake a batch of cookies, try these.

Coconut, Oatmeal, Toffee Chocolate No Bake Cookies

  • 6 ounces chopped milk or semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 16 large marshmallows
  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flaked coconut
  • 1/2 cup toffee pieces
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  1. Melt butter, chocolate and marshmallows over low heat in a saucepan (or you can use a double boiler).  Stir until mixture is smooth, 5-10 minutes.  Remove from the heat.
  2. Mix in in peanut butter, vanilla.  Stir in coconut, oats and toffee pieces until well combined.
  3. Scoop by tablespoons onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Optional: You can roll the mixture into smooth balls and then roll the balls in coconut or toffee pieces for a fancier looking cookie.
  4. Chill the cookies for 30 minutes, then serve.

Colorado Oatmeal, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Bars

I am part of a family who thoroughly enjoys snacking.  That is why we needed some cookie bars up here in Durango for after finishing off all the cookies we had from Bread Bakery in Durango.  They have some incredible cookies, a delicious ham and brie sandwich and an incredible goat cheese and thyme scone that I plan to try to duplicate at some point.  So, after all the crazy delicious goodies were gone I made these cookie bars.  I found a recipe for oatmeal, coconut cookies from Allrecipes.com, and changed a few things in the dough and also made bars instead of cookies.  I was reminded by my sister after I had pressed the dough into the pan that I should have done something to compensate for the high altitude, but it was a little late for that.  So, I took my chances.  It turned out not to be an issue.  The bars did take a bit longer to bake than I would have thought.  Other than that, the flavor and texture were good.

cookie3

(more…)