Category: Cookies

Ode to Oatmeal

SadieLeave a comment

One of the only things I crave on a regular basis is oatmeal.  I apreciate it in the traditional format, in granola, cookies, and even raw oats with some almond milk.  I’m not sure why, it just hits the spot for me.

This summer while I’m living in Connecticut I have very limited kitchen resources, so my go-to breakfast has been Quaker’s Weight Control Instant Oatmeal.  I don’t have a microwave, so I just heat up some water in my tea kettle on the stove, and pour it into my bowl with the packet of instant oatmeal.  Breakfast perfection.  The reason I pick the “weight control” option, is more so for the specific nutritional facts rather than the name.  It has 7 grams of protien and only 1 gram of sugar, which is much improved from many of the other instant oatmeal options.  I’m always looking for extra protien and less sugar.

But I digress.  One of my favorite ways to enjoy oatmeal is of course in the form of a cookie.  I saw this recipe on a great food blog that I read regularly and I knew I needed to give them a try.  In addition to the oats, I love a cookie with butterscotch, and I’m always interested in non-chocolate options, because sometimes you a break from the chocolate route.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Caramel Cookies

From Picky Palate

Yields about 3 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) softened unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup prepared caramel sauce
  • 2 cups AP Flour
  • 1 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 bag (10 or 12oz) butterscotch chips

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Cream together butter and sugars with electric mixer.  Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla, and caramel sauce.
  3. Mix together dry ingredients in separate bowl” flour, salt, baking soda, oats.
  4. Slowly combine dry and wet, try not to over mix.  Fold in butterscotch chips.
  5. Scoop dough with ice cream scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. (mine spread a little further than the pictures with the recipe on Picky Palate, but I would like to be a poor cratsman and blame my tools.  I’m suspicious about my oven).  Moral of the story: do not put the cookie dough too close together on the pan.

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Cookie Monster

CarrieLeave a comment

Here’s an easy way to make a small tot happy. Surprise them with a cookie monster. Simply cut a cookie in two and put a layer of frosting between the two halves. Then pipe two dots of frosting onto the top half and place chocolate chips in the center for the eyes. Insert chocolate chips around the outer edge for a mouth. Now you have a friendly cookie monster for your little one.

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Getting on the Bandwagon

Sadie1 Comment

So I’m not sure about you, but I keep stumbling upon pictures of Miley Cyrus out and about everywhere.  Miley is obviously a celebrity at this point, but I’m not 100% why.  She earned her celebrity status in a traditional manner through nepotism and a television show, but what has she done lately?

Though she’s young and I’m sure she has a lot ahead of her in her career, right now she reminds me a little of people like Jessica Simpson.  Yes she was a popular singer at one point.  Yes she successfully transformed that into several brands and business ventures.  Why exactly do the paparazzi follow her around now?

Anywho, confusion aside, Miley has recently been happy to endorse the option of going gluten-free.  I find this option extremely appealing, but seemingly impossible to practice.  While I do believe it would be beneficial to my digestive system, I would hate to put what seems like an extreme amount of effort into meal planning.  Especially since I don’t feel I have severe medical reasons for doing so.

But then I saw this decadent recipe from Martha, and gluten-free never seemed so delicious:

Flourless Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies (Gluten Free)

From Martha

Yields about 12 depending on size

Ingredients

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 oz. chopped bittersweet baking chocolate
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (I also saw a version in her magazine with macadamia nuts)
  • 4 egg whites (room temp, FYI baking with egg whites only works with real eggs, not egg whites from a carton)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Combine sugar, cocoa, salt, chocolate, and pecans.  Stir until mixture is uniform.
  3. Add egg whites to mixture and stir to make sure mixture is wet throughout, but try not to over mix.
  4. Drop dough as flat discs on parchment lined baking sheets.  The cookies will expand slightly in the oven.  Bake for 25 minutes.  The cookies will look dry and cracked when they’re done.

I enjoyed these because they an intense chocolate flavor and because of the egg whites they have a meringue-like consistency to them.