Lovin' From the Oven

Day 2: Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

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Day 2 of my 12 days of cookies: Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies. Yeeeeesh. How long can a cookie’s name get? That’s okay, because these cookies will leave you speechless anyways.
These cookies were a hit! Best eaten the day of. The mixture of the three chocolates fuse together with the dried cranberries. It may seem like a lot of mix-ins, but it really doesn’t take away from the cookie dough itself. I haven’t made oatmeal cookies in so long that I almost forgot how good they were. Thanks for the reminder, Epicurious! These cookies get that beautiful golden trim around the outside, with a hearty and chewy inside. Under bake them a bit for a chewier bite (like I do)!
I really love this time of the year. The internet explodes with plenty of desserts and food porn. It seems as if December is when bloggers try to bake as many sweets as possible, leaving me drooling all over my computer screen. It’s also my favorite time of the year because I get to watch Love Actually everyday and not seem like a crazy person. Although, I’m pretty sure my DB hid it somewhere from me to stop me from playing it so much. What can I say… It’s the perfect Christmas movie! I adore everything about it. What are your favorite holiday movies?
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  1. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Set aside.
  2. Cream butter and both sugars in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.
  3. Add flour mixture and oats and stir until blended. Stir in all chocolate chips and cranberries.
  4. Flatten cookie dough into a one inch thick rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least two hours, or overnight.
  5. Preheat to 350°F.
  6. Just before baking, cut dough into one inch squares and place on baking sheet at least two inches apart.
  7. Bake cookies until edges are light brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

Day 1: Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies

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… and my 12 days of cookies start now! Be excited, cause I sure am! 🙂

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If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that I do a twelve days of cookies every December to celebrate the holidays. This year is no different. Since it’s December 1st, it’s time for the cookie posts to begin! Hurrah!

Day 1 of my 12 Days of Cookies: Chewy Flourless Chocolate Cookies. One of my friend’s moms used to always have these flourless chocolate cookies from the local grocery store on the counter when I came over. They were crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and chock full of walnuts. I felt guilty because I ate so many of them every time I came over, but she really is one of the nicest moms I’ve ever met and made sure we were always well fed, even it meant being full with dessert.
I read through the ingredient list numerous times, trying to figure out how I could remake this cookie at home. Too bad I couldn’t even pronounce half of the ingredients used. No bueno. So when I saw this recipe on Relish, I gave it a shot with very high expectations.
Perfect. That’s how I would describe these cookies. They were spot on to those grocery store cookies without all the added preservatives. This recipe doesn’t make that many, so double it if you wish. I ate six the first day. No joke. I usually don’t even eat my cookies– I normally give them all away! But these babies didn’t go anywhere but my belly. Hey, a girl is allowed to be selfish sometimes.

  • 1¾ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup Dutch process cocoa (made with alkali)
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Mix together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add the egg whites, stirring with a spoon until mixture forms a dough. Add nuts; mix well.
3. Form dough into 15 balls. Place on a parchment-lined (or silpat) cookie sheet. Bake 16 to 19 minutes, until glossy and crackled. Place cookies on a wire rack and cool completely.

Five Guys Burger and Fries

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If you’re a born and bred California girl like me, chances are you have no idea what Five Guys is. If you live on the east coast, however, chances are you won’t know what In-N-Out is. Lucky for those that live in the Ventura County area (and neighboring cities), we get to experience them both.

Five Guys recently came to Thousand Oaks a couple of months ago and I don’t know why I waited so long to try it. My DB was the one that insisted we had to go, since it won best burger over In-N-Out from Zagat this year. Supposedly, Five Guys is a lot like In-N-Out.. just with more toppings.
Walking in, you can definitely see the similarity between the two chains. Red and white are noticeably plastered on the walls and the menu remains quite simplistic.

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After ordering our burger, I noticed a huge cardboard box with peanuts. We grabbed a tray and filled it up. Appetizers? Awesome.
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Not only that, you get to throw the peanut shells on the floor if you want to be barbaric! Doubly awesome (for the classier ones, you can always get a brown paper bag to throw out your shells).
My DB, brother, and I shared a large order of cajun style fries that were never ending. The cup was filled to the rim, along with the entire bottom of the bag.
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The burgers were wrapped in foil and each had a number on them- 1, 2, and 3. They were marked in the same order that they were placed. Brilliant. No opening up and touching everyone’s burgers to figure out whos is whos.
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I got a little hamburger with lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and ketchup. T’was a good burger.
So now, the question still stands. In-N-Out or Five Guys? From the six of us that went on this food excursion, two voted for In-N-Out, three for Five Guys, and one undecided. We all agreed that the Five Guys’ fries were much better, though.
Personally, I’m for In-N-Out. They toast their buns, which is a huge plus for me, and the thousand island sauce is just unbeatable. Not to mention animal style fries… Yum! Five Guys does get bonus points for their grilled mushrooms and french fries, though. What’s your favorite?
487 N. Moorpark Rd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
tel: 805-496-0173
fax: 805-496-1586

Hours: 11am – 10pm Everyday

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