Lovin' From the Oven

Thick & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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The ingredients that I usually bake with are the ones that are the most popular with my boyfriend, the one who eats the majority of my baked goods: toffee, chocolate, & candy. I rarely bake desserts that contain the ingredients that he hates: oatmeal, coconut, & raisins, (He also hates eating any and every vegetable, so don’t even get me started on that) primarily because they’ll never disappear. I know what you’re thinking… no coconut = no Samoas/Caramel Delights Girl Scout Cookies! How can you live?! I don’t know how he does it because I don’t think you’ve lived until you’ve eaten one of those cookies. They’re pure heaven in a box. Okay now I’m just getting a bit carried away just thinking about them, so back to my story…

Luckily for me, my mom requested a “healthier” cookie when I came home last weekend and I had the chance to bake something out of the norm for me. She requested something with oatmeal, and left the rest to me. Oatmeal raisin cookies it was! I used golden raisins instead of purple raisins and will never go back. They make the cookie much more moist and flavorful. You may not notice a difference, but I do! This cookie also didn’t spread much, so i’d recommend flattening them out and shaping them a bit prior to baking. This recipe is adapted from the Quaker Oats Oatmeal Raisin recipe found on the lid of their box. It makes a heartier and chewier cookie than the original. I put walnuts in half the batch and left the other half as is. The verdict? They’re both equally tasty. My mom loved them and they disappeared within 2-3 days.

I’m at my 97th post right now, and 3 more makes 100! Stay tuned for the 100th post because I’ll be having my very first giveaway! 🙂

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2-3/4 cup golden raisins (depending on your taste)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins (& nuts if using them); mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Mint Oreo Truffles

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Have I mentioned how much I adore Bakerella? She comes up with the cutest ideas paired with the simplest recipes. They can make anyone seem like a pro baker! This is the second recipe that I’ve made from her website; the first were her cupcake pops that were a huge hit as well!

Now, a little story to the background of this picture. I was driving with my boyfriend to his niece’s bday party (yes, this is finally the last of what I baked for that event & no, I was NOT the one driving.. I wouldn’t encourage taking pictures while driving, that’s dangerous) carrying my long and beloved cupcake carrier filled with goodies. This cupcake carrier is great because it can comfortably hold 24 frosted cupcakes with stability and perfection, or turn into 4 layers of support when you need to stack cookies/brownies/bars. On the way there, I realized that I had taken pictures of every other baked goods to blog about except for my oreo truffles! Total bust! Luckily, I had my point and shoot camera with me (I carry that everywhere I go since it’s so lightweight and you never know when you’re gonna need to take a picture) to save the day!

As my boyfriend is driving, merging on freeways, stopping at lights, and making turns, I manage to line up some of the truffles onto my cupcake carrier and take a picture for my blog. The truffles were sliding all over the place after each shot, but I did somehow get a legitimate picture. Too bad I couldn’t take a picture of how it looked inside, that would’ve made a HUGE mess inside the car. At the end of the five minutes of my truffle photoshoot/chaos, my boyfriend goes, “You’re gonna write about this [how chaotic it was for me to take the pictures] on your blog, huh?” Heck yes, I am.

These truffles were extremely delicious. Moist on the inside, and perfect to bring along. These were, by far, the biggest hit at the party… probably because there were a lot of mint chocolate lovers. I melted Wilton dark chocolate candy melts and Wilton blue candy melts for the coating.

1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos – Cool Mint Flavor – (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
chocolate bark or candy coating

  1. Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin.
  2. Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely.
  3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
  4. Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.
  5. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
  6. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

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So I finally had time to go to the two story Crate & Barrel that opened by my house, and absolutely fell in love. I walked through the entire store twice just to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. I cannot wait until the day comes that I am able to decorate my own house. I have a secret love for interior decorating and even decorated my friend’s entire house last year! He let me choose everything, including the wall moldings, paint color, flooring, kitchen counters/cabinets, and furniture. I get such a kick from matching patterns and color palettes to see what materials blend the best. One of my guilty pleasures is home improvement magazines. I have a subscription to Better Home & Gardens and have no problem admitting that it’s my favorite magazine. My boyfriend thinks I’m crazy for it, but who will be the one laughing when it’s time to decorate a house/entertain guests/clean/cook and find fun ideas and tips? Not me.

Anyways, back to Crate & Barrel, there are so many useless kitchen gadgets that I want! I managed to hold back with the poor college student budget that I have and just walk out with a pastry dough scraper. It’s always been on my list of things to get (along with a kitchen scale and a pastry blender) and now I finally have it. I’m starting my kitchen gadget collection early, so that when I have my own kitchen, it’ll be well equipped with all my baking needs.

Who doesn’t love snickerdoodles? I think that these are always a definite crowd pleaser, no matter what the audience. Kids, Teens, Grown-ups.. they all love them. I brought these to the birthday party mentioned in my last post and they were the first to disappear. This is the one cookie that I bake when I am absolutely clueless on what to bring to a party or social gathering. I bake this the most out of all my baked goods, and people never get tired of it. As a matter of fact, they just keep asking for it! In my opinion, any snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tartar is NOT a snickerdoodle! That is what makes the cookie, so don’t omit it! As I’ve figured, it’s a lot cheaper to buy cream of tartar online rather than in the stores. You can always buy it in bulk and store the rest in a air-sealed can/bag for later.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
  3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
  4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.


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