Lovin' From the Oven

Day 9: Oatmeal, Walnut, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Day 9 of my 12 days of cookies: Oatmeal, Walnut, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is another classic cookie that is found at most bakeries. It’s also a “safe” cookie, which means you can bring it to a pot luck or gathering and most people would eat it. Yes, I totally made that phrase up.

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I’m currently still in Vegas, but I have so much to do. You can look forward to my gift guide this weekend. It’s taken me a bit longer to put it together, but you bet your bottom dollar that I have one for this year!

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I thought that these cookies crumbled too easily. I like a softer, sturdier, cookie. Basically, I like soft cookies that won’t fall apart when I take a bit.

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Overall, these cookies are okay in my book.

Print
Oatmeal, Walnut, and Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats, finely ground in a food processor
  • 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1 cup walnuts, pulsed in a food processor

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cream together the butter and both sugars.Mix in the vanilla and eggs.
  3. Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and oats until just combined.
  4. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
  5. Drop by rounded balls (about 2-3 tablespoons) onto baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes.
https://lovintheoven.com/oatmeal-walnut-and-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Almond Cafe Cookies

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Let’s start out with the story that made me bake these delicious cookies…

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A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to attend the Pillsbury Bake-Off in Las Vegas, NV. Let me tell you, the whole experience was magical. It was like going to Disneyland for the first time!

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If you think about it, it’s kind of fascinating how they stick one hundred ovens into one big convention center and let the finalists get to cooking. I was intrigued with the set up and couldn’t believe how cool the room stayed, despite one hundred ovens blasting away.

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Smuckers sponsored my trip to Las Vegas and I was constantly overwhelmed with their kindness. Are all Ohio-ans that nice? I was fortunate enough to have dinner the first night at Jean Georges Steakhouse in the Aria with Chef Jon Ashton, who was a delight to be around.

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During the competition, we got to walk the floor and taste a lot of delicious treats. I pretty much ate my way around each station and was full by the time lunch came around.

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Did I mention Padma Lakschmi was the host of the Bake-Off and we got to do a meet and greet with her? Not only is she even more stunning in person, but that girl can eat! I can totally appreciate that.

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Once the contestants were done with their dish, they would bring it over to the finished table, which would then be taken to the back room for the judges to try. It was a huge ordeal when someone brought over a finished dish. People would clap every time a dish was being presented. No one wants to be the one that knocked over the possible million dollar recipe, right?

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I didn’t get any photos from the awards night, but the winner was Glori Spriggs with her Loaded Potato Pinwheels! Even though I was only in Vegas for about 48 hours, I couldn’t get the Bake-Off out of my mind when I came home. There were so many good recipes and even better people! I decided to make one of my favorites in my own kitchen.

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These cookies have a strong almond flavor, are soft and sturdy, and remind me of cookies that you would buy from a cute little cafe. I’m all about them. The recipe can also be found on Pillsbury‘s website.

I want to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all! I know you’ve heard it about a million times through Facebook statuses and Tweets, but I’m going to add more to it, anyways.

Thank YOU for sharing, visiting, and commenting on my blog. I wouldn’t be anywhere without readers! I’m thankful for my little blog that has opened up doors for me and given me opportunities that I never would have imagined before. Thank you Smuckers (Hi Kelly & Cody!) for making this memorable trip possible. Thank you voters for keeping my mac n’ cheese recipe going strong, despite the fact that I’m the David in this voting battle (The one leading the contest has 30,000 more followers on Facebook than I do, and I’m still in the game.. sort of! That’s amazing!).  There’s just under 3 days left to vote!!

Be safe, eat plenty, and remember to be thankful for those working so you can have your holiday off (thank your flight attendant!).

Print
Almond Cafe Cookies

Serving Size: 24 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 packages Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ refrigerated sugar cookies
  • 8 oz almond paste
  • 2 tablespoons Smucker's® Apricot Preserves
  • 1 cup Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cups sliced almonds

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In large bowl, break up cookie dough and almond paste. Add flour and preserves; knead until well blended and mixture forms a ball. Pat into 6x9-inch rectangle. Cut into 24 pieces.
  3. In small bowl, beat egg whites with fork or wire whisk until foamy. In another small bowl, place almonds.
  4. Shape each dough piece into ball. Flatten to 3-inch round. Dip one flat side into egg whites, coating one side only. Place coated side down onto almond slices. Lightly press to coat with almonds. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets, almond side up.
  5. Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until cookies are light golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes; remove to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes. Store in covered container.
https://lovintheoven.com/almond-cafe-cookies/

Lunch Lady Brownies

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Remember those brownies back in elementary school that you would look forward to after lunch? The ones with the magic frosting that would be firm to the touch, but suddenly melt in your mouth? How did they do that? They were the best for packing in lunch boxes since the top wouldn’t smudge if you stacked them on top of something else.

Well, I’ve just recreated them in my kitchen and I’ve got the recipe to share!

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Rodelle sent over some seriously awesome baking ingredients to help with this recipe. I’ve used their gourmet european dutch processed baking cocoa for most of the recipes on my blog for the past two years. Did you know that they sell their cocoa and vanilla beans at Costco? It makes my life so much easier since I go through ingredients quite quickly. Obviously, I need the 25 oz can of baking cocoa rather than the little box at the grocery store.

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They sure know how to put together a gift basket over there. I’m still swooning over the cute tote!

I could not stop eating this brownie batter. Something about the cocoa, melted butter, and sugar just gave it the perfect texture. It is by far my favorite raw batter to eat. That’s probably not something I should be encouraging…. Don’t eat raw batter, folks.

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Don’t even get me started on the frosting. When I was whipping it up, it was smooth, creamy, and thick. How in the world does this harden? It looks like regular frosting!

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This is what the brownies looked like after two minutes of frosting.

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See how it just oozes down the side? The top is already getting the nice shiny layer. If I would have waited ten more minutes, all of the frosting becomes that nice shiny layer.

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I was trying to debate if I should cut the brownies first prior to frosting them or not. That’s exactly what I ended up doing. The frosting flooded into the cracks, engulfing each brownie piece.

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Sometimes the “behind the scenes” picture is just better than the staged one.

Recipe from Saltbox House

Print
Lunch Lady Brownies

Yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients

  • For the brownies:
  • 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup Rodelle's baking cocoa
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 teaspoons Rodelle vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
    • For the frosting:
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 tablespoons Rodelle baking cocoa
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 inch pan.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter and baking cocoa. Add in the flour and sugar.
  3. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in the walnuts.
  4. Evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes (no longer!).
  5. When the brownies are done, making the frosting by creaming all ingredients together until smooth. Spread the frosting over the brownies while they are still warm. Let the frosting harden before cutting and serving.
https://lovintheoven.com/lunch-lady-brownies/

I received product from Rodelle, but the opinions expressed are my own.

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