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.

Apple Crisp

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I was tagged a couple of days ago by fellow blogger Hilary to write six random things about myself, so here’s your chance to get to know a little more about me..

  1. One of my guilty pleasures is bad horror films.. no matter how bad they are. For example, I just saw “The Ruins” a couple weeks ago and it was one of the worst movies ever made and a complete waste of my time to watch, but I secretly loved it. I can’t get myself to stop watching these stupid horror films and have even found a partner to watch them with, my friend Jimmy! We always go with each other to watch scary movies because no one else will come with us. Maybe there’s a reason why no one else wants to watch these movies… Oh well. “My Bloody Valentine,” anyone?
  2. You’d never guess it but I’m 1/8th, give or take a little, Moroccan (or some part of Africa)! It comes from my dad’s side of the family. He doesn’t know much about his family tree past his parents; he just knows that there is African descent in his blood. Proof? My older sister was born with an afro and has ridiculously naturally curly hair. Think about it… an Asian with naturally curly hair?! What??
  3. I have this weakness for puppies. Particularly German shepherds. I can NOT wait until the day comes that I will be able to have my own! They are just about the most precious things on Earth (besides baby tigers). Every time I see one, I go into complete awe. My boyfriend even tells me that I have a “German shepherd face” that I do, and he can instantly tell whether I’m looking at a German shepherd or not by simply observing my facial expression.
  4. All of my friends consider me a grandma, even though I’m only 21. Why? It’s because of my hobbies. I was never a fan of the “partying” life and the whole clubbing scene just wasn’t my cup of tea. I don’t drink, party, or go clubbing… what kind of young’n am I, right?!? Well, I’m the kind that love love loves scrapbooking, painting, sketching, quilting, and baking… hobbies that are considered “grandma-ish.” I taught myself how to stencil & know how to make a mean cross stitching piece. Instead of getting trashed every night like most people my age, I’d much prefer a night in, cuddled up in blankets with some hot chocolate & a movie.
  5. I rarely eat what I bake. As a matter of fact, I eat a TON of dessert and sugar on a daily basis (trust me; I think every meal of the day should have dessert afterwards)… with 99% of it being baked by someone else. When I crave something, my craving can only be satisfied if the dessert is made by someone else. Things just taste ten times better when someone else makes it. You don’t agree? Example: You come home from school and make a sandwich for yourself. Meh.. just ok. But when your mom makes you one, it tastes ten times better even though the sandwich has the EXACT SAME ingredients. Yeah, I thought so.
  6. I adore kids and can’t wait to have my own. I think their energy and carefreeness is always such a joy to be around. They will tell you exactly what’s on their mind, with no hesitation. I love that. I worked with kids for over five years at the Boys & Girls Club and couldn’t have asked fora better first job. The kids brightened my day, every day. On the other end of spectrum, I also adore elderly people. Actually, I’m quite known for it with my friends. On my last birthday, two of my friends got me cards with elderly people on it just because I would think it’s so precious… and I did. Elderly people have so much more experience in life than I do, and I love listening to all their stories. What really gets me is elderly couples, because I hope I’ll be lucky enough to be in their shoes one day.

And there you have it.. that sums up some random facts about me! Now moving on to the real reason I blogged.. apple crisp! This one didn’t really tickle my fancy, but that’s because I forgot to add the water 🙁 It turned out way too sweet for me, but I’m willing to give it another shot and do it right next time! Apple crisp is so simple, I don’t know how I managed to mess this one up. I was too distracted with family, I guess!

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 4 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Stir until crumbly. Press half the oat mixture into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover with sliced apples.
  3. In a medium saucepan, combine white sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla. Cook, stirring, until thick and clear, 10 minutes. Pour over apples. Cover apples with remaining crumble mixture.
  4. Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes, until bubbly and golden.

Day 6: Oatmeal Toffee & Walnut Cookies (With a hint of Cocoa!)

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This stormy weather has made me quite lazy! All I want to do is drink tea and cuddle up next to my fireplace while watching movies all day long. It was 42 degrees today! …. In Southern California! If it’s gonna get this cold, I wish it would just snow. That’s hopeful wishing on my part. [Now, people that are reading this from around the world must think that I’m crazy to be considering 42 degrees as freezing, you must bear with me because I’m used to 80-90 degree weather on a yearly basis. It’s always sunny in Southern California and hardly ever drops below 65 degrees!]

I’ve finally finished with my Christmas shopping and am quite ecstatic with what I got everyone. I love shopping for others– just the quest of finding a perfect gift to match everyone’s individual personality brings me joy. I hope you guys are done with your holiday shopping as well, seeing as how there’s only only 8 more days for last minute shopping!

Day 6 of my 12 Days of Cookies: Half way there! I decided to do a little twist on the usual Oatmeal Toffee/Oatmeal Raisin cookie. I added a bit of what I had on hand in my kitchen: walnuts & cocoa powder. I used just a bit of Ghiradelli cocoa powder, but would definitely up the ratio the next time I make these. You can hardly taste the amount I put in. Also, don’t over bake these babies! They taste better the next day, believe it or not. By leaving the cookie out overnight, the flavors really get to mix and then get to the perfect consistency. They’re crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. I made a half batch and pulsed my oats in the food processor until they were FINELY ground. These were adapted from Martha’s Stewart’s Recipe for her Oatmeal Raisin cookies.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup toffee bits
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Whisk together oatmeal, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of stand mixer cream butter and sugars until pale and fluffy (5 mins) and add eggs and vanilla until just combined. Add oat mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in walnuts and toffee.

Scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Let cookies cool on sheet for five minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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