Dark Chocolate for Doc

This past weekend my parents came for a visit.  Well, really they came to go to homecoming and trade mattresses (hopefully one day K will be sleeping in my childhood bed!) but I guess visiting us and K was an added bonus.  ;-)  Of course, as with any trip from Doc and Allie, we had to make cookies for Doc.  About a month ago I found some new chocolate chips from Nestle...dark chocolate!  Doc loves dark chocolate, so I knew we had to make these.  So, last week, K donned her apron and we "made cookies for Doc." (be sure to say Doc with more of an "aw" sound rather than "ah") 

I quickly found a recipe on pinterest and away we went.  They ended up being very crunchy, especially on the outside; but, it didn't seem to keep anyone from liking them.  David had some last night with ice cream and I took the rest to work.  Gone by the afternoon!  Another cookie success.  Love baking with this girlie!

Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cait's Plate
ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
 ½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups dark chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cream together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then mix in the vanilla.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.  Place a walnut sized dough ball onto the cookie sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Place pans in over and bake until the cookie edges are just turning golden brown, but the middles are still quite pale, about 12 to 14 minutes.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.  Enjoy!

The Month of Pumpkin

I don't know about you, but come October I love using pumpkin in my cooking!  About two weeks ago I worked in the ER and wanted to take a treat...as I usually do.  Sometimes I try to cook things that I know wouldn't be David's preference because I frequently come home without leftovers.  I also remembered that I had some cinnamon chips in the cabinet that need to be used.  Um...hello!  Pumpkin and cinnamon, the perfect combo!  I was able to find a recipe that ended up being SO SO good. 

The cinnamon flavor was great and the texture of these was just perfect.  Pumpkin cookies can tend to be cakey and dry.  I think it's sometimes a difficult balance to obtain moistness in pumpkin baked goods.  These cookies, however, were so moist and chewy in such a good way.  I could have eaten several...which means it's a good thing I took them to work.  One of my fellow physicians even asked for the recipe.  Always a good sign!  Try these out for your fall parties!

Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies from Sweet Treats More

3/4 c butter, soft

1 c sugar

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 c canned pumpkin

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 c flour

1 3/4 c rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 c cinnamon chips

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Beat butter and sugars together until creamy.  Beat in egg, then vanilla and pumpkin.  

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Stir in cinnamon chips. 

Drop onto baking stones or sheets.  Place in oven and bake for 12-13 minutes.  Let cool for a minute or two then transfer to a cooling rack.  Enjoy!

The Beginning of Fall

The weather has become slightly cooler around here...not that I expect that to last!  However, I have started to pick out all the "fall" cookies from my Southern Living cookie book.  I unknowingly made one of these during the summer. 

And they were, unfortunately, my least favorite thus far.  They are not bad, just "just okay."  They use those orange slice candies that are sugared on the outside.  I thought that maybe they candy would melt when the cookies baked but it didn't; it actually held its shape.  They ended up being almost like dried apricots.

I think, if I made these again, I would actually USE dried apricot instead of the candies.  Healthier (ha!  in a cookie?) and a more pleasing texture.  The spices in the cookie are really nice...like a good oatmeal cookie.  I also added some white chocolate chips instead of coconut. If you try these, let me know what YOU think or if you change the candies to dried fruit. 

Orange Slice Cookies from Southern Living Incredible Cookies
1 1/2 cups chopped candy orange slices (could try dried apricots)
1/4 cup AP flour
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 T milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 cups quick cook oats
1 cup flaked coconut (optional) - I don't think I used this

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the candy and 1/4 flour in a bowl and toss to coat the candy.  Meanwhile, cream butter until smooth.  Add the sugars, beating well.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix well.  Stir together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir well to combine.  Now, stir in the oatmeal and candy (coconut if using).

Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until slightly browned.  Cool slightly on the pan then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.  Yield: 9 dozen

A New Career

Well, after my night in the NICU last night...I decided that I just can't take it!  I have to do something else.  Just kidding.  Actually, call last night was very low key and I actually got 5 hours of sleep!  All of the babies behaved and the only admit I did arrived at 1530.  I even watched a movie on Netflix...because I can't download Java so that I could STUDY for an upcoming exam (tell me...does that make any sense?!). 

Anyway, I cooked these pomegranate white chocolate chip cookies Sunday night to take to call.  After lunch, I set them out on the counter for people to taste.  One of the nurse practitioners told me I shouldn't put them out if I didn't want people to eat them...HELLO!!!  That's why I put them out!  Her response..."Mmm...I love cookies.  Don't you love cookies?!" 

Then, after watching our neurologist perform a nerve conduction study, I came back to the work room where he proceeded to try them.  The fellow told him not to because he'd get addicted...then Dr. V said "Let's open a restaurant together.  Just quit here.  I'll be the Indian cook and you bake."  Sure, Dr. V!  Sounds like a plan!  :-)  Anyway, these cookies that Maria made were so good!  I loved the sweet/tart of the pomegranate counteracted by the white chocolate. A perfect combo!  For some reason, mine became very crumbly overnight...maybe I put in too many arils?

 Maria suggests placing 5-6 arils in each dough ball but I just folded in the arils.  None of them burst and I didn't have any problem with staining of the dough.  If you do this, just don't use your mixer, gently fold them in.  Please, if you have pomegranates...TRY THESE COOKIES!!!

White Chocolate Pomegranate Oatmeal Cookies from Maria at Two Peas and Their Pod
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned oats (almost forgot these!)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup pomegranate arils

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside. 
Cream together butter and sugars in a bowl until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.  In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.  Stir in the oats and white chocolate chunks. Then gently fold in the pomegrante arils.  Make dough balls-about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie. Bake cookies for 12-13 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Enjoy!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short...but It's a Cookie!

So, these are "halloween" cookies, but they're too good to pass up showing you...maybe you could use them for something else slightly modified. When I saw this cookie, I knew that I wanted to make it for our last call this month. It was so much fun and so fall-y. It comes from Oatmeal Cookie Guy, so you know it's pretty good. Honestly, I would have rather left out the oatmeal and just used flour for a shortbread cookie...some people thought the oatmeal was coconut! Somehow, mine ended up a little too dry...I did only use 2 2/3 T (tablespoons) butter for each, but somehow I don't imagine that 1/3 T being so detrimental. Who knows! When I started cutting the dough I thought I was in trouble...it was breaking apart, but as I moved in more, it held together and made pretty little cookies. The response was good. One of my co-residents tasted one and immediately got excited because it reminded her of the chocolate orange candies; and, indeed, it does have a slight orange taste but it's not overpowering...I almost wish there was more. One of our docs even came in and, after asking me if I was good at this, replied "Yep, you're good at this" as he grabbed two more cookies. :-) This would be a fun one to try and modify for other holidays. Maybe red, white, and green with int for Christmas? Hmmm!

Vanilla (yellow) Layer

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon scrambled egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon yellow food coloring

1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Orange

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon scrambled egg

1 teaspoon orange extract

1/8 teaspoon orange food coloring (or the formula given on back of box)

1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal

1/2 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Layer

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon scrambled egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon black food coloring (or just combine colors until you like the color!)

1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Repeat Steps 1-4 for each of the three layers of dough.

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
3. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until chilled and firm.
   

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5. Roll out each chilled dough ball into a 1/8-1/4"-thick sheet.
6. Stack the three layers of rolled-out dough on top of a piece of plastic wrap.
7. Roll the stack onto itself to create a cookie dough log and wrap with the plastic wrap. Smooth out the log until it is even and cylindrical.
8. Place the dough log in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
9. Preheat oven to 350º.
10. Remove the dough log from the freezer. Using a serrated knife, cut 1/4"-thick disks from the log.
11. Place the dough slices about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Mini Call

Typically, as an intern on call you don't get much sleep because you are the one the nurses call when they need anything...this child has a fever, this kid's chest is hurting but it's been hurting since they came in, so and so has a rash after antibiotics but this is the sixth dose, etc. Most of the time you don't have to leave the lounge BUT you do have to wake up, get up, and call the floor. Anyway, my second call, I don't think I had a single floor call after midnight...AWESOME! (Just so you know...that hasn't happened since!) Who knows, maybe this "mini" call was due to the mini-cookies I took. Emily, the amazing teen baker, created some cookies for her sister's birthday and I thought they looked delicious. So, I tried them out for the on-call treat. They were perfectly soft and moist but not at all cakey. The perfect cookie. I REALLY love using browned butter...it totally adds to the flavor of the cookie. In fact, at some point I have an original recipe from me (!) coming up that uses browned butter. Anyway, I think that a great addition would be some toasted nuts but these cookies were great as is. I used caramel-chocolate swirled chips for a little something special. Try them out for yourself! (Sorry about the poor picture quality!) Mini Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Recipe by Me)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups quick oats
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup caramel-chocolate swirled chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; continue to cook the butter, whisking frequently, until it starts to brown and foam, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside for 10 minutes (I was impatient and didn't wait...it worked anyway).

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together brown sugar and peanut butter until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in browned butter until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Pour dry ingredients on top of this and lightly stir them together, then reduce mixer speed to low and beat in oat mixture until combined; stir in chocolate chips.

Roll tablespoons (I used about 1/2 tablespoon and got 4 dozen) of dough into balls, place on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Makes 4 dozen mini cookies (I got 4 dozen using 1/2 Tablespoon...I measured just to be sure.)

Get This Outa My House!

Sometimes, I just get where I want to bake something. I have no reason to bake and I don't have family nearby, so I'm not baking for my husband or children (or parents). But when the baking bug hits, sometimes you just have to do it! So, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try a new recipe from Baking Blonde. For some reason, I think that recipes that use sweetened condensed milk are fun. So, when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it...plus, it has peanut butter and oatmeal! I used crunchy peanut butter and LOVED the way the nuts felt and added to the flavor, it was really toasty tasting. Also, I ran out of oatmeal, so I added some wheat bran to cover for that. This also added to the nutty taste. These bars were REALLY good! That's why I had to "get this outa my house." I ended up taking the bars to a pediatric department picnic. They were all eaten except for one bar...good job everyone! Apparently, I have been deemed the cooking resident! I'll take it. :-)

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dream Bars adapted from Bakingblonde

1 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups Quick Cooking oatmeal (NOT instant)
1/2 cup wheat bran

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup peanut butter (calls for 1/2 cup but 1/3 is what I had)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup peanut butter chips
2/3 cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil (or wax paper) and spray lighlty with PAM.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, soda, oatmeal, flour & salt until it’s crumbly (mine wasn't crumbly...maybe the lack of oatmeal had something to do with that). Set aside about 1 cup or a little more. Press the rest of the crust into prepared pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes.

While crust is cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk. Once crust has baked, evenly pour and spread peanut butter filling over the baked crust. Be gentle so you don’t pull up the warm crust while you spread the filling. Evenly sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top of the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk mixture. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle the chips evenly over the top. Return to oven to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until topping is light golden brown and candy bars/chips are melting. Cool. Enjoy!

So Corny!

They say you learn everything from your parents. In general, you usually look like your parents. You probably talk a lot like your parents. Your humor...in my case, unfortunately...from your parents! You see, my dad's sense of humor is quite, shall we say, corny! Lots of puns, which can go on for many, many minutes! And because I got this sense of humor, my jokes are often corny or not understood. For instance, though you might get this because it involves a knowledge of food: What happened when the nurse accidentally gave the little boy a borscht infusion? Wait for it, wait for it....I said wait for it! Anyway, you also tend to get eating habits from your parents. When I was growing up, we had a typical Saturday lunch...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with fritos and salsa. Sometimes we'd have banana, sometimes carrot sticks (okay, rarely carrot stick). My dad's favorite chip is the frito. So, when I saw these cookies, I really wanted to try them. I had seen them on Oatmeal Cookie Guy's site and then, the recipe I actually used, on Anna's site. They have lots of stuff in them and you can really customize them for what you want or have on hand. Unfortunately, I don't keep any of the chips on hand, so I had to purchase them specifically for this. I used fritos and pretzel sticks. (You can see both in this picture) These were good though I think it would have been better to use regular pretzels or the potato chips. My dad liked them but said he couldn't taste the fritos much. I think it was kind of fun to be eating the cookie and then all of a sudden get the "essence" of frito. Kind of made you stop and think...and I don't think much when I'm eating a cookie...unless I'm in a meeting, like I was today. But that's beside the point, mine got a bit dry more quickly than I like...but were still a good and fun cookie. Try them out sometime. Oh, and the answer to my joke..."his heart skipped a BEET!" :-) (That came from last one of our chief residents from last year, Maggie.) Compost Cookies adapted from Oatmeal Cookie Guy

1 1/2 sticks butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup flour

1 cup roughly crushed pretzels

1 cup roughly crushed Fritos

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350º. Cream together butter and sugars. Add egg and mix until well incorporate. In a large mixing bowl, stir the dry ingredients (including baking chips) together. Slowly mix the dry ingredients in with the creamed mixture. Mix until evenly combined. Shape dough into ball or use a cookie scoop to scoop onto a pan. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on baking stone or cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane...

But only if they serve these cookies! This past semester I started working in the college Sunday School at my church. It has been a lot of fun remembering how college was...I forgot how LOUD college girls are! :-) Anyway, a few weeks ago, the college choir led in worship and we decided to have a pizza party afterwards. The adult choir (which I'm also a part of) was asked to bring desserts for the students. So, I took it as an opportunity to try a new cookie recipe. I had seen these on Katrina's site earlier and even tried to make them until I realized I didn't have any nuts. This time, the nuts were available. One of the things that makes these particularly special is that they not only have chopped nuts added at the end but FINELY chopped nuts added in with the flour. This really gives the cookie a nice texture and flavor. I think this is one of the best oatmeal cookies I've made...will definitely make them again. Another intersting fact about them...the recipe came from an Alaskan airlines pilot (thus, the title of the post)!
Alaska Airlines Pilot Oatmeal Cookies, adapted

2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted, crushed finely
2 cups walnuts, toasted, barely chopped
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup Hershey's cinnamon chips
1 cup Hershey's Premier White Baking Chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, finely chopped nuts, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix together. Add oats, coarsely chopped nuts and any other mix-ins and stir to combine. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 11 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Want S'more?

Apparently, you guys like it better when I post my sweets, baked goods, for my previous post about Philip's nachos seems to have gone unnoticed! That's okay...I'll give you cookies! When I was on my internal medicine month in January, I tried to take a treat every time we were on call. I also tried to make new recipes often. One time I decided to try this recipe from Oatmeal Cookie Guy as I had some marshmallows sitting in my baking Rubbermaid, waiting to be used! These are SO good! Maybe freezing the marshmallows helps. I don't know. All I can say is that the next time we were on call I offered a choice to my resident as to what I'd bring. She didn't know but said, "Those cookies you brought last time were really good." Now, I admit, I didn't take those cookies again just because I wanted to make something different (that is coming to a post near you soon!); however, it shows just how good these cookies are that she would request them again! Thanks OCG!S'Mores Oatmeal Cookies from Oatmeal CookieBlog
2 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon (T) vanilla
2 cups finely ground graham crackers
1 1/2 cups flour
1 T cinnamon (yes!!!)
1/2 teaspoon (t) salt
1/2 t baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups frozen mini marshmallows

Cream together the butter and brown and white sugar. In a small bowl, combine the vanilla and eggs. Whisk together the wet ingredients and add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth. In another large mixing bowl, add the graham crackers, flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until evenly combined. Preheat oven to 350º. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on baking stone or cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes. (Be very careful not to overbake them.) If the cookies feel too underdone when you remove them from the oven, let them set on the cookie sheets for two to three additional minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Disappearing Cookies

So far on my medicine rotation I've had some interesting experiences. I've performed a paracentesis, I've seen someone's heart shocked back into rhythm, I've had a patient pass away, and I've prayed with a patient (after he requested that I do that). You say, none of these has to do with cooking...well, here's one more...I had ALL of the cookies I made eaten before the day was over, basically by one guy. Wow! Now, I must admit, these were really good cookies. I got them from the Cookie Bible with minimal changes. The end product is a perfectly textured cookie (soft) with a bit of crunch from the cereal. I don't really like crunchy cookies but this one is a good crunch, not that overcooked, flat crunch. I HIGHLY recommend these cookies and am sure that I'll be making them again. Look out for more on-call treats, as I'm currently making something yummy for my 4th (almost halfway through!) call tomorrow. Crispy Oat Drops from The Cookie Bible
1 stick butter
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mint swirl chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips (the original used baking M&M's)
1 cup rice krispies cereal
1/2 cup coconut (I did NOT toast it this time!)
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream the butter/margarine and sugars. Beat in the egg. Put dry ingredients on top of this mixture and lightly stir together (the dry ingredients...this saves another bowl to clean!). Then blend into the creamed mixture. Add the chips, cereal, coconut, and almonds. Drop onto baking sheets or stones. Bake for 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 4 dozen cookied. Here is a heart that just formed on its own!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Oatmeal Cookies

My next cookie recipe comes from a blog that I found through Anna. It's called the Oatmeal Cookie Guy and he comes up with all kinds of cool recipes for oatmeal cookies. This one is a SLIGHT adaptation on his Golden Girls cookies. The cookie has the taste of a graham cracker base for cheesecake and then it's filled with a sweetened cream cheese filling. I added cranberries to make it more Christmas-y. Now, these were DELICIOUS....but....filling the cookies was a bit difficult. I told someone that they were wonderful but I'd probably only make these specific ones again if a certain couple of people asked me! Maybe Mrs. Snowman will keep making them for Mr. Snowman, because it appears that they enjoyed them as well! I will, however, continue looking at Oatmeal Guy for more recipes! For a very well organized recipe that is easy to follow, go here.

Holiday Golden Girls adapted from the Oatmeal Guy

Filling:
8 ounces room-temperature cream cheese
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Creamables:
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups finely ground graham crackers
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Add the filling ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well. Let the mixture cool and solidify in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350º. Cream together the creamables. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each. Remove the filling mixture from the refrigerator and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture. Do this by flattening your ball of dough and placing the cream cheese in the center. Then fold over the dough to reform into a ball. Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for five minutes to firm up. Place about 2 inches apart on baking stone or Silpat/parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

A Party for SGCC

I want the ringing in my ear to stop. That is currently the mode of presentation of my ear infection...yes, the doctor caught the bug from the patients. Yesterday, I was in much pain at the time; thankfully, my ear started hurting 10 minutes before I left my shift, so I was able to get a prescription and am feeling much better. Despite that, I am enjoying my ER rotation so far! It's nice to work 12 hour shifts in a way because you get days off, instead of the usual 4 off a month on other rotations!

Enough of me, now on to someone who is celebrating a special day. Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy is celebrating her 1st blogiversary and is having a party. She has asked us to bring our favorite party food. Well, what better party food that cookies. This recipe is really the cookie I take most often to parties; however, I figure I'll give you a new one. And when I say new, it's REALLY new. This is an original recipe that I think is pretty good. It's got coffee in it and is pretty strong. However, if you don't care for coffee, you could remove that or just decrease the amount and it would be fine. In fact, get creative and add something different to suit your tastes...and the others at the party! Claire's Coffee Cookies (how's that for alliteration!?)
3/4 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 T vanilla

3 T instant coffee

1 cup ap flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups quick cooking oats

1/2 cup almonds, toasted then chopped (you can also use pecans if you prefer)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream shortening and sugar together. Add egg, vanilla, and coffee; and mix well. Stir together flour, soda, tartar, salt, and oats. Stir into creamed sugar mix. Mix in chocolate chips and almonds. Using a small/medium cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cook for 3 minutes on pan. Remove to cooling rack and allow to completely cool.

Birthday Cookies

Over at Sweetnicks, they are celebrating a birthday! So, in honor of the SD I decided to make my entry to ARF-Tuesday a sweet...cookies! No, no birthday cake here today, but I hope that oatmeal cookies will suffice! I came up with this recipe after looking at several different recipes around the web. I decided to add some coarse sea salt to them because I think that burst of saltiness is a fun and different surprise. I made these twice and used 1/2 cup more flour the first time. The batter was really thick and didn't let the cookies spread ANY but I kind of liked the resulting cookies a little better...it reminded me of one of those restaurant cookies except with a homemade look and taste. You know, a bit chewy and "almost" undercooked? Anyway, here's a birthday cookies for Cate's SD! Happy Birthday! Oatmeal Cookies
4 T margarine
4 T shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cream margarine, shortening, and sugars together. When creamy beat in egg and vanilla. Add flours, tartar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in oatmeal. Add chips and stir. Place on baking sheets or stones in tablespoons. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove to cooling rack and allow to cool.

"Oh, Yeah" Cookies

It seems that I haven't posted a cookie on here in a while and I figured that I should give you one! Thus...these are "Oh, yeah" cookies. Another reason I dubbed them "Oh, yeah" cookies is that the recipe comes from a cookbook that I tend to forget I own. It's the Sara Foster cookbook. There is a chicken recipe in there that I really want to make, but I'm saving it for a time when I have company...which hopefully will be soon. I made these cookies many weeks ago, in fact, probably months ago. However, I still remember that they were very good. Though I tend to prefer softer cookies, an oatmeal cookie that is crispy on the outside is perfect! It lends a sense of being wholesome and not so ooey gooey sugary buttery unhealthy, etc! So, next time you want to feel a little better about your cookies, try out an oatmeal cookie. To make them better for you, add some fruit or nuts and leave out the chips or candy. Yum! OR, if you just want to indulge, throw in some delicious chocolate, candy, toffee....um, any other suggestions for a decadent oatmeal cookie? If so, try out this recipe, throw in your idea, and post about it! Could be fun! Oatmeal Cookies with Raspberry Chocolate Swirl Chips adapted from Fresh Everyday by Sara Foster

2 sticks margarine

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups AP flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup-1 1/2 cups raspberry chocolate swirl chips (or whatever you want to add it!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and sugars until fluffy. This can take 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stir in the vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl and mix together. Stir gently into the creamed mixture OR put the dry ingredients gently on top of the sugar mixture and "stir" with a spatula before slowly mixing with mixer. This is a cheat I use often if the dry ingredients go in the butter in one addition!

Scoop the dough onto a cooking sheet or stone in Tablespoonfuls (or for a larger cookie using a 1/4 cup measure; if doing this, flatten the cookie with you hand before baking). Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on desired doneness. If making the larger cookie, Sara suggests baking for 12-14 minutes for a soft, chewy cookie or for 15-17 minutes for a crunchy cookie. Allow the cookies to cool for a minute before removing to a cooling rack.