Any excuse to make sweets: Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies

There's a new baby around the nest and with that comes the joys and pains of nursing. (At this very moment, emphasis on the pains...but I digress.)

During the downtime this sleeping newborn affords me, I did a mad-dash web search for foods that help with nursing and supply and all that happy stuff. It ranged from dill to asparagus to mussels (no thanks!) but the one item that made it on to almost every list was OATS! The science even suggested that oats in most forms did benefit nursing mamas...be it oatmeal or oatmeal cookies. Huzzah! An excuse to escape to my kitchen and bake COOKIES with my Boo!

I get excited about cookies. What can I say?

So without further delay, the fruit of our afternoon labor in the small, overheated kitchen we call home. The dough was Boo-approved as the picture clearly illustrates. So, too, were the final products. Little man thought he could make a mighty fine dinner of oatmeal cookies and more oatmeal cookies. Cutie pie.
 

Recipe modified from Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnuts (pecans would be delicious, too!)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients minus the oats, flour, raisins, and walnuts. Mix well with spoon or mixer. (I'm lazy and just use a spoon. And a toddler.)
3. Stir in oats. flour, raisins, and nuts.
4. Drop by rounded spoonful about two inches apart on ungreased baking sheet
5. Bake 9 to 11 minutes until light brown. Immediately remove from sheet and cool.

Yummo!

Summer means strawberries: Strawberry Buckle

I haven't always been keen on buckles. Mostly because I didn't know what on earth they were or why they were called buckles. Turns out, buckles are single layer cakes with berries or fruit dotted into the batter and baked. The buckled appearance gives it its traditional name. So there.

I have a love affair with all things strawberry AND all things yogurt, so I tweaked a Martha Stewart and Smitten Kitchen recipe and fell in strawberry love this morning. No, really!

The prep was incredibly simple and it served as a breakfast bread for me and the boys in a pinch. It was perfect and the crumb of the cake wasn't too loose or too soggy. Did I say perfect? It was!

Hungry Little Blackbird Strawberry Buckle

1 1/2 cups whole wheat or unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon yogurt (we used Greek and it was fantastic!)
1/2 teaspoon (or more) lemon zest
1 1/4 cups (about 7 ounces) coarsely chopped fresh strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Grease a 9 or 10 inch deep dish pie plate and set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat for approximately one minute until well blended. Add the egg and beat for an additional two minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the yogurt and lemon zest. Do not over mix.
4. Add all of the sifted flour mixture and gently stir in until the batter is just smooth. Pour batter into prepared pie plate.
5.  Add strawberries in single layer and top with a teaspoon or two of granulated sugar.
6. Bake on middle rack for 35-45 minutes until "buckle" in the center is set.

 NOM NOM NOM!

Enjoy the warm weather and stay safe this holiday weekend!

Cookie-Topped Brownies

Better than Charlie Sheen's latest drug? (Winning, of course...)

Besides the holy combination of chocolate and peanut butter, brownies and chocolate chip cookies are the fastest way to my  husband's heart (our children excluded!). So why not make like a peanut butter and chocolate super duo and meld the two?

With Boo's ever-present help, this was a hit. P stopped in during the middle of his mad-house Saturday rush and even gave it the "thumbs up" approval while frantically dunking mouthfuls into milk. And then his mouth. The ultimate compliment any baker strives for in my opinion...

This one was adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker's web site and a FANTASTIC win so far.

Cookie-Topped Brownies

 Brownie Layer:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

 Cookie Layer:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13 inch baking pan.

2. To make the brownie batter, put both chocolates and the butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until th ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat. Alternatively, you can microwave the chocolates and butter together in 30-second increments, stirring well after each one.

3. Beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing only until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then, still on low speed, add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the batter. Using the spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

4. To make the cookie dough, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

5. Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter and, using a spatula and a light touch, spread it evenly over the batter.

6. Bake for 44 to 50  minutes, or until the cookie top is deep golden brown and firm and a thin knife inserted into the brownie layer comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

7. When the brownies are completely cool, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and the brownies, then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars about 2 inches by 1 inch.