Oatmeal Cookies

There are hundreds, if not thousands of different recipes for oatmeal cookies…I cannot for sure tell you where I came up with this recipe. Of course by mixing, matching and trying different proportions from many recipes…and this is the recipe that I like to use when it comes to oatmeal cookies. I like my cookies chewy and my husband like them crunchy, so I bake the ones for him for a couple of minutes longer.

In spite of a big list of different ingredients required for this recipe, most of them, if not all, are ingredients that we all have available, so here it is…

Ingredients:

½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup oat
2/3 cup raisin
2/3 cup chopped walnut

Method:

In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, except the oatmeal. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat the butter and the sugar, until creamy and light, add the egg and continue to beat until light and fluffy.

Fold in the flour mix, mix gently, add the oat and then the raisin and walnut.

Spoon the dough in a cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven for 12 minutes at 350F.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for oatmeal cookies. If you like this cookie recipe, you might want to check the Peanut Butter Cookies and Chocolate Chips Cookies out.

Did you know that oat contain a lot of soluble fiber? Therefore, it helps to lower cholesterol. The sticky and viscous texture of oat when cooked is due to its soluble fiber referred as beta-glucan.

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Florentines Cookis

Apparently these cookies have its origin in Italy. Generally these cookies can be in a form of cookie or bar containing mainly two layers; one of baked pastry and another one of sticky nut with or without candied fruit. After searching for one recipe with ingredients that I had handy, I adapted this one from Desserts Magazine. The buttery orange pastry layer combined with the sticky nut on top is just amazingly delicious. I urge you to give this recipe a try; I can guarantee that you will not regret…the only problem is that you must have a very strong will to not finish it all in one day.

As I mention, this recipe is based on the one published in Desserts Magazine and I made suitable changes to the palate of my family. Changes were done in order to decrease the sugar and butter content by increasing the ratio of almond.

Ingredients:

Pastry layer
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tablespoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
Pinch of salt
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 medium egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Almond layer
½ cup sugar
½ stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoon honey
Pinch of salt
½ cup heavy cream
16oz of slivered almond

Method:

In the mixer, place the butter, flour, baking powder, salter, sugar and orange zest. Using a paddle, mix until crumble like texture. Add the egg and vanilla extract until a dough forms. Wrap the dough and place in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Transfer the dough to a lightly flour surface and roll out the dough to about 1/8 in thickness. Transfer the dough to a ¼ sheet size baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until slightly golden color.

In the meantime prepare the almond layer by placing the sugar, butter, honey, salt and heavy cream in a small pan over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the almond and mix gently until a uniform mix. Remove from the heat.

Pour the almond mix on the pastry layer, by smoothing evenly. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 330F and return the cookies to the oven for another 15 minutes. Make sure to not over bake the cookies.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Cut out into squares once the cookie is completely cool.

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Before I forget…

Did you know that almond is considered one of the most nutritious nuts? Almonds are high source of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Moreover, they contain protein, high in fiber and low in sugars.

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Peanut Butter Cookies

Well, we got peanut butter from Costco, therefore you can imagine how much peanut butter we have at home…so I decided to make cookies! We all have our favorite peanut butter cookies recipe, this one is a mix and match from many recipes and small changes were made. Like most of the peanut butter cookies recipes this one as well is a very simple recipe to follow. The cookies are so good…and here is what I did.

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar, use ¼ cup if you like less sweet cookies
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Method:

In a medium bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients but the sugars.

In another bowl, add the butter, sugars, egg, milk and vanilla extract and cream for approximately 2~3 minutes. Then add the peanut butter and mix until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, and refrigerate the dough for approximately 3 hours. Once cold, pre heat the oven at 375F and remove the dough from the fridge and make 1 ¼ inch balls, flatten and using a wet fork make crisscross.

Bake for approximately 9 to 10 minutes, and cool on baking sheet.

Did you know that the skin of the peanut contain resveratrol? Resveratrol is a compound found mainly in the skin of the grapes which is believed to have an anti aging, anti cancer and cardioprotective properties.

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Almond Crisps and a “Visitor””

This is a very simple and easy recipe for such a yummie treat. It is low in cholesterol, although you can make it cholesterol free by substituting the butter for vegetable oil. I just decided to use butter because they sure taste better… But be aware that it is hard to eat these crisps in moderation since they are so light, crispy, crunchy and very addictive….again very addictive.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites
6 tablespoon granulated sugar
6 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1½ cup sliced almond

Method:

Preheat the oven at 325F

Mix the sugar with the egg whites until the sugar is dissolved, fold in the sifted all purposed flour. Mix until the flour is incorporated to the egg whites. Add the salt, vanilla extract and the lemon zest. Mix gently and add the melted butter.

Using a spoon, pour half of the batter to a cookie sheet cover with parchment paper or silicone mate and spread the batter through the sheet. Repeat the same with the other half batter. Once the batter is thinly spread throughout the sheet gently cover the batter with the sliced almond.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes and then lower the temperature to 300F and leave it for another 10 minutes. At the end of the 10 minutes turn the oven off and leave the almond crisp in the oven until the oven cooled down, the almond crisp sheet color will be even.

Please note that oven temperature varies, so keep an eye while baking, since the layer is very thin it can be burned very easily.

Break the pieces randomly and store in an air tight container.

Now, the pictures of my visitor…

Did you know that almond contains substantial amount of carbohydrates therefore is used as flour for cakes and cookies? Moreover, almond flour is gluten free thus used for people that are gluten sensitive.

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Meringue Kisses Cookies

This is a very simple recipe which gives you beautiful colors of cookies. These cookies are very light and non fat. I adapted this recipe from Desserts Magazine, December issues of cookies. In the original recipe raspberry Jell-O was used, I decided to make two tones of colored cookies, strawberry and lime. These meringue cookies taste so good… mainly because of the Jell-O flavor. It is not too sweet and slightly tart, you cannot stop eating them. It is sure a favorite among the kids and adults.

Ingredients:

Lime Meringue Kisses Cookies
3 large egg whites
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1 package (3 oz) lime Jell-O
1/3 cup fine granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Strawberry Meringue Kisses Cookies
3 large egg whites
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1 package (3 oz) strawberry Jell-O
1/3 cup fine granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

Position one oven rack in the top third of the oven and the other rack on the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 275°F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the egg whites and salt in a large bowl beat using medium speed until frothy , about 30 seconds. Turn the speed to high and pour the Jell-O and the sugar into the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny, about 5 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the vanilla. Place the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a very large plain or star tip and pipe the cookies, each about 1V inches in diameter, onto the baking sheets.

Bake the meringues until they are firm on the outside but still soft on the inside, about 30 minutes. Remove the cookies from the parchment sheet and place on a wire rack and let them cool. These cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Did you know that whipped egg whites are more stable when cream of tartar is added to the whites? Moreover, cream of tartar serves as a binding agent and helps to denature the protein in the eggs whites in order to form firm peaks.

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Pumpkin Cookies

I am sharing a very simple recipe for a very yummie pumpkin cookie. The cookies are soft almost like a cake. Great as a snack or even as a breakfast treat. This recipe was adapted from the Very Best Baking.

Ingredients:

Cookie

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Pumpkin pie spices
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, sift
1 tablespoon of milk
1 tablespoon of melted butter
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method:

Cookie
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing until smooth. Slowly add in the flour mixture. Using two spoons, drop cookie dough on to a baking sheet or silicone baking liner.

Bake in a pre-heated oven of 350F for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Cool the cookies before glazing the cookies.

Glaze

Combine all the ingredients together until smooth, if too thick add a little more milk.

Drizzle over the cookies.

Did you know that the orange color of the pumpkins are due to high content of lutein and alpha and beta carotene? In the human body, beta carotene generates vitamin A which is important for the health of the eyes.

Chocolate Chips Cookies

Like most of the recipes for chocolate chips cookies this one is simple and easy.
I’ve tried many recipes and after adjusting for this and that I came up with the one that I like the most…it is soft and slightly chewy, but if you care for a crunchy and crispy style you can bake a little longer and still have a great cookie.

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 stick) softened butter
2 tablespoon granulated sugar (if you prefer less sugar omit this)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnut

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a bowl, mix together the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In another large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients to the creamed butter. Stir in the chocolate chips and the walnut.

With the help of two spoons, spoon the dough on to a wax paper cover cookie sheet, 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or just until edges are slightly brown.

Makes two dozen cookies.