Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies ~ Day 3 of the 12 Days of Cookies

You'll notice that this cookie was supposed to be posted yesterday because today is actually Day 4 of our 12 Days of Cookies.
I'm a little behind.
It's 9:29 at night and I haven't even made today's cookies.
Well, I attempted to anyway, but had a cookie fail.
You would think that during this 12 Days of Cookies I'd be ultra-organized. That I'd have back-up cookies that I'd made over the summer so that just in case something like this occurred I'd at least have a post.
Yeah. Right.
It was just one of those days. I drove to the store around 12 and forgot some some things I needed to make dinner, but had to get back in a hurry because my daughter had to be at work at 12:30 and she takes the car.
SSSSOOOOOOOOO....
I ran (literally) 1.7 miles to the store and back with the 2 lbs. of ground beef (not easy to do, let me tell you) only to get home and realize I had forgotten to buy the pasta sauce. I was making Baked Stuffed Peppers, so I couldn't do it without either of these. SSSOOOOOO back to the store I go, only this time I rode the bike because now time was of the essence and dinner was partly made.
I was also going to buy a Powerball ticket, but the line was way too long. Ah, forget it, I don't need the money that badly.  But I want it.
No Powerball ticket.
AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Ever have those days where you just want to scream and pull your hair out?
Yep.
This is one of them.
I feel like I've got 50 plates spinning in the air like these guys...

Only I'm not looking so calm, cool and collected.

Well, I thought if I bought at least one Powerball ticket I'd have a chance in 1729347923326618646213641295916256832685 that I'd win some money.
I don't even know what that number is, I just took my aggressions out on the keypad and let myself loose. I don't even want to put commas in it - the number's too long.
But then, why waste the money when you've got a one in whatever that number is.
I'll go to Starbucks.

I'm thinking I should make some really complex, ornate cookies for this holiday spread, but I'm not really feeling it this year.
I dunno.
I guess I don't want to add another spinning plate to the mix.
I was feeling like an oatmeal cookie with some apple might be the thing to make yesterday and I didn't go wrong when I found these little gems at Joy the Baker.

They were perfect.
Perfect for a crisp Fall day paired with some hot apple cider.
Perfect for that cookie tray that you'll be bringing to Aunt Edna's.
And perfect to include in that little gift bag you'll be giving Johnny's teacher, Mrs. McGillicuddy.
Remember, apples are for teachers?
And, an apple a day keeps the doctor away!
Ok.
Stop.

Make these.
You won't be able to have just one.
Seriously.

Adapted from Joy the Baker
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies - makes about 27

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 large apple ( I used a Granny Smith)
1 teaspoon bottled lemon juice (I would have preferred freshly squeezed, but there were no lemons to be found in the fridge)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment or a Silpat pad.
Peel, core, and dice the apple into small pieces. Place into a small bowl and toss with the lemon juice; set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until soft and light.

Add egg and vanilla.

Beat until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Pour into butter mixture and beat until just blended.

Mix in the apple.

Place by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-13 minutes or until desired doneness.

Allow to cool directly on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a baking rack to cool completely.
Otherwise they'll break apart.  Trust me on this.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 and these Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies earned 4 rolling pins!
I baked them for about 11-12 minutes, so that they were on the soft and chewy side and they were oh so good!
With the recipe only making about 27 cookies, they only lasted a couple of hours between the 4 of us.
And I get a private message on my Facebook page yesterday saying that my daughter and her college roommate NEED cookies.
She's probably a little homesick with her momma posting all these cookie recipes and she's not able to partake in the taste testing as she did last year.
I'm thinking a care box is in order.
I shared these at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Take a look to see what other great things have been shared!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Double Chocolate Peppermint Kisses ~ Day 2 of the 12 Days of Cookies '12

WOW! This is the 500th post on the 365 blog. AND we've reached over 9,000 fans on our Facebook page and are close to 600 on Pinterest.
I love you all and I thank you for your continued support from the very bottom of my heart.
I am extremely grateful!

And I have a headache.
A really-making-me-feel-so-miserable-that-I'm-not-even-going-to-cook-dinner kind of headache.
But it is Day 2 of the 12 Days of Cookies, so we need to press on.
And onward we will!
Even if we do have some blurry pictures. Grrrr.....

I found these gems at Walmart Wally World while shopping one day.

I didn't even know they existed!!
But apparently, they've been around for years.
I got this great idea to make the peanut butter blossom cookies with them only using a double chocolate cookie for the base instead of the peanut butter.
I wasn't too sure I'd like mint with my peanut butter.
That's like eating peanut butter after you brush your teeth.
No bueno.
Blech.

Believe it or not, I couldn't find a plain ol' chocolate cookie in one of my cookbooks to use, so I did a search and of course, somebody or at least quite a few sombodies, had already done it.
One of those somebodies is Jessica over at How Sweet It Is.
I have a food blogger girl crush on Jessica.
I'm not gonna lie.
She's amazing, she's brilliant and I love, love LOVE with a capital L-O-V-E, her site.
I think I would be completely tongue-tied if I met her in person.
She is a celebrity to me.

So, like I said, apparently these Peppermint Candy Cane Kisses have been around a few years because Jessica made this cookie back in aught 9.
You know, 09, 2009.
Yeah, whatevs.
I've never seen them until this year and I bring them home and my oldest daughter says, "Oh yeah, I bought a bag of these last year to keep a stash in my dorm room - they were so yummy."
Why am I always the last one to know about these things??!!
Not fair.
Guess I need to get out more.

And there's something I have to tell you.
If you are at all familiar with Jessica's blog, you need to click on the post for this cookie recipe and look at her pictures to compare the ones she took years ago to what she does now.
My jaw dropped.
Seriously.
It is just so very awesome to see how very far she's come and the incredible talent she has.
It also lets you know that there's hope for all of us if we're doing food photography.
She is amazing and is extremely gifted.
Ok, I'm done.
I'll stop gushing.

From How Sweet It Is.
Double Chocolate Peppermint Kisses - makes about 4 dozen

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 10 ounce package dark chocolate chips
1 package Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses (don't worry, there will be some extras left for you to nibble on)

Unwrap Kisses and place them in a Ziploc bag to be stored in the freezer overnight before baking the cookies.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a Silpat baking pad.
In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Cream until light and fluffy.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Gradually add flour mixture to mixing bowl.
Beat until just combined.

Mix in dark chocolate chips.

Using a rounded tablespoonful of dough, roll into balls and place about 2-inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes as you remove the Kisses from the freezer.
Place a kiss into the middle of each cookie.

Allow to cookies to cool on baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Can I tell you, well of course I'm going to tell you and I'm going to tell you anyway...
I LOVED these cookies!!
I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Double Chocolate Peppermint Kisses earned 4 rolling pins!
They were so chocolatey delicious, chewy and fudgy and the peppermint kiss was...
OOH LA LA!!!!

It was so very creamy, but yet a tad bit crunchy because of the candy cane bits in it.
It SO completed the cookie!
I'll definitely be making these again.
The 365 family loved them, too because they didn't last very long.
And the reason I put the kisses in the freezer was because they melted really quickly into the cookies and didn't at all resemble the kisses in the peanut butter blossoms.
They flattened.
They were still yummy, but they were flat.
So putting them into the freezer will help them keep their shape, but I'm not guaranteeing it.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Cranberry Ginger Sugar Cookies ~ Day 1 of the 12 Days of Cookies '12

Yes, it's that time of year again.
The holiday season is upon us and people are baking up a storm.
I decided that the 12 Days of Cookies that I started last year would be an annual event because it was so much fun and friends who have liked us on the 365 Facebook page really enjoyed it when we did it in September.
For our first day, I thought the combination of some seasonal flavors might go well in a sugar cookie, so that's how I came up with these.
I combined some fresh cranberries with some crystallized ginger for this little treat.

Adapted from my Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Thirteenth Edition, p. 837; authors, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna; publisher, Doubleday, a division of Bantam Doubleday Publishing Group, Inc., an imprint of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-385-19577-X.

Cranberry Ginger Sugar Cookies - makes about 4 dozen (I halved the recipe in the book)

1 1/2 cups + 6 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, cranberries, and crystallized ginger until thoroughly combined.

Gradually add the flour and mix on lowest speed until just blended.

Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and place half of the dough onto it, shaping it into a log about 2-inches in diameter.
Do the same with the other half of the dough.
I usually have a problem with slice and bake cookies becoming flat on one side, so I stuck each log into a half of a paper towel roll. Joan from Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate shared that little tidbit with me and it worked like a charm! No more flat sided slice and bake cookies for me!! Thanks, Joan!!

Chill for several hours in refrigerator until firm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut into slices about 1/4-inch thick and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Bake for 10 minutes, until firm, but not browned.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Cranberry Ginger Sugar Cookies earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
I thought the cookies were going to be too tart with the cranberries, but the flavor balanced out quite nicely and I like the zing of the ginger in them, too!
The cookies were a tad bit pinkish because of the cut up cranberries which I thought was pretty cool for this time of year.
I'll definitely be making these again.  Sugar cookies are always a great standby, but it's nice (I really hate that word, it just sounds so trite) AWESOME to kick them up a notch and add some zip to them!

The 12 Days of Cookies Party is in FULL SWING on the 365 Days of Baking Facebook page, so be sure to visit us and see all of the absolutely INCREDIBLE cookies people are sharing, And remember to hit that "Like" button if you haven't already!!
I'll also be pinning each of the recipes posted on FB to the 365 Days of Baking Pinterest page, so be sure to follow me!
See you tomorrow for Day 2!!

I give you all BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Happy Thanksgiving

 

I hope you all have had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!! 

We're ending it by watching the Patriots / Jets game and needless to say, because we're Pats' fans, enjoying it immensely!

I'm feeling extremely blessed: all three of our children are home for the long weekend, we're healthy, I'm blessed with a wonderful husband who works very hard for his family and takes wonderful care of us, we have a roof over our heads, and had INCREDIBLE food to eat today (patting myself on the back - haha).
We had a fantastic time Skyping relatives in Rhode Island at a VERY large gathering at my mother-in-law's.  She had 35 people over at her house! That's A LOT of mouths to feed!! That would freak me out if I had all those guests! It would be one heck of a good time, but I think I'd be nervous coordinating everything.
We also Skyped my 93 year old grandmother earlier tonight and that was pretty awesome. We haven't seen her in about 4 years, so the look on her face when she saw us through the computer was pretty darn priceless.

AND I have all of you in my life, too!

What more could a girl ask for?

I am beyond blessed!!!

Just wanted to share with you a little bit of our day.  

I made the turkey (of course), mashed potatoes, stuffing, sauteed spinach, baked applesauce, molasses glazed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls and some sparkling apple cider to drink.

It was pretty delicious and the turkey was wonderfully moist.

Wonderfully moist?

That doesn't sound right.

But it was. just. that.

Wonderfully moist.

We were all just about finished eating, and actually 2 of us were, when the eldest daughter says,...

"Mom, where's the cranberry sauce you made?"

Uh, yeah.

That would be what I forgot to put out.  I knew there was something!

Well, there'll just be more for the sandwiches tomorrow.

Now I'm ready for bed.

I worked my butt off today...in my jammies.  See?

I was so very tired after this whole event that I didn't even make the apple pie I was going to.

I hadn't made it in advance as I had planned and had decided I would make it this morning.

Yeah, right.

Then I decided that I'd make it while the turkey was in the oven, and would bake it while we were eating.

Yeah, right.

Then I decided that I was just too gosh darn exhausted and this would be the Thanksgiving we would all remember as the one without any dessert.

My kids would be scarred for life.

I said to the kids, "if you want the apple pie, you make it" and guess what?

My younger daughter came through and baked her very first pie with a crust and filling from scratch.

I'm a proud mommy.

It was pretty delicious, too.

So, another incredible Thanksgiving ~ great food and wonderful quality time spent with the family.

Life is good great.

I hope your day was just as wonderful.

A HUGE thank you to my oldest for documenting our day!

I give you all BIG baking hus and muffins!!

The Secret Recipe Club - Chai Banana Bread

Duh, duh, da DAH!!!!
Did that sound like trumpets?
It's that special time of the month and that can only mean ONE thing!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!

Yes, boys and girls, today is the reveal for Group C of The Secret Recipe Club!

I love the third Monday of every month because it is the day SRC (Secret Recipe Club) members are able to show off the recipe we picked from the blog we were assigned for the month.

AND we also finally see who was assigned to our blog and what they chose to make.

It is the brainchild of Amanda of Amanda's Cookin' and she based it on the Secret Santa game which will soon be upon us.  April of Angel's Homestead has taken over running the entire group for Amanda and Debbi from Debbie Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie is our Group C leader.  Each of those ladies along with our social media wonderwomen do a lot of work, so please pay them a visit and say hello!

For the month of November, I was given Gloria's blog...

The Ginger Snap Girl

I was familiar with Gloria's blog from visiting a few times, but had never tried any of her recipes.  Like me, she had watched the movie 'Julie and Julia', but had no idea how vast the food blogging world was and that something of the sort even existed!  Crazy, I know.  I feel like I was living under a rock and a whole new door was opened up to me.

Gloria's favorite thing to bake is cookies and the name of her blog comes from her most favorite family recipe, the ginger snap.

Oh, and you need to go visit her blog, especially to see her gorgeous pictures.  There are so very many that are drool worthy and she has had many featured on foodgawker.

I seem to be perplexed about what I'm going to make every month regardless of the blog I'm assigned - everyone just has so many wonderful and seemingly delicious recipes!

And of course, November was no exception.

I had some rotting ripening bananas on my counter and wanted to incorporate those in something from Gloria.

I didn't have any trouble finding some different ideas.  There was her Banana Cake with Nutella Frosting, but I didn't have the required amount of Nutella for the frosting (too much eating it out of the jar with a spoon, I suppose (hee hee)); her *sigh* Non-Dairy Banana Chocolate Ice Cream Pie, but I just wasn't feeling ice creamish; and the Bananas Fosters Fritters which I did put on my to-do list.

However, the recipe that really stood out was the Chai Banana Bread!!!

For some odd reason, and no, I'm not pregnant thank you very much, I have been craving chai tea something awful lately.

Oh, and HoHo's and Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes which I'll never be able to have again, but that's beside the point.  I think just knowing I'll never be able to have another is making me want it all the more.  I KNEW I should have run out to the store and bought a cartful of Twinkies, HoHo's, and the like and sold them on eBay!  I could have made a small fortune and have you checked, people are doing that exact same thing, of course!

I digress...

Oh yeah, chai tea. 

Been wanting it.  A LOT.

So, when I saw Gloria's recipe I knew those bananas had met their match! There is no tea in this recipe, just some of the spices that make up the tea, so please don't get confused.

I did make a couple changes.

I used Greek yogurt instead of the nonfat yogurt and used whole milk instead of lowfat.

I also mixed the dry ingredients together and the wet as Gloria had done instead of what the recipe called for.  Old habits die hard, I suppose and it just felt "wrong" to mix the vanilla in with the batter after the flour had been added.

I also added the spice mixture to the dry ingredients instead of adding it to the batter.

Chai Banana Bread - makes one 9 X 5 loaf
Recipe from Cooking Light.

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup Greek yogurt

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9 X 5-inch loaf pan by spraying it with cooking spray.
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine bananas, yogurt, melted butter eggs, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. 

Mix until just blended.  

Add sugars and mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, mix together the cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and allspice.  

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the mixture to the flour and mix until thoroughly combined.

Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix until just combined.

And yes, you can even spill some on the counter if you want while your pouring it in.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing the bread to cool completely.

For the glaze: in a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar, remaining spice mixture and milk until completely combined. Drizzle over the bread.

After glaze has set, store tightly wrapped in foil and place in a zip top bag with the air removed.
     

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Chai Banana Bread earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.

The flavor was tremendous!

I absolutely loved the aroma in the kitchen from all of the spices as it was baking.

Heavenly.

My son walked by the stove 3 different times and each time asked what smelled so darn good (even though I had previously told him).  He's been sick, so we'll chalk his temporary short term memory loss up to that.

The only thing I was perplexed about was that Gloria's glaze was definitely lighter and whiter than mine, so I was second-guessing myself about the amounts of spices I'd used.  I thought I had used the exact amounts. 

The glaze was ok, but I think I'd prefer the bread without it.

There won't be a problem with any of this bread not being eaten because everyone's been eating it like they haven't been fed for days.  Which of course, isn't the case.
The family loved it.

Thanks Gloria for such a wonderful recipe and I look forward to trying many others!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!