Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies/ Delicious Recall #1

I have started a new monthly series.  This series will feature a bloggers recipe that I have saved from 2011 or older.  I think that the best form of flattery to a food blogger is to actually have someone make and enjoy their recipes.  With my core group of followers being food bloggers themselves, most are busy creating their own recipes rather than making other people's recipes. I have fallen into that group as well but have decided this theme is in order.

The recipe may or may not be a blogger that follows my blog, for the choice is strictly based on my pick of things I have seen across the net.

This first recipe is from Bakers Royale , a blog in which I was lurking on way before I even started a blog.  With most of the recipes falling into the cakes or cookies category,  I found myself saving a lot of recipes from Naomi's site.

This particular cookie recipe intrigued me and it did not disappoint.  It is oatey with a subtle flavor of pumpkin and spices.   I took her suggestion and added mini chocolate chips and toffee bits. The batter is a great base that you can customize with add ins according to taste.  With the pumpkin and grains, they are a little bit on the healthier side when it comes to cookies, which is a good thing. Also the texture of the cookies were chewy, which can be attributed to all the oats in the recipe. I would say that they are very close to the same as a chewy granola bar.

This is a great cookie to eat on the run and put in the lunchbox as well.  Very filling and satisfying.  I am glad I kept this one from the past. This recipe makes about 3 1/2-4 dz cookies, depending on the size of your batter scoops.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from  Bakers Royale

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 egg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup quick oats
3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
Add ins: (optional) 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
                                3/4 cup toasted nuts
                                1/2 cup toffee bits

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

Take a small saucepan and place over medium heat.  Whisk as the butter melts and then cooks.  The butter will foam up once melted and then the foam will subside.  Watch for little brown specks to form in the bottom and look for the color change from yellow to golden.  Watch carefully because it can go from brown to burnt quickly.  Once golden, remove from heat and let cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together both kinds of oats and and the flour until all is evenly distributed.  Set aside.

Fill a large mixer bowl with both sugars, egg, pumpkin puree, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Beat for about 30 seconds until smooth.  Then, using a wooden spoon, stir in the brown butter until incorporated and then add the baking soda and mix again.  Fold in the oat/flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Should you opt for the add ins, fold them in at this time.

Using a tablespoon or a melon baller, scoop out batter and place on cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes.  They should have a golden hue when done.  Remove baking sheet and place on rack. Let cookies cool on sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to rack to finish cooling.

Tips and Notes:
1.  These cookies will brown but be a bit glossy when done, which may make you think they are undercooked.  They will set up when they cool.  Browning on the bottom is the true indicator of doneness.
2. If you want the pumpkin flavor to be more prominent, then use no add ins or less flavorful ones like nuts instead of chocolate.
                       **LAST YEAR: Espresso Cream Cake**

Uncorked Blackberry Coolies

I have been reading on the net recently about the discoveries all the old cargo ships that were full of wine that have sunk into the ocean.  Needless to say the corks on the containers are long since gone as with the wine.  However, it does make you wonder just how much wine has been absorbed into our ocean waters.  Yes the ocean is vast, but at the time when all the corks came out of these bottles that area must have been like a wine fest!

Anyhow, my mother recently told me recently about a man from a small town in West Virginia that has gotten quite popular with his frozen lime cheesecakes dipped in chocolate on a stick.  I thought it sounded like a pretty tasty idea.

So, I went about deciding on what flavor I would want to make.  Blackberry came to mind. I had seen a lot of cheesecakes with berries in them.  However, because of the iciness that fruit takes on when frozen, I decided not to use fresh berries.  Then came the thought of blackberry wine, but it still needed something else. Then I added freeze dried fruit powder.

Once the first bite hits your mouth, the cheesecake starts to melt into just a cold creaminess.  It  tastes of blackberry with an undertone of wine and cinnamon.  The rich chocolate on the outside does tie everything together deliciously. I can remember when I first tried blackberry ice cream with chocolate chunks at the ice cream shop-I have been in love with it ever since. Also, I opted for using some granola on top for an added texture. The recipe below is for 12-14 coolies.

Uncorked Blackberry Coolies
by Flourtrader

Ingredients/Cheesecake
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs and 2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp freeze dried blackberry powder
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup blackberry wine
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
24 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbs melted butter

Ingredients/Topping
10 oz semi sweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups granola

Using the melted butter, coat the inside of 14 ramekins ( 3 inch in diameter).  Then line the bottom inside with a round of parchment paper.  Then butter the surface of the parchment paper.  Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Fill a large mixing bowl with the cream cheese, cinnamon, sour cream, sugar and fruit powder.  Then sift in the cornstarch.  At medium speed, beat ingredients until it has a smooth consistency.  Then add one egg and beat until blended.  Continue to add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Then do the same with the egg yolk.  Add the blackberry wine and vanilla extract and mix until evenly distributed.

Pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins, filling to 1/4 inch below beveled edge mark.  Place all ramekins on baking sheet and put sheets in oven.  Let cheesecakes bake for about 10 minutes.  Then reduce heat to 225 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes more or until the center is firm and no longer shiny on top.  Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife along the edge.  Chill uncovered for about 4 hours.  Then freeze overnight.

The next morning, remove the cheesecakes from the freezer.  Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Dip one of ramekins, placing it in hot water, measuring about 1/2 way up the sides of the ramekin.  Then invert onto baking sheet and remove parchment paper.  Insert one wooden stick into the side edge of each cheesecake to a depth of about 1 1/2 inches.  Cover with plastic wrap and place back in freezer.

For topping, pour cream into a small saucepan and put chocolate chips in a separate heat proof bowl.  Place saucepan on top of medium high heat and let come to a boil and then remove pan from heat.  Pour cream over chocolate chips and let sit for about 30 seconds.  Then stir until all the chips are melted and the cream is incorporated.

Set bowl aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.  Pour granola onto a baking sheet and smooth out evenly.  Take the cheesecakes out and dip halfway into the chocolate.  Holding upside down, let the excess drip off.  Then place upside down into granola, moving gently for the granola to adhere.  The coolie should be able to stand upside down in the granola by itself.  Continue with this process until all coolies are standing upside down in the granola.  Then place in freezer for 2 hours for chocolate to freeze and cream cheese to freeze up again. Then they are ready to serve.

Tips and notes:
The parchment paper will give the bottom side of your cheesecake a wavy look due to the dampness, so topside is best for display.
As with any dipping, there will be granola and chocolate left over, the quantities were used for the depth and ease in coating.
Without the fruit powder, your flavor will be subtle unless you opt for a citrus fruit in place of the wine.
Coolies can be placed back on their sides on wax paper after freezing to store.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap.
Removing the cakes from the ramekins may take a few taps on the baking sheet for them to come out.
           LAST YEAR:Lemon White Choc Lattice Cupcakes**

Babbling Brook Inn's Famous Cookies

There are so many wonderful cookie recipes floating around, I sometimes wonder if I will every get to making all the ones I want to try.  Just like a foodie-to many recipes, not enough time.

Anyhow, I made these cookies for donation last week and was not even sure I would post them here.  However, I did receive a call that the recipients raved about them, so it changed my mind.

The best thing about these cookies is that they are have a myriad of textures and flavors.  With ingredients like granola, oats, nuts and chocolate chips, the cookies are quite hearty.  The strange thing about the cookies is that after baking, they are left on the cookie sheet and covered with foil for about 4 minutes before you transfer them to the cooling rack.

Also, the recipe stated it makes about 20 cookies and to mix 6 of the ingredients in a small bowl. 20 cookies are made with an ice cream scoop of dough, but I halved the size and got 7 dozen..you read it right-7 dozen!  So that would mean that scooping as they stated would have made 3 1/2 dozen.  Perhaps they were creating edible frisbees to get only 20 cookies??  Small bowl-not sure how they got over 11 cups of ingredients mixed up in a small bowl either.  Luckily this recipe can easily be halved for a smaller number of cookies.

Babbling Brook Inn's Famous Cookies
adapted from Recipes from American Country Inns & Bed & Breakfasts

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
2 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup of raisins (I omitted)
2 cups orange almond granola (I used vanilla almond)
2 1/2 cups of rolled oats (I used quick cooking)
2 tsp baking powder
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups or 4 sticks of butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In one bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In another bowl, sitr together the first six ingredients.  Set this bowl aside also.

Cream together the butter and two sugars in a large mixing bowl.  Once it is light and fluffy, beat in the vanilla extract, eggs and water until all is smooth and evenly distributed.  Fold in the flour mixture until no dry streaks remain.  Lastly add the mix of the first six ingredients using a wooden spoon or clean hands.

Using a cookie scoop (if you want really large cookies) or a soup spoon, drop mounds of cookie dough onto baking sheet, spacing about  2 1/2 inches apart for large cookies or  1 1/2 inches apart for the smaller ones.  For the cookie scoop size, you should have about 9 cookies per baking sheet and the smaller size, about 11 cookies per sheet.

Place filled baking sheet in oven and bake for 7-8 minutes.  Then open the oven door, turn sheet and bake for an additional 4-5 minutes.  While cookies are baking, take out the foil and tear off a piece big enough to cover the baking sheet.  Remove baking sheet and, using pot holders to protect your hands, place the foil over the sheet of  cookies.  Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, the transfer to a rack with a spatula to finish cooling.

Repeat the forming and baking steps for the rest of the dough.
                          LAST YEAR: S'more Cookie Bars**

Honey Bee Cookies

Today is a non chocolate day.  I have made so many posts that include it, I am ready for a change.

If you work out a lot or have a big task ahead, the amount of protein contained in these cookies are just the right remedy. The batter not only contains honey roasted nuts but also ground honey granola cereal. 

These are a crunchy cookie and the granola does come through in the texture and taste.  Also, it is nice to get a bite of the honey roasted peanuts.  I had to caution my husband not to eat the whole jar, he got into them before I made these.  My husband likes to snack on nuts quite a bit.

The cookie, even though it does not contain chocolate, will satisfy a sweet craving.  My husband liked them and so did his friends at work. Also, this is a great cookie for the kids to snack on  The recipe below makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Honey Bee Cookies
by flourtrader

Ingredients
2/3 cup honey roasted nuts
1 1/4 cup ground honey granola cereal (I used a blender)
1 egg
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Then whisk in the ground granola and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar .  It should take a few minutes for the batter to become light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract and set mixer aside.

Take a wooden spoon and fold in the dry ingredients into the batter in  two increments. Continue to fold so  no dry streaks remain.  Lastly, mix in the honey roasted peanuts until they are distributed evenly.

With a cookie scoop or spoon, drop golf ball sized rounds onto the baking sheet.  Bake 8-10 or until done.  Let cookies cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.