Cinnamon Oatmeal Espresso Cookies

 

In looking through recipes to find something different, something that isn’t a bar cookie as I have made a lot of those recently, I certainly strayed far from my goal. I ended up picking these cookies, with browned butter, oatmeal, cinnamon, espresso, and brown sugar and I don’t think that I could have found a more fall-like cookie. Oh well, that’s really what I like anyway. I did find a recipe better suited to the summer season, but I couldn’t find all of the ingredients (yet).


I likely also chose these cookies as they look a lot like Mother’s Iced Oatmeal Cookies, which are a favorite. They have more flavors of browned butter and espresso and are a bit darker, but they do have a lot of similarities. I happened to have some dark brown sugar on hand, which I did use in these cookies. It made some difference, as the molasses flavor is stronger, but if you only have light brown sugar that would be just fine.

Browning the butter takes a couple of extra minutes, but I have new pans and it is much easier to monitor the butter than my old pans! I made the dough then refrigerated it, closer to 90 minutes, but any time in the refrigerator is what is needed. I also shaped the cookies all at once and refrigerated the dough balls unless they were in the oven baking, as my kitchen is fairly warm. These cookies are so tasty- all the flavors come together but no one flavor is overpowering, which was a concern I had. You taste the espresso, the brown sugar, the oats, and they all come together to make a lovely cookie.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Espresso Cookies
1 cup butter
1 ½ cups packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla 
2 cups flour
1 ¾ cups 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoons espresso powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon reserved brown butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons milk

Brown the butter: cut the butter into  chunks and place in a small saucepan. Heat the butter on low, swirling the pan frequently. Once the butter has melted, continue swirling the pan, until the butter begins to turn amber and smells nutty. It can burn quickly, so make sure you watch carefully. Transfer the browned butter to a large mixer bowl and 1 tablespoon to a separate small bowl (for the icing). Allow the butter to cool for 10 minutes.

Once the butter has cooled, add the brown sugar to the mixer bowl. Mix in medium until the mixture looks like wet sand. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir again on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour oats, baking soda, espresso powder, cinnamon, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring until the dough is cohesive. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 1” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Be careful not to overbake the cookies. Allow the cookie to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Once the cookies are cool, make the icing: in the bowl with the reserved browned butter, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and begin whisking, adding additional milk until the icing is the proper, runny consistency. Brush the icing on the cooled cookies and allow the icing to set for 10 minutes.

Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen

Butter Toffee Cookies

My husband often orders things from nuts.com but I don’t know what he has ordered, so it’s a surprise for me. In the most recent order, there were a couple of varieties of mixed nuts, including some that were coated with butter toffee. I knew right away that they would be great in a recipe. I chose this one, since I liked the flour and oats combination. If you don’t have these specific nuts, you could always use honey roasted peanuts or something similar.

We had also recently visited the Farmer’s Market and picked up some honey. We got two varieties, a mellow variety and then coriander honey. I have used coriander in cooking, but I wasn’t sure what the honey would taste like. My husband said it was noticeable, but it didn’t really taste like coriander since it is from the plant. I didn’t use the coriander honey here, as I didn’t want any potential flavor conflicts.

This makes for a fairly large batch of cookies. With a good quantity of flour and oats, I made about 60 cookies. Because the cookies contain honey, which burns easily, you need to be careful that they aren’t in the oven too long. I tried for 8 minutes, then added one minute at a time. 11 minutes worked for me, and the cookies still looked a little under done when I took them out of the oven. Thankfully they set as they cooled so I think that was the right amount of time. You are left with a soft, every so slightly sticky cookie, with lovely oat and nut flavors.

Butter Toffee Cookies
2-1/4 cups flour
2-1/2 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup  butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup butter toffee mixed nuts
Additional nuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl beat the butter and brown sugar on medium for 3 minutes, until light. Stir in the honey. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture. Fold in the butter toffee nuts.

Using a medium cookie scoop, place 12 rounds on each baking sheet. If desired, top each cookie with a butter toffee nut.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until beginning to brown. The cookies may look undercooked, but they will set as they cool. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Wanna Come With?

Iced Oatmeal Cookie Bars

As someone who bakes a lot, I have a lot of people who think that I only like homemade cookies, and that the ones from the store don’t interest me. That couldn’t be further from the truth! There are some store-bought cookies that are my favorites. I don’t always like it when the cafeteria-type kitchens make cookies; those often leave a lot to be desired.

I can think of a couple of store-bought cookies that I love. Oreos are one, because the crunch of an Oreo is hard to replicate at home. Another favorite of my childhood is the Mother’s Iced Oatmeal cookies. I could eat so many of those! Whenever I see a recipe that replicates those, I try to make it right away.

I have previously made a cookie version of iced oatmeal cookies, but not a bar version. You do want to cut the oats down some, but thankfully I have a small food processor that works for about a cup of ingredients. Otherwise, these bars come together easily and bake quickly. I added the icing after an hour, then went about my day and cut them later. These bars capture the flavors of the iced oatmeal cookies fantastically. I gave some to my friend and she mentioned to me that they are WONDERFUL. I agree completely.

Iced Oatmeal Cookie Bars
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon molasses

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8” square baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt the butter in the microwave and cool for 10 minutes. While the butter is cooling, place the oats in a food processor and pulse until the oats are cut into smaller bits, but not so long that the mixture becomes like flour. In a medium bowl whisk together the processed oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

Place the melted butter in a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix on low for about a minute until the sugar and butter combine. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses, mixing on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture. Mix just until the flour is incorporated- do not over mix. Spread the dough into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until the edges are golden. Allow the bars to cool for at least an hour before topping with the icing.

Make the icing: in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk, and the vanilla. If the glaze is too thick, add additional milk. Drizzle the glaze over the bars, allowing some of the cookie to remain visible. Allow the glaze to set before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Browned Butter Blondie

Gluten Free Almond Flour Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

The next cookie that I made, related to last week’s cashew toffee cookies, was a gluten free cookie. It isn’t quite the same, but I wanted to have something similar to the chocolate chips of the other cookie. When I am making gluten free cookies, I look for recipes that inherently have no flour, something that uses almond paste, almond flour, cocoa powder or similar. The measure-for-measure gluten free flour mixes are fine, but can add an extra flavor that I don’t always want. These use almond flour; perfect.

I do have special measuring cups that I use for gluten free baking, and I use disposable parchment instead of a silicone baking mat, to help lessen the likelihood of cross contamination. It’s not perfect but I try to be careful. At the store these days it isn’t too difficult to find “free from” chocolate chips that have no dairy, gluten, soy, etc. I always try to keep those on hand. I did make these dairy free as well, using vegan butter.

Gluten free baking is different, and you are never going to get dough that is super cohesive. Shaping these you must be careful, as they don’t form into a perfect ball but you can get pretty close. They do spread some, very common with gluten free cookie. I have a spatula ready when they come out of the oven to coax them back into shape if needed. These cookies are a bit fragile, but the chewiness and mix of flavors overcomes that! These are very tasty and perfect for those with particular food avoidance.

Gluten Free Almond Flour Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
½ cup butter (or vegan butter), room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¾ cups almond flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups gluten free rolled oats
1 cup (or more) “free from” dark chocolate chips or chunks

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter/vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir too combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix just until a dough starts to form. With a spatula, fold in the oats and chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the parchment-lined baking sheets. The cookies may spread so only put 8 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. The cookies will be soft but will set somewhat while cooling. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before removing to cool completely.

Recipe from Lemons and Zest

Chocolate Covered Hobnobs

I was at home the other day, and the house is getting more temperate and I wanted to bake. I really wanted to make Hobnobs, but I had made those already for the blog. I figured I could make the cookies and make change and that would be different. I did a little searching and found that many Hobnobs are chocolate covered, so I thought I would try that. It made sense, as I have seen chocolate covered Digestive Biscuits and other similar items.

This is the classic Hobnob cookie/biscuit recipe that I have used many times. They are the easiest thing to make and I think that they taste better than the packaged variety. I’m always nervous when I look at the recipe and they bake for quite some time, but you do use a lower oven temperature and it always works out. In this case I made the cookies and let them cool, then topped with chocolate.

I used a small amount of chocolate, perhaps less then 100 grams, as I don’t really measure when I am melting chocolate. I typically have extra, but that’s ok. You melt the chocolate and spoon it on the backs of the Hobnobs, and then you want that to set before you drizzle on additional chocolate. I put the Hobnobs in the refrigerator to set the base layer of chocolate, and that made the process very efficient. These cookies are great with the chocolate, great in their original form, just great overall!

Chocolate Covered Hobnobs
140 grams butter
140 grams sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon golden syrup
140 grams flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
110 grams rolled oats
100 grams chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the milk and golden syrup and mix again on medium. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture and then the oats. Stir just until the mixture comes together.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the cookies are light brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, place the chocolate and vegetable shortening in a medium bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is smooth. Spoon a small amount of melted chocolate on the backs of the cookies and use a small metal spatula to smooth the chocolate over the back of the cookie. Allow the chocolate layer to cool slightly and then drizzle the remaining chocolate over the chocolate layer of the cookies.

Recipe adapted from The English Kitchen

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Since my cache of cookies that I have baked was dwindling, I wanted to make a couple of things to have in reserve. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to make, but I searched my recipes and figured that I was good with the exception of lemons for lemon zest. We picked up a couple of lemons at the store and headed home, knowing I could make something great!

One recipe that I made called for the zest of three lemons, but I edited that website slightly and used only one lemon. Having lemons on hand, I found this recipe that sounded great and it was also easy to convert this to a dairy free recipe. I try to make dairy-free recipes from time to time, and by substituting vegan butter here this cookie is instantly dairy free. The vegan butter tends to be softer, so I did end up chilling the dough for a short time to firm it up.

The original recipe had you flatten the cookie with a glass dipped in sugar, but I simply rolled the cookie dough in sugar. The cookies are extremely flat, and I don’t really think that you need to flatten the cookies. I did a little, but I don’t think it made much difference. While these cookies are flat, they are super crunchy and oaty. Oats and lemon are such a good combination, and these simple cookies fit the bill.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter or vegan butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Zest from 1 lemon
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
Additional sugar or sanding sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar and mix on medium until light. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the lemon extract and zest. Stir on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Once those ingredients are incorporated, mix in the oats with a spatula.

Shape the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Roll the dough balls in sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake the cookies for about 10-11 minutes, until golden. Some of the edges may be a little loose, but I tidied those up with a small metal spatula. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from Leigh Anne Wilkes

Reese’s Pieces Oat Cookies

Way back in the fall, my husband purchased a large box of Reese’s Pieces candy bars. I like Reese’s Pieces, but there are only so many that I can eat! I contributed a couple of bags to the food we offer students during finals, and that was well received. There were still quite a few left but I knew that I could use them in a recipe.

There are many recipes out there, but I chose this version with oats. I decided that I wanted to make this recipe gluten free, so that required a couple of changes. I omitted the chocolate chips, just for the sake of an easier recipe. The oats I have are gluten free, which only left 1 cup of flour. I used almond flour in its place. I did a fair amount of research, and different sites recommend using partial almond flour to sub for regular flour, perhaps add more leavening, or use less butter.

Since this recipe was fairly similar to another gluten free recipe, I decided I would do a one-to-one swap. It didn’t have that much butter, and the dough also contained peanut butter which has its own stickiness. I thought the dough was perfect; it wasn’t crumbly or too oily. They cookies baked up beautifully and were absolutely fine without additional leavening. These cookies are fantastic with a peanut butter flavor, and if you didn’t know they were gluten free, you’d likely never know!

Reese’s Pieces Oat Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup flour or almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Reese’s Pieces

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla and mix on medium to incorporate. Add the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Turn the mixer on to low, mixing just until the dough is almost cohesive. Add the Reese’s Pieces and mix on low until the dough comes together.

Scoop the dough into 1-1/4” balls onto the prepared baking sheets and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Nourish and Fete

Browned Butter, Cranberry, and Oat Cookies with Cream Cheese Chips

I recently got a large supply of baking chips and a few other ingredients, so I knew it was time to clean out the chips I had and discard anything that was too old. Many chips needed to go, and some others I couldn’t tell what the date was. Why put some abstract code on the chips that you can’t interpret? It is so annoying! In my treasures, I was reminded that I had cream cheese chips, which came out last year. I vowed to use them in a recipe!

The only recipe I could find easily for cream cheese chips is the recipe on the package. I’m sure they are good but not super interesting. I went looking for cookies with white chocolate chips, and then determined if the flavors would pair with cream cheese. I found two recipes, and I started with this one. I suppose cranberries are edging towards the holidays, but we are getting there anyway!

At first, I wasn’t going to brown the butter, but I did. I browned 3/4 of the butter and then melted the remaining cold butter into the browned butter. This caused the mixture to bubble up and spill all over everything, so next time I will just brown all of the butter. Otherwise, these cookies are easy to make. Of course, you could use white chips if that is what’s available. I think the combination of flavors in this cookie is incredible and I got many compliments when I took them to work. Sadly, all of the cookies I left at home are already gone, so I guess I need to make them again!

Browned Butter, Cranberry, and Oat Cookies with Cream Cheese Chips
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 cup oats
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup cream cheese chips
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a small saucepan, cut the butter into pieces and place them in the pan. Heat on medium low, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter melts and begins to brown. Remove the butter from the heat, transfer to a different bowl, and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the cooled butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium to combine. Add the egg and egg yolk and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. When the mixture is almost cohesive, fold in the cream cheese chips and dried cranberries.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow the cookies to cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Serena Bakes

Apple Caramel Oatmeal Cookies

I think there is little more evocative of fall than apples, oats, and caramel. Put them all together in one cookie and I knew it would be fantastic. I will admit that the recipe I have included below is the version of the cookie. The first batch I followed the original recipe more closely, which included caramel bits. I have caramel bits, but they were very old and hard as a rock, even after baking. I also topped the cookies with caramel sauce, which just disappeared into the cookies. Time to try again.

I had all of the ingredients to make a second batch, but this time I left out the caramel bits. I changed the glaze to a powdered sugar icing with some caramel sauce whisked in. Both of those changes helped, and the cookies turned out wonderfully. The original recipe called for diced apples, but I used the diced cinnamon apples from Nuts.com. The apples are dried and perfect for baking. Of course, you can also use diced fresh apples.

These cookies are so good, and the change of the glaze means that they aren’t nearly as sticky as the first batch. The diced cinnamon apples are fantastic, and they melt into the cookie. I would like to find a cake recipe where I can use them again. This is honestly one of the best cookies for fall- the combination of apples and caramel in an oatmeal cookie is perfect.

Apple Caramel Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup Diced cinnamon apples

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons caramel sauce
 
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium until combined. Add the egg and brown sugar and mix on medium to incorporate. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Turn the mixer on low and stir until the flour almost disappears into the dough. Add the oats and diced cinnamon apple and stir to distribute throughout the dough.

Using a medium (1-1/2 tablespoons) cookie scoop to shape the dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand. Refrigerate the dough balls for 10 minutes, to help reduce spreading.

Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, until golden along the edges. The tops of the cookies may look slightly wet but will set as the cookies cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Add the caramel sauce and whisk again. Add additional milk if needed to get the glaze to drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Will Cook for Smiles

Caramel Anzac Slice

ANZAC Day, a day of remembrance for Australian and New Zealanders, is celebrated on April 25. I have made ANZAC biscuits before, but came across this bar cookie version and couldn’t wait to try them. Noting that ANZAC Day isn’t celebrated until April 25, I had to wait to make these cookies. Since the 25th doesn’t fall on a Friday this year, I had to either post them early or late, but I figure I am pretty close. As an uninformed American, I had never heard of ANZAC Day prior to my first trip to the UK, but have learned that the world is full of celebrations.

The original recipe, as it comes from Australia, has some difference. If I see “slice,” I know that it is an Australian bar cookie. I expect the measurements to be by weight rather than volume. Also, this recipe uses desiccated coconut, which is different from the coconut you get in American stores. It is unsweetened and a finer cut, and can often be found in health food stores. You can always put the coconut you have on hand into a food processor to make it a finer cut.

This recipe called for a 20 x 30-centimeter pan, and I do have a 20 x 29-centimeter tart pan that works. Thankfully these bars are fairly thin! The original recipe also had you make your own caramel from sweetened condensed milk, but mine burned so I ended up buying some caramel sauce to use. Perhaps it was more fluid, but it worked. These bars cut easier if they are cold, but that may be because of the sticky caramel sauce. While these are messy, the flavors they contain can’t be beat. The caramel is a good addition to traditional Anzac biscuits, and this bar cookie version can’t be beat.

Caramel Anzac Slice
125 grams butter
120 grams golden syrup
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon boiling water
80 grams oats
150 grams flour
60 grams brown sugar
60 grams desiccated coconut
Caramel sauce

35 grams desiccated coconut
40 grams oats
50 grams brown sugar
30 grams butter, melted

Heat the oven to 320 degrees. Line a 20 x 30-centimeter pan (or something close) with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and golden syrup over low heat. Once the mixture is melted and smooth, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water to dissolve. Stir the baking soda into the melted butter mixture and remove from the heat. In the same saucepan, stir in the oats, flour, brown sugar, and desiccated coconut. Press the mixture into the base of the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Once the bars come out of the oven, spread with an even layer of caramel sauce. In a separate bowl, combine the desiccated coconut, oats, brown sugar, and melted butter. Stir to create a crumb-like mixture. Sprinkle the topping over the caramel, pressing down slightly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly. Allow the bars to come to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours. Once the bars are cold, remove from the pan and cut into squares.

Recipe from The Annoyed Thyroid

Oatmeal Cookies with Goji Berries and Chocolate Chips

We often buy different nuts and dried fruits online, as there are a couple of items that I can’t get at local stores. I like to buy sliced almonds that don’t have skin, which are not available here. Trader Joe’s has a version that works if needed, but I order them online and try to keep stock on hand. Since my husband usually makes those purchases, there are sometimes extra items added to our order.

In our most recent order, one of the impulse items was dried goji berries. They are quite popular right now, and they are similar to raisins or dried cranberries. You could substitute with those items if dried goji berries aren’t available, but they do taste different. I don’t think that the goji berries are as sweet as raisins, but I can certainly see how they are similar to dried cranberries.

I made this cookie, which was originally vegan, although I have a couple of other goji berry recipes that I want to try. I didn’t make these vegan, but a vegan recipe wouldn’t not be difficult to make. I’ve never made a vegan “egg” with flax seeds, but many folks are familiar with doing that. This recipe is quite classic, an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but with added goji berries. I think these have great flavor, but you do taste the chocolate chips more than anything. I think trying these with just goji berries would be outstanding.

Oatmeal Cookies with Goji Berries and Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried goji berries
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar and beat on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Once the dough comes together, stir in the goji berries and chocolate chips with a spatula.

Drop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, forming mounds about 1-1/2” in diameter. Flatten the dough slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until set and lightly browned along the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Vegan Fling

Cinnamon White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

It can be hard to pick the right cookies to make each week, and that is especially true in January. While I don’t really know anyone on a health kick, which seem futile, people aren’t all that interested in lots of sweets. While I plan to make cookies so I can take them to work, once again this week got away from me and I ended up making them later in the week than planned. I do love the days I can work from home, but there are challenges!

There are times when I am happy to take on a more challenging cookie, with multiple steps, but that was not what I was looking for this week. My selection process involved me picking a couple of recipes and making something that needed no extra ingredients. Yes, I could have gone to the store to get a lemon or something, but that wasn’t in the cards.

These cookies are similar to other oatmeal cookies I have made. At some level, how much can you change up cookies? I guess you can a lot as I have been posting on this blog for so long! Cinnamon, oats, and white chocolate seemed like a good combination and it certainly was. They are so buttery and just melt in your mouth. I did like them straight out of the oven, but they are also tasty after they’ve cooled.

Cinnamon White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon flour
12 ounces white chocolate chips

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until fully combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again to combine. Stir in the oatmeal and stir on low to begin to incorporate. Add the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and flour and with the mixer on low, stir to combine. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on a cookie sheet or large plate. Refrigerate the formed cookies for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Place 12 cookies on each baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until lightly brown. They may look slightly wet and under cooked, but they will firm up at they cool. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Great Taste Buds

Mincemeat Oatmeal Thumbprints

Christmas Cookie #3! One of my greatest sadness is that mincemeat isn’t something that is around all the time. I suppose I understand if you don’t like raisins, and don’t want to deal with mincemeat, but otherwise, I don’t really worry a lot about seasonality. Our local British shop does make and sell mince pies all year round, and I usually have some mincemeat in the refrigerator, so I am never at a loss.

This year, my husband purchased a couple of varieties of mincemeat from Marks & Spencer, which thankfully we can get shipped to the States. These thumbprint cookies used the classic mincemeat, but we also have brandy and clementine mincemeat that we will use for other recipes. This didn’t use very much mincemeat, so I have some left over for another purpose. I would like to try making my own mincemeat, but I haven’t had the time to do that yet.

From starting out not being the biggest fan of thumbprint cookies, I have grown to love them. Making an oatmeal cookie into a thumbprint is a great idea, and the oat balances the sweetness of the mincemeat. When you shape the thumbprint, you have to hold on to the dough and reshape it into a circle after making the indentation. That makes a rustic looking cookie, which is fine by me! The oat cookie is crunchy, but the mincemeat maintains its softness, which makes for a wonderful holiday cookie.

Mincemeat Oatmeal Thumbprints
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
About ½ cup mincemeat

In a large mixer bowl, add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium to incorporate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the oat/flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate an hour, or overnight.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 24 pieces, forming a ball about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Flatten the balls slightly and make an indentation in the center of each with your thumb or similar implement. Fill each indentation with about 1 teaspoon of mincemeat.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies start to brown along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from A Pretty Life

Ginger Oatmeal Crisps

As it seems to be the case every summer, the weather in the Seattle area is so strange and unexpected. We have had cool temperatures and rain, which I suppose isn’t that odd for Seattle, but not what we expect in May and June. Then we had a couple of days of 90+ degree temperatures. But then back to cooler weather and hopefully it’s going to settle into a more reasonable pattern of sunny, but not too hot, days.

When it is hot in the house, I can’t bake, and I miss it! Once it cooled down the first thing I wanted to do was bake cookies. I decided to make these oatmeal cookies. The original recipe called for orange zest, which I didn’t have, so I omitted that and followed the advice I found in a blog comment about adding candied ginger. More ginger is always a good thing!

This recipe is slightly different, in that there are more oats and just a small amount of flour. When I had mixed up the ingredients, the dough looked soft, so I decided to refrigerate it for 30 minutes. That helped to firm up the dough, but these cookies do spread while baking. The second tray of cookies I made smaller, but they spread and looked about the same! When they came out of the oven, I used a small metal spatula to separate any cookies that had decided to connect to other cookies. Once cooled, you couldn’t even tell. These end up as a thin, buttery cookie with the perfect touch of ginger.

Ginger Oatmeal Crisps
2 cups old fashioned oats
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger

In a large mixer bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, brown sugar, flour, ginger, and salt. Stir to combine, but don’t be concerned that the mixture is dry and sandy. Add the melted butter and egg and stir to incorporate. Fold in the chopped candied ginger.

Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, allowing extra room between the cookies as they spread while baking.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. The cookies will be golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and gently shape any cookies that have spread too much during baking. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from A Communal Table

Blueberry Oat Cookies

When I bake and I know that I won’t be taking the cookies to work or elsewhere, I try to make a smaller batch. I came across these cookies, and it looked like a half recipe (shown here) would be perfect. I had all of the ingredients, and I was sure that I had some blueberries in the freezer. My husband looked at the recipe and suggested that I try using freeze-dried blueberries, so there was no risk of the fruit going strange or my cookies turning purple. I went to the store and was able to find freeze-dried blueberries, so I wanted to give that a try.

In reading the comments for this recipe, it suggested using the full amount of cinnamon, as the original recipe gave a range. I did use the full amount, and cinnamon is one of the fantastic flavors of these cookies! Normally, in making half a recipe, I would use half an egg, which for me is simply using the egg yolk. If you do use freeze-dried blueberries, I would go ahead and use the entire egg, as the freeze-dried blueberries don’t contain any moisture and the egg can provide that. Of course, you could always use fresh or frozen blueberries, and could get away with just a yolk.

I baked two baking sheets worth of cookies. I noticed that the first batch didn’t flatten or change shape all that much, so the second batch I flattened the cookies slightly and I think they looked better. I liked using the freeze-dried blueberries, as they had great flavor, but I wasn’t worried about the fruit going off. I would not necessarily think of blueberries combined with cinnamon, but the cinnamon makes all the difference in these cookies!

Blueberry Oat Cookies
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups oats
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup freeze-dried blueberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the oats, flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly. I placed about 8 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden and set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for five minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Elaine Gelina, via Taste of Home

Irish Triple Threat Cookies

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and I while I don’t think that it is much of a baking holiday, I still was curious if there were any cookies I could try. I came across a couple of different recipes, which claim to be Irish in a few different ways. Some recipes made cookies that looked like potatoes, others called for Irish Cream or whiskey. I think we have Irish Cream, but I know for certain that we have Irish Whiskey.

I have to say that I am not the most experienced whiskey drinker. When my husband and I traveled to Scotland, the host where we stayed welcomed us with Scottish whisky. It was very strong! I tried to drink it but had better luck with my whisky-infused tea. I had Irish whiskey at home for this recipe, with the same name as an old family name. It’s a blended whiskey and very nice!

This recipe is called a triple Irish cookie. Yes, you have Irish whiskey, and I actually bought Kerrygold butter to make this. At first, I thought that the third Irish ingredient was Irish Cream, but it wasn’t. I guess the third Irish ingredient is oats. I use oats all the time and don’t think of them as particularly Irish, but I suppose they are. These cookies, since they contain whiskey, burn quite readily, so I refrigerated the cookies before baking and that seemed to help. These cookies have a wonderful flavor, the whiskey mellows and pairs perfectly with the oats and Irish butter.

Irish Triple Threat Cookies
6 tablespoons Kerrygold Irish butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
¾ cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup oats

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium to combine. Add the egg and Irish whiskey and stir again to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and stir on low until almost combined. Add the oats and stir with a spatula to combine.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2 inch balls. Place 6 cookies on each baking sheet. Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 15 minutes.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden around the edges. The cookies burn easily, so watch them carefully. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Dessert for Two

Gluten-Free Cowboy Cookies

I feel like I have gotten quite used to baking dairy-free cookies. There are a couple of recipes that I can’t adapt to dairy free, items with toffee or cream cheese, but even those items are easier and easier to find using dairy alternatives. I need more practice with gluten-free recipes, although I feel like I am learning. So far, I have been focusing on the gluten-free recipes that I find, rather than converting recipes. I feel like that is a good start, and the gluten-free flour blend that is available at the store works well.

Cowboy Cookies are one of my favorites, sort of like a chocolate chip cookie but with extra bits added. These have oats, nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips, but you could certainly add crispy rice cereal, other types of chips, dried fruits, etc. Make sure that you don’t add too many mix-ins for the amount of dough you have! The ingredients listed here reflect slightly more add-ins than the original recipe, but not too many. I think the dough would fare even better if it were chilled, so I suggest chilling the dough if you have time.

Although it may seem like this recipe calls for many specialty items, it isn’t too bad. Oats are naturally gluten-free but may be processed in a plant that handles gluten. I have unsweetened coconut, but if you don’t have that you can use regular sweetened coconut. I try to keep dairy-free chocolate chips on hand but if you only need gluten-free, then any type of chip will work. I find that gluten-free cookies tend to be quite thin, and I do wonder if chilling the dough would help. The recipe specified that this would make 24 cookies, but I made about 40. Perhaps larger cookies would spread less? While they are thin, the cookies have great flavor, and it would be interesting to try these with a different combination of mix-ins.

Gluten-Free Cowboy Cookies
½ cup vegan butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cup gluten-free oats
1-1/4 cups gluten-free flour blend
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the melted butter and brown sugar on medium until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, mixing until smooth. Stop the mixer and add the oats, gluten-free flour blend, and coconut. Stir on low for about 30 seconds. Add the pecans and chocolate chips and stir on low until the mixture forms a soft dough.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using a 1-1/4” scoop.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies may seem slightly under baked when removed from the oven but will set as they cool.

Recipe from Fearless Dining

Cherry and Coconut Flapjacks

I’ve made a couple of different flapjack recipes, but they are not at all common in the states. They are simply an oat-based bar, typically made on the stove and then cooked in the oven. Occasionally you find ones that aren’t baked, but I don’t like those as much. There are some differences between the British ingredients that the recipe specifies and what you can get in American shops, but you can substitute as needed. I keep a decent supply of British baking items on hand, which helps tremendously.

Flapjacks are quick and easy. They are naturally gluten free and by using vegan butter they are also dairy free. Thankfully I had just received a shipment of glacé cherries from the UK, but you can find candied cherries in the states. If you don’t have desiccated coconut, which is more finely ground, you can always use the shredded coconut you can find at the store. I suspect their oats, which are “porridge oats” are different than what I used, but they worked!

The biggest challenge for these flapjacks was this statement from the original recipe, “grease a suitable baking tin.” I had no idea what size of pan that means, but looking at the photo I guessed a 7” x 11” pan. Your flapjacks could be made in any pan, I suppose, but the thickness would vary as would the baking time. Mine were nice and golden after 25 minutes, and I scored/partially cut the bars while still warm. I will say that these bars are incredibly sticky, and I had problems getting them out of the pan. Still, if you don’t mind a little stickiness, these are quite tasty!

Cherry and Coconut Flapjacks
150 grams butter or vegan butter
150 grams brown sugar
90 ml golden syrup
300 grams oats
200 grams glace/candied cherries
40 grams desiccated coconut

Heat the oven to 320 degrees. Spray a 7” x 11” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and golden syrup and stir, until the mixture comes together. Add the oats, cherries, and coconut and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Remove from the heat and spread evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the bars are golden. Allow the bars to cool for 10 minutes before scoring into bars. Cool completely and then remove the bars from the pan.

Recipe from What the Redhead Said

Wilderness Place Lodge Cookies

Although it has been a short week, it’s been very busy. All of a sudden, I realized that I needed to bake some cookies this week! I looked through the recipes that I had pinned, and I decided to make these cookies, Wilderness Place Lodge Cookies. They are the “throw in whatever you have in your cupboard” cookies and that is never bad. These are a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and an oatmeal raisin cookie, with chopped pecans and coconut added in for good measure.

The only variation I made to this recipe was that I used maple pecan crumbles rather than chopped walnuts. I don’t care for walnuts, and we buy beautiful pecans from a farm in Georgia. I had about a cup of their maple pecan crumbles, and I figured that adding maple to these cookies would be ok. Of course, that makes them even more of a fall cookie, but that’s ok with me.

Believe it or not, the ingredients that I list here is half of a full batch. I should have known that would still make a lot of cookies, given that half the recipe still has 4-1/2 cups of flour/oats. My recipe still made five dozen cookies, which is a lot to have in your home! These are such tasty cookies, with the flavors of chocolate and maple, plus the crunch of the oats and coconut. These were quick to make (although maybe I would make a quarter recipe) and such a great cookie.

Wilderness Place Lodge Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup raisins
½ cup coconut

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda to the dough and mix on low until the dough starts to come together. Stop the mixer and add the oats, chocolate chips, chopped pecans, raisins, and coconut. Stir until the dough comes together completely. You may need to mix with a spatula at the end, as the dough may be difficult to mix with the mixer.

Drop the dough by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Kim Brittain via All Recipes

Frosted Cranberry Apple Butter Bars

In my local area, some of the farmer’s markets and craft shows have opened, with appropriate safety precautions! This is great since those are great places to look for unusual ingredients, and that’s what makes baking fun. Most markets and shows have a greater online presence, which is great as it allows me to look and see what sort of things I might discover.

I recently picked up some cranberry apple butter at one of the shows. I have used apple butter for a couple of recipes, and I figured that this would be a nice twist for the holidays. Since it was cranberry apple butter, I wanted to find a recipe that also included cranberries, thus this recipe! I halved the recipe and made it in an 8” square pan, which was the only change that I made.

This bar cookie spans both fall and holiday flavors, with cinnamon, apple, and oats, but then that is paired with cranberries. This makes a thin bar, with a thin layer of frosting, but I like that this time of year when there is so much of everything around! The cranberry apple butter gives the frosting a light pink hue, which is nice. The bars have a hearty oat flavor, paired with the tart cranberries and the sweet frosting. Your first thought might be Valentine’s Day because of the pink frosting, but they are great for the holidays.

Frosted Cranberry Apple Butter Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cranberry apple butter
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons cranberry apple butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Cinnamon sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until creamy. Add the vanilla and the cranberry apple butter and mix on medium again to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and oats. Stir in the cranberries with a spatula.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 22-24 minutes, until set. Allow the bars to cool before frosting.

Make the frosting: in a mixer bowl beat the butter until smooth. Add the cranberry apple butter and salt and stir on low to combine. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the heavy cream, and mix on medium-high until light.

Frost the cooled bars and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Recipe from Inside Bru Crew Life