Muesli Cookies

My husband and I were recently visiting a farmstand in a local agricultural area. All I really wanted was some home-grown, fresh off the vine tomatoes. Thankfully they had those, but they also had many other interesting items. We picked up some hazelnut muesli, as I often have granola at breakfast and this would be similar. Well, my husband had other ideas: to use the muesli in a cookie.

That sounded great to me, and he sent a couple of different recipes. I chose this recipe, which gave you options. You could use muesli that you had on hand, or you could add typical muesli ingredients (oats, nuts, dried fruits) separately. I used the pre-made muesli but knew that the cookies would differ a lot based on which ingredients you chose to use.

These came together fast, and using the muesli I had there was less measuring. They don’t change shape much once baked, so some batches I flattened slightly and others I didn’t. They did come out of the oven looking a little plain, but they tasted really good. Not overly sweet, with great flavor from the hazelnut muesli. The only change I would make is that the pre-made muesli didn’t have as much dried fruit, so I would likely add some additional dried cranberries or cherries.

Muesli Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/8 cups muesli

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

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until well combined. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Finally, add the muesli and stir on low to evenly incorporate into the dough.

Shape the dough into 1 tablespoon balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand if desired.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are set and the edges begin to brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Luci's Morsels

Aggression Cookies

I came across these cookies, and I had a good laugh. Aggression cookies? How interesting. With a little research, I discovered that the idea of aggression cookies came from humorist Erma Bombeck, and this and similar recipes have been circulating for quite some time. The idea is that you simply add all the ingredients in a bowl, and then mash them together with your hands, thus getting out all of your aggression. 

This cookie is an oat cookie flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. I have seen variations with added chocolate chips or dried fruit, but the base recipe is the same. I looked through the possible add-ins that I had in my kitchen, and I decided I would use crystallized ginger. Adding raisins or dried fruit can be troubling to some, and chocolate chips didn’t catch my fancy. Oats and ginger are a great combination anyway!

Unlike the advertised recipe, I didn’t use my hands to mix the dough as I made it in my mixer. I did find, however, that as I was shaping the cookies, I needed to knead the dough with my hands to keep it together, so the aggression idea works! These baked up well, spread just a little, which meant I shaped them as they came out of the oven. I baked the batches for slightly different times, and with these cookies it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I loved the ease of these cookies and will have them in mind when I have a particularly bad day.

Aggression Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 cups rolled oats
½ cup diced crystallized ginger

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

Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using a mixer or clean hands, mix/knead the dough until the dough comes together and no loose oats or flour remains.

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly. Allow room between the cookies for the cookies to spread. 

Bake for about 10 minutes, until they are golden along the edges. The cookies will likely be misshapen; place a round cookie cutter around each cookie and swirl the cookie cutter around to shape the cookie. Allow the cookies to set on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes to allow them to set fully.

Recipe from Southern Recipes

Crispy Oatmeal Cookies with Blueberries

I had already been baking, but I wasn’t happy with how the cookies I had made turned out. I knew that I needed to make a different recipe, but I was also fairly short on time. I do have a well-stocked kitchen, but sometimes even that isn’t sufficient. Thankfully, I was able to select this recipe, and while I made a few edits, it worked perfectly.

This cookie originally called for dried cherries. I’m pretty sure that I had those on hand, but I needed a small amount and I came across freeze-dried blueberries first, and used those. Later when I was typing up the recipe, I realized that I should have added nuts to the cookies, but I didn’t see that in the recipe at all. I guess that happens when you are working quickly! 

These cookies are thin and crispy, but not too thin! I think that the maple syrup in the dough helps them remain a little chewy, and the butter helps with the crispness. The blueberries are very small and they don’t add a lot of flavor. You could use whatever dried or freeze-dried fruit that you have on hand. The cinnamon oat flavor and the texture of these cookies is the real winner. I think you could use this as a base for just about anything, and it would turn out wonderfully. 

Crispy Oatmeal Cookies with Blueberries
1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
2 tablespoons cup maple syrup
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/4 cup freeze-dried blueberries

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the oats, sugar, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Stir on low to mix. Add the butter, egg, and vanilla to the oats, and mix on medium until the mixture is well combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until the four almost disappears into the dough. 

Switch to a spatula and fold in the freeze-dried blueberries.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. The cookies may spread so don’t place too many on each baking pan.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies look set and begin to brown along the edges. Allow the cookies to set on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe based on Red Wine Dragons

Fruity Oat Breakfast Cookies

I hope that you are enjoying the new year! I need to get organized and find recipes for all of the different ingredients that I have picked up recently, but I’ll be honest I am not that quick. I did get two kitchen cupboards swapped so I am very happy about that. I will no longer try and get all my baking pans out of a cupboard with a tiny 10” wide door. Now items that I use infrequently are in that awkward cupboard. 

We still have a lot of treats from the holidays around, so I decided to look in a different direction. I have been getting emails from a few baking sites, including Eating Well, for which I used to have a subscription. These are called breakfast cookies and with oats and dried fruit they are less decadent. I did make some changes, so they aren’t as healthy, but still in the right direction.

These called for cashew butter, but I ended up using peanut butter that I already had on hand. My store didn’t have lemons, so I substituted an orange. Instead of ½ cup flour and ½ cup whole wheat flour, I used 1 cup of all-purpose flour. I find dried blueberries to be a little grainy, so I used dried mixed fruit instead. Choose what you like, the recipe is flexible! So, my cookies aren’t quite as healthy as they could be, but they are lovely and not too sweet. They are a good way to start the new year.

Fruity Oat Breakfast Cookies
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup nut butter (cashew, almond, etc.)
1 egg
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla 
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, etc.)
2/3 cup chopped pecans

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

In a large mixer bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter and nut butter and beat on medium until light. Add the egg, orange juice and zest, and vanilla, mixing again on medium to combine. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the oat mixture to the butter/brown sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Folk in the dried fruit and chopped pecans. 

Shape the dough into 1-1/2” mounds on the prepared baking sheets and gently flatten the cookies with the palm of your hand. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets half-way through the cooking time. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Recipe from Eating Well

Cranberry Apple Butter Oat Cookies

I have a list of recipes that I plan to bake before my big holiday baking starts. I have a lot of Halloween candy in the house, but when it came time to bake, I just didn’t feel like chopping up candy for the cookies. Some days I am just tired! Hopefully I will get to those soon, as I certainly don’t need to eat all of that candy. I looked through the recipes that I have saved and came across this oat cookie.

I thought that I had some cranberry apple butter on hand, that my husband and I had recently picked up at a local festival. I did have that and I thought that would add an interesting twist to this recipe. You can use apple butter, but this is apple butter with a little extra flavor. Anything with apple butter is going to be a bit soft and sticky, and that was true for these cookies.

The original recipe said that it would make 3 dozen cookies, and I questioned that since it used 5 cups of flour/oats. I ended up making a little over 4 dozen cookies, and I don’t think that I would have wanted them to be any larger. They are sticky, so flattening them worked best with a slightly damp palm of my hand. They don’t look remarkably different once you bake them, but they are set. I baked mine closer to 13 minutes, and they remained soft. These have a great oat flavor, and I like the subtle addition of cranberry to these cookies.

Cranberry Apple Butter Oat Cookies
2 cups flour
3 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup cranberry apple butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until the mixture looks like damp sand. Add the eggs, cranberry apple butter, and vanilla and mix again on medium until smooth.

With the mixer running on low, add 1/3 of the flour/oat mixture, mixing until nearly combined. Add another 1/3 of the flour/oats and mix, then add the remaining flour/oat mixture and stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be soft.

Scoop the dough into the baking sheet using a 1 tablespoon scoop, making dough balls about 1-1/4” in diameter. Flatten the cookies slightly. 

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies are soft but set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Sweet, Savory & Sassy

Oatmeal Date Smash Cookies

I am a big fan of King Arthur Baking, and have even taken a couple of classes from them at their location in Skagit Valley. They came up with a list of fall bakes and I noted down quite a few of those recipes! One was this oatmeal date cookie, and I hadn’t baked with dates in a while. I wasn’t familiar with “smash” cookies, but you partially bake them and then smash them down with a spatula and then finish baking.

While I didn’t change the ingredients in these cookies, I did change the size of the cookies. The original recipe called for making the cookies 80 grams, and the entire recipe only made 8 cookies. Those would be really huge cookies! I knew I wanted to make more regular sized cookies, so I made the cookies 25 grams, which yielded 28 cookies. 

Changing the size also impacted the baking time, which initially was to bake for 15 minutes, then smash the cookies, then return them to a turned-off oven for 5 minutes. Well that works for 8 cookies, but not in my case. I kept the oven on the entire time, baked for 8-9 minutes, smashed them, then baked for a couple more minutes, which made for lovely golden cookies. The combination of oats and dates is perfect for this time of year, when the weather starts to turn (and all you want to do is stay home and bake).

Oatmeal Date Smash Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dates

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

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the egg and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture and stir until the flour almost disappears. Stir in the dates, making sure the dough comes together.  

Shape the cookies: divide the dough into balls, each weighing about 25 grams. Place on a parchment-lined tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least several hours.

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

Place the chilled dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving room between each cookie. I found that placing 10 cookies on each sheet allowed for plenty of room. 

Bake for 9 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and smash/flatten the cookies with a spatula. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for an additional 2-3 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 King Arthur Baking

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