Nutty Pancakes

In January, probably when we were snowed in, I made a Nut and Grain Pancake reminiscent of the delicious ones the folks at IHOP make.  Since then I have made these pancakes no less than six times.  I prefer them to any box pancake I’ve ever had but I’ve also been testing out buttermilk pancakes and I keep coming back to these.  They don’t seem to keep as well in the fridge as your run of the mill buttermilk batter but my kids love them so much that we never have any leftovers.

I have altered them a tad since first making them to include three types of nuts and Canola Oil in lieu of vegetable oil.  I also have designated several two-cup Ziploc containers for storing the different ground up nuts and oatmeal so that these are an even quicker breakfast to throw together for the kids.  Don’t let the list of ingredients deter you, these really do go together quickly and make for a hearty and delicious breakfast. 

Nutty pancakes

ingredients

3/4 cup ground Oatmeal

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 cups fat free buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons ground almonds

2 tablespoons ground pecans

2 tablespoons ground walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat griddle to medium (roughly 350*) and spray with a cooking spray such as Pam or Baker’s Joy.  Spray between each batch of pancakes.
2. Grind outs in food processor thoroughly.
3. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl.
4. With an electric mixer combine buttermilk, oil, vanilla, egg and sugar. Stir in dry ingredients followed by ground nuts.
5. Ladle 1/4 cup batter onto griddle and cook approximately 3 minutes on each side.

Note: You can use any combination of nuts but I wouldn’t add more than 6 tablespoons as it will dry out the batter too much making these pancakes dry and crumbly.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

I never make fresh bread, not that I don’t want to eat fresh bread.  I love the smell of fresh bread and the wonderful taste of fresh bread but I just find it to be very time consuming.  I think the last time I made fresh bread was when I was on a baking kick in 2001.  Yeah, that long ago.  I have made fresh breads and dough, but usually in a bread machine.  Last fall I did attempt pizza dough several times with my Kitchen aid Mixer doing most of the work and that went well so the other day, when I had a free afternoon (OK, not really), I decided to make some fresh Oatmeal bread.

Thing is, I have been on an oatmeal kick here lately, adding it to pancakes and streusel toppings whenever I can.  I have also switched to Nutty Oatmeal bread for sandwiches which I guess is what gave me the idea to make an oatmeal bread.  I don’t know if making it made any difference but I got such fulfillment out of making this bread from scratch.  I even decided to make fresh soup to accompany it.  When the bread came out of the oven my husband was still not home from work so the kids and I, we ate half of an entire loaf waiting for him to get home so we could eat ‘dinner’.  Of course the kids and I didn’t eat much soup.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and followed it with two exceptions.  One, I didn’t have steel oats or rolled oats but only quick cooking Quaker Oats.  Also, I didn’t have active dry yeast, I had rapidrise yeast.  The bread still turned out delicious.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

via allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 4 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water, oats, 1/2 cup honey, butter and salt. Let stand for 1 hour.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour the yeast mixture into the oat mixture. Add 2 cups of flour; mix well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 20 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

The bread wasn’t perhaps the most attractive bread ever made but it definitely was one of the best tasting bread I’ve ever had, definitely worth the trouble.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

I have just been swooning for coconut cookies lately, I can't explain it. For so long I have ignored this wonderful food but no more, now I truly appreciate the taste and texture of this amazing food. I keep trying new recipes, especially cookies, to test this fruit and I've yet to find a cookie or bread that had coconut that I didn't like. This new cookie, found on Epicurious.com, was no exception.

I followed the recipe almost exactly only changing a few things. The main differences were simple changes, how the nuts were prepared, the kind of chocolate used, the baking temperature and the baking time. I brought these cookies to my book group the night I baked them and one of the girls who said she usually doesn't like coconut had two. I count that as success in my book.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups packaged finely shredded unsweetened coconut

12 oz semisweet chips (or chunks to stick with the name)

3/4 cup almonds with skins (I used ground almonds)

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.) Beat together butter and sugars in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until just blended, then beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and mix at low speed until just blended. Stir in oats, coconut, chocolate, and almonds.

3.) Arrange 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough about 3 inches apart on 2 lightly buttered large baking sheets (about 8 cookies per sheet), then gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake 9-11 minutes.

4.) Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Yields approx. 2 dozen

Good For You Banana Oatmeal Cookies

I realize that I have sort of gone off tangent, I mean originally this blog was to be all things cookie but I realized too late and yet all too quickly after undergoing this project that I just like more things than cookies. For example, this week I had gotten it in my head to do all things muffins but then I went and caught a bug someplace and have been like a zombie for half the week. I am on my way to recovering but alas this week is half way over so maybe next week.

But I did manage to make these cookies. I started with a recipe out of the Taste of Home Cookbook and decided to add a few spices and make it a 'good for you' cookie. The result was 4 dozen cookies that adults and kids alike could enjoy without worrying about the waistline. Not too much anyways.

These cookies were definitely more of the cake-like variety than the chewy variety but if you're looking for flavorful and healthy dare I recommend you look no further.

Good For You Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce (I use Mott's unsweetened)

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup eggbeaters (or 2 large eggs)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 mashed bananas (the riper, the better)

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 *F. Grease cookie sheets with Baker's Joy or your choice of cooking spray.

2.) Cream applesauce, butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggbeaters and vanilla. In separate bowl combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Slowly add to creamed mixture. Stir in bananas, oats, chips, and walnuts.

3.) Bake on greased cookie sheets 10 minutes. Remove immediately to wire racks to cool.

Yields 4 dozen cookies approximately.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chip Cookies

I have been perusing cookbook after cookbook here lately looking for ideas and considering new recipes to try out. In addition to salivating over Giant Chocolate Sugar Cookies and Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies I have picked up a few tricks of the baking trade. My idol, Alton Brown, for example recommends that you measure everything out ahead of time and have all of your ingredients ready to go before mixing anything. This technique, Mise en place, is very popular among professional chefs. I decided I would give it a try even though it seems to dirty up a few more dishes and it was a very handy technique. For one, you will not find yourself halfway through making a Black Forest Torte before realizing that you don’t have any Heavy Whipping Cream. And even though set up takes a few minutes more the actual mixing stage goes a lot faster and easier. Having kids up and running around I have found that I can slowly get all my ingredients together and then begin the mixing phase when the kids are immersed in an activity or down for a nap. I don’t see myself proclaiming Mise en place as my religion like Anthony Bourdain does, but I can definitely understand its appeal.

In addition to perusing many books about cooking I have also been checking my pantry for recipes on the backs of such staples as Craisins, chocolate chips and rolled oats. I figure these recipes must have been baked in test kitchens and must be worthy enough if gracing the back labels of such fine products. So Monday after putting all the ingredients in place I whipped up Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies, a recipe taken right off the back of the Ocean Spray Craisin package. Having Oatmeal and craisins in them, I thought they were bound to be a big hit with my tastebuds.

These cookies called for flour, rolled oats, baking soda and salt. I swapped some (1/2 cup) of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour and added a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon. Like I said, I do love cinnamon.
These cookies also called for two large eggs, brown sugar and 2/3 cup butter softened. To soften butter quickly I cut it into tablespoon or smaller slices and set it out for about 10 minutes or so. I am very impatient when ready to get baking.

These cookies call for white chocolate chips. Unfortunately, I have failed all winter to find real chocolate chips in the grocery stores around here. I have found ‘Premier’ white chips by Hersheys and ‘white candy coating’ by Baker’s but a white chip with real cocoa butter in it has failed to reach the shelves of my local grocers. So the cookies I made this past Monday were not in fact White Chocolate cookies but white chip cookies. The difference I fear was far too great.

This cookie was fine. Not bad, moist, slight aroma and taste of cinnamon, but the white chips were just too sweet without any real flavor other than that of straight sugar. These cookies were moist and soft for several days, but they just won't ever make my favorites list as they were. I may try them again if and when I ever finally locate some honest white chocolate chips.

Oatmeal Cranberry Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 6-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries
2/3 cup white chips (should be white chocolate chips)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Round up and measure out all ingredients ahead of time.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are by far my favorite type of cookie. Their flavor is so rich and full and they seem to turn out well almost always so let it be no surprise to find many a cookie containing Oatmeal on this blog. Another nice thing about an oatmeal cookie is that often times you have a simple dough that you can add any number of things to; chocolate chips, raisins, walnuts, coconut, craisins, pecans, white chips (notice I didn't say white chocolate as many grocery stores don't contain white chips that contain any cocoa in them), etc. etc. You can also add any number of spices to an oatmeal cookie. My absolute favorite oatmeal cookie is made all the better by a simple teaspoon or more of Cloves.

But I digress, yesterday I was in the mood for a warm your heart and soul simple oatmeal cookies but I wanted to try something new. I had searched high and low for Hershey's Cinnamon Chips this season to make a crumb cake with and having finally found the chips I set right about to forgetting to make the crumb cake. So here it is, January and I have several (read five) bags of Cinnamon chips on my hands. I decided to try the Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookie recipe right on the back of the bag and boy am I glad I did because not only do I love Oatmeal, I love cinnamon. A lot.

I mean I did buy five bags of the chips. I knew I could find a use for them crumb cake or not.

The only change I made was to swap Craisins for raisins as most of the people in my family can do without shriveled grapes. The dough was a little stiff but pretty easy to work with. The recipe made more than four dozen cookies.
Four dozen cookies yesterday...and only 11 left today. Yes, they were that good, especially right off the cookie sheet while the oatmeal was still very soft.
They didn't even need the traditional slice of bread stored with them to keep them soft, they are as soft today as you could expect from a cookie a day old.
So oatmeal and cinnamon is definitely a do. The craisins didn't add as much as I would have expected but perhaps I could have used more.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips
• 3/4 cup craisins

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter and sugars in a bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and craisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls unto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 9-10 minutes. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Makes approximately four dozen delicious cookies.