Treat Day Wednesday–Giant Garbage Cookies

Hi there!!!!!

I’m back, for today.  Big news, we are moving.  Nothing drastic really but we’ve decided that we want more outdoor space. So baking and blogging will be sparse for a while.  You know the drill when you are trying to sell a house.  You must live in a home you can’t actually live in.  Good times indeed.

So for some fun, I made these giant garbage cookies.  Meaning they are big cookies with tons of stuff from the pantry thrown in for fun :)  I saw a version on the Pioneer Woman’s show and I liked the concept so I made my own version.  I started with her base and then used what I had.  Her version is awesome too but we are a nut free house, not because we have to be, just because no one but me likes nuts.

Recipe: (inspired by Ree Drummond)

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 2 cups rice krispies
• 1/2 cup m&ms
• 1/2 cup large chocolate chips
• ideas you could throw in: raisins, chopped nuts, dried fruit, different flavoured baking chips (PB, white, caramel, etc), just have fun with it.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cream butter and sugars together.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.
3. Add flour, baking powder, soda and salt until just combined.
4. Add the rest.
5. Using a 1/4 cup ice-cream scoop,  place 1 1/2” apart on a parchment or silpat covered baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12mins or until golden brown. 
7. Let cool and enjoy!

I wasn’t sure about the rice krispies but I really like the extra crunch they give.  I may add them to different drop cookies from now on.

So I hope you enjoy these as much as the girls and I do.

Thanks for looking!

Homemade Roasted Almond Granola

So another thing I’ve noticed that is different in the States than Canada is oatmeal.  I mean it tastes funny, at least to me.  I’ve also noticed that getting good granola is hard to find too.  I love granola but never thought to make it until this week while I was watching The Barefoot Contessa.  Yup, Ina, my guru.  She was doing a brunch show and she made granola.  I thought, well why the hell not.

It’s so easy and so tasty but so not low cal.  I’m going to have to figure out a way to make this less high calorie but for now, I give you roasted almond granola.

Recipe: As adapted by The Barefoot Contessa

• 2 cups dry oats
• 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup roasted almonds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Chop almonds to at least 1/4 almond size.
3. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. 
4. Put on baking sheet and spread out.
5. Bake for 10 minutes until it starts to brown.  Toss and return to oven.
6. Repeat until it’s all toasted brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
8. Store in air tight container.  Should be good for a week or two, depends on how much you eat.

I mixed mine with yogurt and topped with some pomegranate that we bought today at the store.  It was delish.  I may never buy store bought again.

You could add dried fruit, different fruits etc.  Make it your own and enjoy it!

Thanks for looking!

Baked Apples with Blueberry Struesel

I’m trying to make simple, somewhat healthy desserts lately.  I mean I love a good old fashioned fatty, ooey gooey goodness dessert but since we are trying to be better I thought why not change up desserts.

Now apple and blueberry is probably one of my favourite fruit combinations especially when baked.  The apples get sweeter and the berries get tarter and the mixture is divine!  Add a little oatmeal streusel on top takes this dish a little farther!

Recipe:

• 4 apples
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 3 tbsp melted butter

1. Slice the top of the apple and core out the centre.
2. In separate bowl, mix oatmeal, flour, sugar and melted butter.
3. Add blueberries to oatmeal mixture.
4. Scoop mixture into centre of apples
5. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes
6. Serve warm!

These are so delicious and relatively healthy.  If you like your apples a little softer than bake longer.  I like a little crunch to mine.

Thanks for looking!

Oatmeal Raisin Roll-Out Cookies

I have a confession to make, or maybe you already know.

I HATE RAISINS

It’s funny because I’m always taunted by my friends that I hate them but when I asked a few of my Facebook cookie friends I wasn’t alone.  YIPEE!

So why I on earth would I make oatmeal raisin roll-out cookies???? Well a friend asked me if I would make oatmeal raisin cookies for her mother for mother’s day, but decorate them too.  I had to tell her that they don’t exactly do great for cut outs.  Then an idea popped into my head, what about a roll-out version?  My friend Diane from Created by Diane had recently posted her oatmeal roll-outs and I asked her if they would work with raisins and would it be ok if I gave them a whirl.  She said yes, so I gave them that whirl.

There were a few challenges.  I had to touch them, so gross.  Then I had to chop them up, I might have gagged a little bit.  It’s not the smell or the flavour that I’m so against, it’s the texture.  I’m sorry if I gross you all out but it’s kind of like squishing up bugs.  There I said it!  When I was a wee girl, my family and I were at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto and as a treat my parents bought us cotton candy.  I was so excited, I took a big bite and not paying attention bit down on a bumble bee.  One chew, two chew, Spit, Scream, Cry!  So I know of where I speak when I say they have the texture of bugs.

Several years later I still can’t eat them.  And it’s not just raisins, it’s anything dried.  Cranberry, plum etc.  ick!  I did, however, eat them when the girls were really little and learning about food.  Yes, I ate a raisin so my kids wouldn’t get my issues.  I usually bit once and swallowed so fast there was no actual biting into the raisin.  It’s amazing what we do for our kids.  Now that they are older and are determining which foods they like without prejudice from us parents, I no longer have to fake it.  Thank god!

So back to the cookies.  These were a huge hit in the family.  Everyone else is a lover of raisins.  Which is why you’ll have to take their words for it, other than mine.  The cookies smell fabulous and the batter pre-raisin was very tasty but once they went in I had to defer to their reviews.  Abby and Rowan kept asking to have another and Rob told me these were his favourite so far.  So there you go!

The batter once made was sticky, so I put it into the fridge for a couple hours and then rolled them out.  I used a bit more flour on the board to prevent sticking and moved it around after each roll.  On these cookies I only used a scalloped circle cutter, but the ridges stayed after baking, so it’s safe to assume they will take any shape.

My plan is to make up a few with icing and give them to my friend for her mom, better late than never :)

Recipe: as adapted by Created by Diane (really I just added raisins, Diane did all the leg-work!)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups Quaker Oats (if they are larger oats, cut up with knife)
• 1 cup finely chopped raisins

Instructions

1. Beat butter and sugar.
2. Add in the egg and mix thoroughly.
3. Add flour, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and oats to mixture.
4. Mix well and raisins, mix until combined.
5. Chill dough for at least an hour as it’s quite sticky
6. Roll out dough on well floured surface with floured rolling pin.
7. Cut with floured cookie cutter.
8. Bake at 350 degrees.
9. For 7-9 minutes until just golden.
10. Enjoy!

So hopefully my story hasn’t ruined raisins for you because, according to my family, these are awesome!

Thanks again Diane for allowing me to alter your fabulous recipe and thank you all for looking!

Strawberry-Rhubarb-Oatmeal-Bars

Another a-ha moment at the grocery store, I was looking for puff pastry and found rhubarb.  I use to love my grandmother’s strawberry/rhubarb pie and when I looked,  it wasn’t in her recipe box.  So I bought the bag of frozen rhubarb and threw it into the freezer.  Now that I’m back from vacation it’s time to think up new treats.  So I grabbed the bag and stared at it for a while.

Time to hit the pantry for some more inspiration.  I pulled out oats because for some reason it made sense to pair oats with rhubarb.  Then I had bought some beautiful strawberries so they needed to make an appearance as well.  So I thought about a bar type treat and this is what I came up with.

Strawberry-Rhubarb-Oatmeal Bars!

For The Streusel

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For The Cake

• 1 cup rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup strawberries cut in halves
• 1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make streusel by combining all ingredients in a bowl, set aside.
2. In another bowl, mix rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar and 1/4 cup flour.  set aside.
3. Cream butter with icing sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.
4. Combine remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder and salt.
5. In prepared pan, pour batter and level with off-set spatula.
6. Cover with rhubarb and strawberries and then cover all with streusel.
7. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
8. Let cool completely before removing from pan (10”x10”)
9. Slice and enjoy!

This is such a light treat.  Maybe not in calories but meh!  Using the icing sugar instead of granulated in the cake gives the bar a sweeter base and the rhubarb’s tartness balances it all out!  This would be a great finish to a lighter dinner or just paired with a big ol’ mug of tea!  That’s what I did!

So the next time you are in the freezer section looking for puff pastry, grab a bag of frozen rhubarb for an alternative to the standard fruit desserts.

Thanks for looking!