Jammy Oatmeal Streusel Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup white peach & fresh ginger jam
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

streusel:
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon roasted ginger powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and flour one 12 well muffin tin. Use a fork to mix together the streusel topping in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix together the oatmeal, egg, oil, buttermilk, and sugar. After it is thoroughly mixed, add in the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine. Fill each well in the muffin tin 1/2 of the way. Add a tablespoon of peach jam to the middle of each muffin. Top with remaining batter. Sprinkle with streusel. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, serve.

My thoughts:

The best part about canning is knowing that you will have a the chance to have a taste of summer during the long, cold winter. Let me tell you, a bite of peach was exactly what I needed when I came back from our two week Caribbean foray and was faced with Baltimore winter. These muffins are a bit more tedious to make than most (the streusel) but it is well worth it. The streusel is crisp and crumbly and makes the muffins a lot more festive than they'd be without it. The jam adds a fruity punch but take care to center it in the batter or it will run and possibly scorch or cause the muffin to break in half when you try and eat it.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:
6 oz semisweet chips
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, at room temperature


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Add the pumpkin, vanilla and sugar into a large bowl. Stir together. Add the egg, beat until fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Fold in the chips. Place tablespoon sized blobs of dough on the lined cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12 minutes or until they look "set" and the bottoms are just golden. Carefully pull the cookies-still on the parchment paper- onto a wire rack to cool for five minutes. Remove the cookies from the parchment paper to the wire rack and cool completely.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

My thoughts:

It is that time of year again; when I explore making things with pumpkin without pumpkin pie spice. Long time readers should know the deal, I like pumpkin (and other winter squash) but pumpkin pie is on my do not eat list (along with cantaloupe and ketchup, yuck). So I try to use pumpkin in other ways. These cookies are especially fun because they are both pumpkin-y and really low in fat because I didn't use butter, just pumpkin. The result? A moist, chewy cookie with a great pumpkin flavor.

Red Quinoa Peach Porridge with White Tea Syrup

Ingredients:
2 peaches, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup Tazo White Cucumber tea (white tea with cucumber)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup red quinoa
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats


Directions:
Place the quinoa, peaches and water in a small saucepan. Cook for 30 minutes then add the oatmeal and milk. Cook until the oats are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, bring the sugar and tea to a boil in a very small pan. Boil until it reduces to a syrup (about 30 minutes). Stir the quinoa mixture. Drizzle with syrup.

My thoughts:

Recently I was approached by Tazo to develop some new recipes using their tea. I received a big box of various teas to play around with and once a week for three weeks I will be sent a mystery ingredient to use in the recipe as well. Last week the ingredient was lavender and I made some yummy Oolong Cupcakes with Lavender Frosting. This week the ingredient is red quinoa. Might I admit something? I am not the biggest quinoa fan. I like the texture and the idea of quinoa but I don't love the flavor. Maybe I got burned out on it last year when I was developing recipes for the cookbook but I was a little disappointed that it was the mystery ingredient. But I rallied and decided to pair it with a seasonal ingredient: peaches. Cooked together the quinoa took on a pleasant peachy flavor and the oatmeal made it creamy. When topped with the tasty cucumber white tea syrup, it became a fresh tasting breakfast that had the texture benefits of quinoa but the flavor wasn't overpowering.

Raspberry-Balsamic Crumble

Ingredients:
3 cups raspberries
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

topping:
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Toss the berries with the sugar and vinegar. Pour into a 28 oz baking dish or two 14 oz dishes. In small bowl, use a fork to combine the topping ingredients. When they start to stick together, sprinkle over the berries. Bake for 20 minutes or until the berries bubble and the topping is toasted.

My thoughts:

Not only is making crumble a good excuse to sing the crumble song and to use my super cute berry shaped baking dishes, it is a wonderful way to use up raspberries fairly quickly and effortlessly. Raspberries are so delicate, that any time I have more than a pint or so I panic that I won't be able to eat all of them before they spoil. Muffins are great for this but sometimes a bit of dessert is needed. I timed it so it could bake while we were outside eating dinner, our house heats up fast when the oven is on and while I take advantage of that in the winter, it can be pretty unbearable in the summer.

These raspberries were on the tart side so I mellowed them a bit with sweet-tangy balsamic vinegar. It was a great shortcut to flavor rather than having to mess around with measuring out spices when I had dinner to concentrate on. I hate anything that obscures the flavors of raspberries; their growing season is so short and I don't eat them out of season. When I do have them, I really want taste the berries, which makes this crumble the perfect berry dessert for me.

Banana Cocoa Nib Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups flour
1 cup mashed overripe banana
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature (I used 0%)
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons cocoa nibs
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

optional: one sliced banana

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease, spray with baking spray or line 18 wells in a muffin tin. In a large bowl, whisk together the spices, baking powder, cocoa nibs, baking soda, flour and oatmeal. Set aside. In another large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the yogurt then add the dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Fold in the mashed banana. Divide evenly into wells. Top each with a slice of banana, if desired. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the center muffin (but not through a banana slice, go in through an angle) comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

My thoughts:

I am not much for banana flavored things (or overripe bananas for that matter) but my husband likes them so every once in a while I whip up a batch of something banana-y for him (and for which I hope I get some major good wife points because the smell of overripe bananas makes me kind of queasy) to take for breakfasts. Matt said they were the best banana muffins he's ever had! These muffins ended up being little bit "lighter" than most banana muffins, only 4 tablespoons of butter is divided among 18 muffins! Mashed banana and Greek yogurt add a lot of flavor and moisture and the butter just isn't missed at all. Matt said using the cocoa nibs was genius, it added chocolate flavor without resorting to chocolate chips so the muffins didn't taste like dessert.


Note: If you are planning to freeze the muffins, omit the banana slice topping, it can get gummy during the defrosting.

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Bean Hazelnut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
6 oz semisweet chips
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Split the vanilla bean in two down the seam. Scrape the seeds into a large bowl, then add the butter, vanilla and sugar. Cream together. Add the egg, beat until fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Fold in the nuts and chips. Place tablespoon sized blobs of dough on the lined cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12-14 minutes or until they look "set" and the bottoms are just golden. Carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

My thoughts:

The name is a bit of a mouthful but these are great cookies. Chewy, crunchy, chocolate-y. Not the most showy of cookies but I've never seen anyone turn one down. I love them because they are a bit of a change from a simple chocolate chip oatmeal cookie but are still quick to make with ingredients I have on hand. Homey, delicious and comforting. The best kind of cookie.

Triple Ginger Cranberry Sauce Bread

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 oz finely diced candied ginger
1 egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour or spray (with baking spray with flour) 1 loaf pan. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sour cream, egg, oil, brown sugar and cranberry sauce until thoroughly incorporated. Add flour, baking powder, and spices. Mix thoroughly. Fold in the chopped candied ginger. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan about 5 minutes then invert to a wire rack.

My thoughts:

We are cranberry sauce lovers. I am not a jam or jelly person but I've made a wee bit of cranberry sauce expressly for a single chicken sandwich before and I am not afraid to admit it. Even so, there is a time when we have an excess of leftover cranberry sauce that needs to be taken care of. I've made a truly divine cranberry ribbon cake and a lovely cranberry sauce-oatmeal muffins but I wanted something new. So I made this loaf of bread, which admittedly has slight purplish hue, that has the cranberry sauce mixed directly into the batter. I used the pomegranate version of cranberry sauce (which my husband adored) and it was delicious, although I think any cranberry sauce would work. The flavor of the cranberry sauce is evenly distributed and punctuated by the the ginger. the result: a moist, flavorful bread perfect for breakfast (with a smear of cream cheese) or a snack.

Pumpkin & Cinnamon Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, divided use
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
4 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cinnamon

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, milk and cream until the sugar dissolves and the mixture almost boils, about 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, salt and the egg yolks until it forms a ribbon and is yellow and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add about a 1/2 cup of the cream mixture into the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour the egg/cream mixture into the cream mixture on the stove. Add the cinnamon sticks and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.



Allow to cool on the counter then cover and place in the refrigerator to cool completely or overnight. Then remove the cinnamon sticks, stir in the pumpkin. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into an ice cream maker (I use this one) and churn until cold and set. Place in a freezer-safe container and freeze until solid.

My thoughts:

I love making ice cream because I can make it exactly as I'd like it. Not too sweet and unless it is chocolate, more subtle tasting than most commercial ice creams. This ice cream fits the bill perfectly. While the ice cream itself is rich and custard-y, the pumpkin flavor is light and fruity. Using cinnamon sticks infuses the ice cream with just the right amount of spice and none of the gritty texture ground spices can give ice cream. I loved it. A great alternative to serving vanilla ice cream with pie or making pumpkin pie.

It is worth it take a second to whisk it through a sieve before adding it to the ice cream maker just in case any bits of the cinnamon stick or chunks of pumpkin are present.

Fruit & Nut Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup mixed dried fruit
1/3 cup quartered, skin-on almonds
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and flour one 12 well muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together the spices, flour, baking soda, sugar, baking powder and oats. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, oil and buttermilk. After it is thoroughly mixed, pour in the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Fold in the fruit and nuts. Divide evenly among 12 muffin wells. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, serve.

My thoughts:

This morning felt nearly fall-like so I was inspired to make these appropriately autumnal muffins. You can use any dried fruit you'd enjoy but I used an "antioxidant blend" that included blueberries, tart cherries, cranberries and plums. I like that blend a lot because it isn't overly sweet and cheaper than buying all of those fruits individually and mixing them myself. Anyway, the mixture of fruits added a lot of flavor to these hearty muffins and the almonds added a bit of crunch. As an added bonus, they were super quick to make, from raw ingredients to fully cooked muffin took only 30 minutes. You can't beat that for a homemade breakfast!

Almond Cherry Coconut Granola

Ingredients:
5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raw, whole almonds
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup pepitas (unsalted hulled pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Slow cooker instructions:
Place the oats, honey, oil, vanilla, almonds and vanilla in a 4 quart slow cooker. Stir. Leave uncovered and turn on high. Cook for 1 hour, stirring every 20 to 30minutes. Reduce to low and add the coconut, pepitas and cherries. Continued to cook on low uncovered for about 4 hours, stirring every 20 or so minutes. The granola is done when it looks completely dry. Cool on baking sheets then store in an air tight container.

Oven instructions:
Preheat oven to 250. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients but the dried cherries. Divide among 3 baking sheets and spread to a thin layer. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Pour it back into the bowl, and stir in the cherries. Allow to cool on baking sheets then store in an air tight container.

My thoughts:

I hadn't made granola before and frankly wasn't too sure I liked it but I thought I'd give it a shot. While the slow cooker method is longer, I liked it much better than baking the granola. It cooked really evenly without over browning or burning. In the oven granola has a tendency to brown unevenly and if you have an oven like mine, you really can't bake more than one tray at a time which takes it into the slow cooker time range anyway. What I did was start the granola going in the slow cooker, set my time to 20 minutes and only came back in the kitchen to stir.

As for the granola itself? It was the best I've ever had and my husband agrees. It isn't the super clumpy type of granola (to make that you'd love to more than double the amount of honey and oil I used) but it is perfect to top yogurt, eat as cereal or have on its own. It is lightly sweetened and the coconut and cherries add lots of flavor.

Rhubarb Gelatin

Ingredients:
1/2 lb rhubarb, diced
1 1/3 cup water
1 cup very cold water
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unflavored (powdered) gelatin

Directions:
In a saucepan, boil the rhubarb in 1 1/3 cup water until soft. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin into the cold water. Stir in the sugar. Continue stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Strain through a sieve* into a heat safe measuring cup and discard the solids. Make sure the boiling water equals 1 cup. If not, add water to equal one cup and reboil. Quickly add the boiling water and stir. Pour into heat safe molds and refrigerate until solid.


Yield: about 3 cups

*Quick tip: It sounds odd but whisking the the cooked rhubarb with a wire whisk while it is in the mesh strainer is a super quick and thorough way to get all of the liquid out of the rhubarb.

My thoughts:

Oh, I love rhubarb. I never ate it growing up but once I tried it, I couldn't get enough. As soon as I see it, I stock up and freeze any leftovers so I can have it at will. I particularly like using in some what unconventional forms so when I had an idea for homemade rhubarb-flavored Jell-O (a flavor I am sure I will not encounter on the grocery shelf any time soon) it seemed perfect. I had learned from earlier experiments that boiling rhubarb is a great way to get all of the flavor without having to use the actual stalk. All I had to do was figure out the sugar and I was good to go. I really liked how it turned out: light, sweet-tart and refreshing.

Check out my other rhubarb recipes:
Rhubarb-Orange Pancakes
Baby Loves Rhubarb Cupcakes
Rhubarb Soda
Rhubarb Granita
Rhubarb Oatmeal Bread\
Raspberry-Rhubarb Tart
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumb Cake

Nutella Cheesecake Squares

Ingredients:
crust:
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt

filling:
16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 large eggs,at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease or spray with baking spray an 8x8 inch pan. In a small bowl, add the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa, oats and salt, mix thoroughly with a fork. Press into bottom of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten and press firmly. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the egg and flour, beat until smooth. Pour about 2/3 of the batter into the 8x8 inch pan. Add the Nutella into the remaining batter and mix throughly. Spread on top of the first cheesecake layer. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.

My thoughts:

I don't tend to join in on most of the group food blogging events that seem so popular right now but I love Nutella and just couldn't resist. While the American version of Nutella is widely available, I like to go to our local Italian market and pick up a jar of imported Italian Nutella. The two are fairly similar in flavor but the Italian version doesn't have hydrogenated oil and (perhaps because of this) is a little thicker. It also seems to be a bit more chocolate-y. Anyway, I am sure whatever local version of Nutella you have available would work fine in this recipe.

I had originally came up with the recipe a couple of months ago only to find that I was totally out of Nutella and that I hadn't yet replaced the 8x8 inch pan I had dropped. The horror! Then I got distracted by other cooking and a never ending cold and forgot all about it until I saw someone mention WND on twitter. So I dragged out the recipe and made it this weekend. It was as tasty as I had hoped. The cheesecake is rich and creamy and has a great chocolate-hazelnut flavor. The bottom crust is very chocolate-y and the oats add body and crunch. The crust is also a great alternative to the more traditional graham cracker or shortbread crust which can be kind of bland or boring. In this case, the crust brings out the flavor of the bars without overpowering it.

Spiced Cranberry (Overnight) Oatmeal

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups water
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups (fresh) cranberries
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
sprinkle salt

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on low overnight (6-8 hours). Stir and serve.

Yield: about 6 servings

My thoughts:

Is there anything easier to make for breakfast than overnight oatmeal? It is super creamy and requires no effort in the morning-perfect for workday mornings, holidays, brunch etc. I added more sugar than I normally would to oatmeal because cranberries are quite tart but the cereal wasn't sugary, just pleasantly spicy and cranberry filled.

Cranberry Ginger Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup cranberries
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup chopped uncrystallized candied ginger
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and flour one 12 well muffin tin. In a large bowl, mix together the oatmeal, egg, oil, milk, and sugar. After it is thoroughly mixed, add in the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine. Fold in the cranberries and ginger chunks. Divide evenly amount 12 muffin wells.



Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center muffin comes out clean.



Cool on a wire rack, serve.

My thoughts:

My husband really enjoys having muffins on hand to take to work for breakfast (his workday starts at 7 AM) so I am constantly trying to think of new muffin variations to make. I had about a cup of cranberries in the fridge and some uncrystallized candied ginger leftover from an earlier baking gig and wanted to make something that used both of them up. Matt requested a muffin with oatmeal so I combined the three and this is what I came up with. They are on the tart and spicy side-no confusion over muffin vs. cupcake here-but not so tart or spicy they are unpleasant and are full of interesting chunky bits. I think they are suitably festive enough to serve at some sort of holiday brunch or even to give as a gift-it is that time of the year-but they also freeze well for everyday eating. My husband like to freeze some of the batch and then take them frozen to work and microwave them to fully defrost. The oats really make the difference, they are very satisfying to eat, one really fills you up for breakfast.

Homemade Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup rolled old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 eggs PLUS 1 egg, beaten



Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except for the beaten egg. The dough should easily form a ball and be rather firm. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes. Re-roll scraps (just once, any more and the biscuits will be tough) and cut out the remaining biscuits. Brush the tops of each biscuit with the beaten egg. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in airtight container.


Yield: about 3 dozen biscuits

My thoughts:

I have thought about making dog treats many times over the years but never actually took the the time to make them. I finally thought the time was right this year (think: cheap present!) and whipped up a batch for our three dogs Elvis (pug), Violet (whippet) and Pippi (dachshund), the neighbor's dog Rocky and my mom's two mixes Caramel and Star (who was my Grandpop's dog-he got her as a puppy when he was 81-13 years ago!) all of whom I thought would appreciate a treat. I don't know why I waited so long, they were super quick to make and I made them using ingredients I always have on hand so I didn't have to buy anything special. These particular biscuits are chicken flavored and full of whole grains. The dogs just gobbled them up!

Cranberry Sauce Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce*
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon zest of a lemon, lime, orange or tangerine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease and flour one 12 well muffin tin. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, oil, buttermilk, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oatmeal, salt, ginger, zest, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir into the wet ingredients. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter in 12 muffin wells. Top with 1 teaspoon cranberry sauce. Evenly divide the remaining batter among the wells, making sure the cranberry sauce is fully covered. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the center muffin comes out clean or with just a hint of cranberry sauce. Cool on a wire rack, serve.


*Use your own favorite or make one of my versions: apple cider cranberry sauce, classic cranberry sauce, cranberry-tangerine sauce or ginger lime spiked cranberry sauce.

My thoughts:

After Thanksgiving the majority of searches that bring people to Coconut & Lime are "what to do with leftovers" related. While cranberry sauce is fine on a leftover turkey sandwich, some times there is just too much leftover. Two years ago I made a delicious cranberry ribbon cake with leftover sauce that remains to this day to be pretty much my favorite of all the cake recipes I've created. This year I thought I might be a little desserted out after Thanksgiving so I went a different way: breakfast. These muffins are super quick to make and very satisfying. As an added bonus? They freeze well.

Cranberry Cheesecake Squares

Ingredients:
crust:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt

filling:
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 large eggs
juice of one tangerine
zest of one tangerine


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease or spray with baking spray an 8x8 inch pan. In a small bowl, add the butter, sugar, flour, oats and salt, mix thoroughly with a fork. Press into bottom of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten and press firmly.


Bake 15 minutes or until just golden. Meanwhile, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the egg, zest, juice and flour, beat until smooth. Pour over the crust. Dot with cranberry sauce and swirl with the tip of a knife. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.

My thoughts:

My husband loves cranberry sauce. Once cranberries make their appearance in the grocery store I start making cranberry sauce with any meal where it seems appropriate. I think I've made a different cranberry sauce just about every week since late October. This leaves me with a fair amount of leftover cranberry sauce to play with. I've made yummy muffins with cranberry sauce already this year but I wanted to make a dessert with cranberry sauce that would be holiday-worthy. These are a snap to put together and can be made ahead. Prebaking the crust is a bit of a time killer but you can make the filling while it bakes and it ensures a perfect, crisp crust. I also liked using oatmeal in the crust, it is a little nontraditional but it really adds some body to the crust and actually makes the bars a little easier to slice and lift out of the pan. The tangerine flavor is present but not too strong, it just adds a citrus note to the cheesecake. I really can't say enough about this bars, they are just really good, my whole family raved over them and my mother deemed them "swoon-worthy".



Note: any whole berry (i.e. not jellied) cranberry sauce would work, even store bought (!) but I think using this cranberry-tangerine sauce would be the best.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chunky or "extra chunky" peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
6 oz semisweet chips
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, at room temperature


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar. Add the egg, beat until fluffy. Stir in peanut butter. Add the flour, baking powder, and oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Fold in chips. Place tablespoon-sized scoops of dough on the lined cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12 minutes and the bottoms are just golden. They might look slightly soft in the center but that is okay, they will firm up a bit while they cool. Allow to cool in the pan for a minute or two then carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

My thoughts:

We had some chunky peanut butter (normally we are "creamy" people) that was taking forever to finish so I decided to turn it into something tastier than it is on its own: cookies! Chocolate and peanut butter are a classic combination (or at least it has become one thanks to the advent of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups)and these cookies are sure to become a favorite. They are full of peanut flavor thanks to the bits of peanuts in the peanut butter but not oppressively so; you can still taste the distinctive flavors of the chocolate and the oats. The oats give the cookie some texture interest and add a bit of chewiness that I enjoy. Using dark chocolate chips keeps the whole thing from becoming cloyingly sweet tasting.

Update: I dropped most of these off at my Mom's house yesterday on the way to Blogher DC (you can read notes on the panel I was one here) and she gave them a rave review. She thinks they are her favorites of all the cookies I've made and that's really saying something!

Spiced Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
6 oz semisweet chips
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, at room temperature*


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, beat until fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, the spices and oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Fold in chips. Place tablespoon sized blobs of dough on the lined cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12-14 minutes or until they look "set" and the bottoms are just golden. Carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely.



Yield: about 2 dozen cookies



*This was my first time baking with Eggland's Best eggs which have less cholesterol, more omega 3s and vitamin E (among other health benefits). I was pleased with how they turned out, they tasted and acted the same as my usual eggs so why not add a little extra nutrition?

My thoughts:

I woke up to a cool and dreary day today so it seemed like a perfect excuse to whip up a batch of cookies. These are chewy, spice-kissed and full of chocolate.Make them today!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
2 oz semisweet chips
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup cocoa
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, at room temperature


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar. Add the egg, beat until fluffy. Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Fold in chips. Place heaping tablespoons of dough on the lined cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart and bake for 12-14 minutes or until they look "set". Carefully remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: roughly 2 dozen cookies

My thoughts:

I had a guest in the kitchen this morning and had a lot of fun talking about what I was making and how I come up with recipes while I was actually doing it. Cooking is such an automatic process that it was great to slow down and think about exactly what I was doing. To think about how I replaced 1/4 cup of what would normally be flour with cocoa to make chocolate cookies, that 2 oz of chips was just enough to add some extra chocolate and texture interest without being too much and the importance of using a room temperature egg (so it doesn't harden the butter into chunks when you mix it in). I was a little nervous about baking and talking at the same time, but I remembered to take the cookies out of the oven on time and my guest said that the texture of the cookies was "perfect". What more could you want? Of course they are also very chocolate-y, a little chewy and since oats are cholesterol-lowering and all that, practically a health food. Okay, so maybe it isn't health food, but is tasty!