Oatmeal Creme Pies for My Love

.  Cheesy post alert.

Okay, just kidding.

But you must know that Valentine's Day is this Friday!  Can you ba-lieve it?  And if you didn't know, you're welcome for reminding you.  At least you still have a couple of more days to get a present for that special someone...

But read this post first.

Unfortunately, my future hubby and I won't be together for Valentine's Day because as of this last Sunday, he will be in Omaha for the rest of the month for work.  Stupid busy season 😑

But before he was off to the Nebraskan 'Good Life', I had to make something to hold him over for the month.  Which means...a lot of something.  Portable.

So cookie sandwiches it was!

Robbie loves anything and everything vanilla or cream.  Or both!  And he can vouch, I did good on this one.  Or rather Bake or Break [BoB] did.

These Oatmeal Creme Pies are meant to resemble the cookie sandwiches from back in the day.  But I'll be quite honest, I'm not sure I'm old enough to remember these?  Or my parents were just plain cruel and hid them from me.  You decide.

Regardless, we hit the jackpot with this recipe.  But I am not one bit surprised since the recipe is from BoB, one of my all time favorite blogs.  Think Hummingbird Cupcakes, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake, or Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  Each one a guaranteed pleaser.  Cross my fingers.

And this treat followed suit.  All the way from the chewy, chewy, cinnamon-ey oatmeal cookies to the über sweet creamy vanilla filling.  You just can't. go. wrong.

And I'm extremely proud to say that the container filled with these wondrous creme pies made it safely across the Midwest to the Hilton where Robbie will spend the next few weeks.  He better think of me every time he dips his paws in that container...

So although these cookies aren't sprinkled with pink confetti or packed with red filling, I made this treat with my [forever] Valentine in mind.  So I hope he's happy with my V-day contribution 💘

I wish everyone a lovey-dovey Valentine's Day, and hoping you spend it with the ones who mean most to you.  Plus it's on a Friday, so you have no excuse to not make some plans!

Love you all!  .

My Notes:

• The original recipe only yielded 18 cookie sandwiches, but I managed to squeeze out two dozen.  The serving size will depend on generous you are with your scooping!
• I honestly didn't think half of my cookie sandwiches would receive frosting but that stuff went a long way!  You don't need much in each sandwich because it's definitely sweet.

From Bake or Break

Ingredients:

Oatmeal Cookies:

1-1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 c. quick-cooking oats

Vanilla Cream Filling:

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

2 c. powdered sugar

2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375ºF.  Grease baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
2. For the cookies, cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy [about 3 minutes].  Add egg and vanilla extract and mix well.  
3. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and oats.  Gradually pour in flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
4. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets [about 2-inches apart].  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned and centers are basically set.  Cool on pan for a couple of minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with remaining dough.
5. While cookies are cooling, for filling, combine butter, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and beat together until smooth.  Spread about 1 tablespoon of filling on half of cookies and top with remaining half of cookies to create sandwiches.

Yield: 2 dozen cookie sandwiches

{No Bake} Nutella Cookies

.  And it's the beginning of the week once again.  But did everyone have a good weekend?!

Over in our neck of the woods, the weekend absolutely flew by because on Friday night, Robbie and I headed down to Kansas City for his sister's baby shower weekend.  We went down a bit early to see their brand new house, do a little shoppin', and of course hang out with the fam.  It's pretty rare for the entire family to get together due to distance, so we gotta take advantage when we can!

The weekend ended with the baby shower on Sunday afternoon and fortunately most of the immediate family were all able to attend, many of them making 5+ hour drives in order to celebrate the special occassion.  This will be the first grandchild in Robbie's family so you can imagine the buzz and excitement!  It was also really great to see all of Robbie's relatives again since I hadn't personally seen them since Kelli and Brett's wedding [Robbie's sister and brother-in-law] a few years back.  The shower was held at the soon-to-be-parents house and was filled with loads of gifts, summertime foods, and endless chatter.  So all in all, a perfectly lovely afternoon!

But you're probably thinking these [No Bake] Nutella Cookies debuted at the baby shower, huh?  Well, unfortunately they didn't quite make it that far into the weekend.  Well, the majority of them didn't.  But no worries, that wasn't the plan anyway.  And there were plenty of lovely desserts at the shower, Kelli's girlfriends had it all covered!

I actually made these [deeeeeeeeelicious] little chocolate nuggets as a weekend treat for everyone.  Kelli and Brett graciously hosted Robbie and I, his family, and his mom's sister, for the weekend so I figured a little snack was the least I could offer.  And luckily...these were a hit.

Do any of you remember the regular no bake cookies from your childhood?  Because I most definitely do.  And if you never had these, your parents deprived you of something fabulous.  And I'm only slightly joking...

These little mounds of chocolatey yumminess are downright addicting.  A couple bites of one just isn't enough, you'll find yourself going back for a second.  And third...  Trust me.  But what makes them so dang good?  Well...the chewy oatmeal, the richness of the Nutella flavor, and the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate concoction binding this simple recipe into a classic cookie you'll make for the kiddos [and yourself] over and over!  So despite your busy schedule, I know you'll have a hot moment to whip up these chocolate bombs [thank you, Jamie!].  Stove on...stir...and cookies!

P.S. I haven't mentioned the gender of the baby because Kelli and Brett have decided to wait to find out.  So we'll find out what 'Baby L' ['L' for Lauritsen, their last name] really is around July 19, when the little bundle is due!  So be on the look out for a baby post right around that time  .

My Notes:

• I doubled the ingredients from the original recipe and the cookies turned out perfectly.  So if you're serving a big crowd [or people who can crush cookies], double away! 

Adapted from Six Sister's Stuff

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. milk

1-3/4 c. sugar

4 tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. Nutella

3 c. quick cooking oats

Directions:

1. Line baking sheets with wax paper, aluminum foil, or parchment paper; set aside.  In a large saucepan, whisk together butter, milk, sugar, and cocoa powder, over medium heat.  Bring to a rolling boil and then boil for 1 minute.  Remove bowl from heat.  
2. Add vanilla extract and Nutella and whisk until combined.  Add oats and stir until completely incorporated.  
3. Drop batter by scant tablespoonfuls on prepared baking sheets.  Let cool until set.

Yield: 30 cookies

A Birthday and Chocolate Chip Scotchies

.  So I kind of held out on you guys.

No, nothing really worthwhile like a groundbreaking, decadent recipe.  I wouldn't do that to you.

Nope.  But it was my birthday yesterday.  Ya, ya, happy birthday, woopdy doo.

Just kidding guys, I'm not that much of a grinch.  But not gonna lie, this birthday 1) crept up on me and 2) I wasn't all too excited for it.  Why, you may ask?  Well...26 isn't much to get excited about, you know?  Last year I was surprised for my quarter-of-a-century birthday by my irreplaceable family and friends here in Omaha so I guess number 26 had a lot to live up to.  And being a 'Monday' birthday wasn't something to get revved up for either.

But you know what?

I had one of the most memorable birthdays I can recall.  No, seriously.  I really did.

The day started out rather ordinary, nothing too crazy at work but the usual busy-ness as of late.  But after lunch, the front desk called me down where I found a lovely box of a dozen cupcakes from Bliss Bakery, a local spot in downtown Omaha that holds a special place in my heart because it was started by two sisters.  Gotta give some respect to the entrepreneurs of this world, right?!

Anywho, it was my lovely parents who had the special treats sent to my work.  My mom's reasoning is that since she couldn't be there in person to bake me a cake [as you may know, my parents live in MN], then the cupcakes were going to have to be the next best thing.  Hey, I ain't complainin'!  But really, what wonderful parents I have.  Can't say this more than enough.

So the rest of the afternoon was spent attempting to get some things done at work while also chatting with some fellow co-workers and trying to dish out these [ridiculously] beautiful [and even better tasting] cupcakes.  But then I got another call from the front desk because lo' and behold, I had flowers.  I had flowers?!  Honestly, the first thing that went through my head was wtf?  Because I knew my parents hadn't sent them...

But guess who did?!?!?!

Yep, MEL!  Remember the lady I ranted and raved about a few weeks back because she was coming to visit me?  Yep, her.  I had talked to her a few days prior to my birthday and told her I wasn't too amped about the upcoming day because it was just a typical ol' Monday.  Well, she took the liberty of sending me flowers to take away those Monday Blues and duh, it worked.  I was overly delighted and for the second time that day, couldn't believe that someone had taken the time to send me something.  Geesh.  She's beautiful and thoughtful!  But sorry guys, she's taken.

So, in summary, I had an exquisitely simple birthday but one filled with reminders of all of the extraordinary people I am so blessed to have in my life.  I honestly think people take for granted the simple gestures in life, seemingly 'little' things that you may not even realize how big of an impact they have on someone's day.  Or better yet, their life.  All in all, in a good reminder.

And now that you've gotten a full recap on my birthday [whether you wanted it or not], I guess it's time for these cookies.  They're legit.  Simple as that.

Coming into my birthday weekend [yes, birthdays have apparently now rolled into weekends], I was craving a cookie.  A simple, classic cookie.  I know, hold your gasps.  Because that rarely happens.  As my dad would know [and jokes constantly about], I tend to gravitate towards recipes with a little twist and tend to steer away from the staple recipes because well, you see them everywhere.  So sue me.

To fulfill my craving, I headed straight to my Milk and Cookies book because I knew I'd surely find a winner.  Remember my White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies?  Those came from Milk and Cookies and are undoubtedly one of the best oatmeal cookies I've ever had.  And that was exactly what I was looking for.

So I opted for the Scotchies, which consist of the oatmeal cookie dough base I can't get enough of.  But then you add in a generous dose of cinnamon to fill every nook and cranny and jam pack the dough with addicting butterscotch chips.  But to adhere to my reputation, I had to add something in!  So I threw in a good helping of milk chocolate chips just for the fun of it.  Again, sue me.

These cookies were nothing short of amazing and fulfilled every dream I had of an oatmeal cookie.  Crisp edges, chewy centers, buttery, cinnamoney, and butterscotchy flavors all throughout.  What's not to love?  That's right...nuttin'!  So get baking!  .

My Notes:

• I substituted some of the butterscotch chips for milk chocolate chips.  But the great thing about this recipe is that you can use any types of chips you can get your hands on, just make sure it all adds up to two cups!
• When scooping out your dough, I found it best to make sure the dough is pretty packed together.  Otherwise some of my cookies spread out way too much and even burned a bit.

Adapted from Milk and Cookies

Ingredients:

1 recipe oatmeal cookie dough base (excluding orange juice, cherries, and white chocolate)

1 c. milk chocolate chips

1 c. butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Light spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Once cookie dough base is mixed but still streaky (do not overmix), using a wooden spoon, gently stir in milk chocolate and butterscotch chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer for about 10 minutes or until dough firms up.
3. Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, place scant balls of dough onto prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  
4. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges (centers should be slightly soft to the touch).  Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Improv Cooking Challenge: Banana Bread Cookies with Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting

.  Karma is a biaaaaatch.  Right?!

If you haven't noticed, I've sat out the last several months of ICC.  Whether it's been for a lack of time or I just plain forgot, I have in no way been a consistent ICC participant.  And guess what happened when I decided to come back?

I BOTCHED!

Fo' reals.

Okay, it wasn't the worst mess up I've ever had.  I mean, I ended up with a finished product.  But it was less than decent.  I won't even use 'good' there.  Let's see, where shall we begin?

The ingredients we were assigned to kick off 2013 were Bananas and Nutmeg.  Easy enough?  Well, you'd think!

Here's what happened.  One, I might have gotten a little over zealous.  I wanted to really twist things up and make this treat a special one.  So I think that may have clouded my judgement a bit.  Oopsies.

Second, I didn't trust my baking instincts!  Who does that anyway?!  I went against my intuition and kept adding in a certain ingredient [ahem, nutmeg] only because the original recipe said to.  FAIL.

So all in all, here's what came of the Banana Bread Cookies with a Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting.  The cookies were good enough.  But nothing crazy.  I think I may have overmixed the batter so the cookies [to me] were a bit tough.  Mistake three.  My favorite thing about them though was the bits of chocolate studded throughout.  The cookies only saving grace.  Oh and hey, my bananas were basically green.  So that didn't help.  Mistake four?

But the thing that took me over the edge was the dang frosting.  The overly nutmeggy frosting.  Ugh, makes me mad just thinking about it.  I knew I should have stopped adding in the nutmeg after, say, the second teaspoon but the recipe I based these off of said to keep going.  So I did...  Never again!  Needless to say, the frosting was one of the least favorite things I've ever made.  I like nutmeg but this was just too much.  Mistake five!

If I hadn't made the countless number of errors these cookies might have stood a chance.  But you live and you learn!  And that's what this challenge is all about, testing out that creativity.  Or at least I'll keep telling myself that.

See you next month, ICCers [...hopepfully]!!  .

My Notes:

• As you can tell, I didn't like the nutmeg cream cheese frosting.  So, I adjusted the ingredient amounts below but I would suggest just using the plain cream cheese frosting.  The banana cookies will really shine through that way, too!

Adapted from Cookies and Cups and Sweet Peas Pensee's

Ingredients:

Banana Cookies:

3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1-1/2 c.)

1 c. light brown sugar

1/4 c. canola oil

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 c. quick cooking oats

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

4 tbsp. butter

2 to 2-1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Combine bananas, light brown sugar, canola oil, vanilla extract, and egg in a large bowl.  Beat until combined.  Add in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Beat on low speed just until combined.  Gently stir in oats and chocolate chips.  
3. Drop batter by scant tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are set.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
4. For frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until smooth.  Frost cookies as desired.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Secret Recipe Club: Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

.  Before I get into this delicious, Fall-ey oatmeal.  I have to ask.

Have you entered my giveaway?  If you haven't, do it now.  If you have, then keep reading ☺

And now for the even better stuff: SRC.  Yep, it's that time again!

For October, I was matched with Debbie Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie.

Uh oh...

As we know, LSM isn't exactly about cutting things out, particularly butter, sugar, you name it.  More is more in LSM terms.  Right?  Right!   But the moment I started browsing through Debbie's recipes, I knew there wouldn't be a problem.

To breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even dessert, Debbie has it covered.  I had my eye on a few things, including [Slow Cooker] Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup, Cuban Quesadillas, and Pumpkin Sloppy Joes [because that just sounds interesting!].  Too bad I don't rarely cook!  I may have to try that slow cooker recipe though, even that can't be too difficult for me.

Anywho, after much debate, I settled upon this Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal because 1) I'm obsessed with anything pumpkin, 2) it's Fall, and 3) breakfast items = my faaaaavorite.  Even though I rarely eat breakfast.  Ironic.

I whipped this recipe up in a jif one morning before Robbie left town for work.  I figured he needed a good send off to the airport and we're both pumpkin lova's, so this was a no brainer.

The dish is rather hearty, with a texture somewhat similar to bread pudding.  And the spices, pumpkin, and oatmeal all marry together in a matter of minutes to create a wonderful morning treat.  From the reviews on Debbie's blog, everyone kept saying the pecans really made the dish. And lo' and behold, they really did!  That little crunchy nuttiness really brought everything together, so don't you dare leave them out.  Unless you have to.  Get me?

Thanks Debbie for the wonderful and healthy breakfast recipe!  Until December!  .

My Notes:

• Unfortunately I couldn't find any small containers of apple cider [and I knew a big gallon of it would go to waste] so I ended up using apple juice instead.  However, as you'll notice by the ingredients list, this dish is more on the sweet side and so I think the apple juice added just a tad too much sugar.  I think the apple cider would have a much deeper note [if that makes sense], so if you can, stick with that!

From Debbie Does Dinner...Healthy & Low Calorie

Ingredients:

1 c. pumpkin puree

1 c. apple cider

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. honey

2 tbsp. maple syrup

2 tbsp. butter, melted

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-3/4 c. old fashioned oats

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. pecan halves

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8x8-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, apple cider, eggs, milk, honey, maple syrup, butter, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract until smooth.  Stir in oats, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  
3. Pour into prepared dish and sprinkle with pecan halves.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until set.  Serve with maple syrup or honey.

Yield: 9 servings

White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

.  1-0, my friends.  1-0.

But did you really expect anything less from The Foamers?  I sure hope not.  But I'll admit, last week's game was not an easy win, we ended up going into extra innings (I know, it's intense) but ultimately came off the field as victors.  Good thing, too, otherwise I probably wouldn't have handed out the most delicious oatmeal cookies I've ever laid my hands on.  Just kidding about not handing these out though.  Well...kind of.

But true statement about these White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies being the best oatmeal cookie I've ever taken a bite [or 28] out of.  Seriously.  First things first, I will never again not plump cherries before using in any goodie [unless the directions specifically say not to.  Sorry, I'm a rule follower].  I've now realized all of the delicious, tart, juiceness I've been missing out on by using non-plumped cherries.  And yes, non-plumped is a valid word.  At least now it is.  Anywho, I think they completely took this already out-of-this-world cookie straight over the edge.  Completely over and never looked back. 

But aside from the succulent cherries, we have a cookie dough that is pure quality.  The cookie alone would be enough to satisfy me: a brown sugary, oatmeal base that lends itself to the most soft, yet chewy, cookie I've had in quite some time.  It's making my mouth water even thinking about them!  And you all know I love those classic recipes that allows for adaptation, and this is a clear cut winner, winner.

I really can't rave about these cookies much more.  Well, I can.  But you would probably tell me to shut up already and get to the recipe so you can make these ASAP.

As you wish  .

My Notes:

• The original recipe called for white chocolate chips, but I used bars and cut them into rather large chunks.  I absolutely loved the big bites of white chocolate, but like always, it's your call!
• Be careful to not over mix your dough!  This is stressed several times throughout the recipe because over mixing them will give the cookies a lousy, dry texture.
• Make sure to leave a good amount of space in between your cookies on the baking sheet. If the dough isn't fairly cold, the cookies will spread quite a bit and you could end up with one big monster cookie.  Actually, is that bad...?

Adapted from Milk and Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. orange juice

2 c. dried cherries

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 c. sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3 c. old fashioned oats

9 oz. white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Directions:

1. Put orange juice in small saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil.  Immediately remove from heat and put in cherries.  Set aside to plump for 30 minutes.  Once plumped, drain cherries thoroughly.
2. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.
3. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.
4. In large bowl, beat butter on low speed.  Add brown sugar and sugar and increase speed to medium, beating for 4 minutes or until light and creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat to incorporate.  Beat in vanilla extract until blended.  Slowly beat in dry ingredients and oatmeal.  DO NOT OVER MIX.
5. While the dough is still streaky, lightly flour work surface and remove dough from bowl.  With lightly floured hands, finish mixing dough by using a gentle kneading motion until just blended.  Put dough back into bowl.
6. With a wooden spoon, gently stir in white chocolate and cherries.  Place bowl into freezer for about 10 minutes or until dough has hardened slightly but still pliable.
7. Using a tablespoon or small scoop, scoop out mounds of dough.  Gently form the dough into cylinders and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.  
8. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges (centers should be slightly soft to the touch).  Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.  

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

That's a straight up 1:1 ratio of cupcake to frosting.  Just how I like it.

.  Hi, hi!

How's everything going out there?!  Things have been quite calm around our neck of the woods, not too much going on aside from work and...work.  Robbie and I have both managed to fit in a little golf here and there though [actually, mine was completely work related], I've continued with pilates classes [oh yeah, completely in love with those!], and the puppies most recently got their summer haircuts [more like butt cuts, I'm not very happy them].  But all in all, nothing too crazy to report.

The one thing I can't wait to tell you about though are these cupcakes.  These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cupcakes.  YUM.  Do any of you remember the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake I made quite a while back?  Or better yet, did any of you actually make the cake?!  Well if you did or didn't, all I will say is that it is one crazy good cake and these cupcakes follow right in that path.  The cake and cupcake are extremely similar: a rather dense cake with the wonderful flavors of that nostalgic oatmeal.  Oh, and little chunks of sweet, rich chocolate studded throughout.  But wait, one more thing.  These luscious cupcakes are topped with a thick, crunchy cinnamon, brown sugar, and chocolate chip frosting.  Holy lordy.  Here's a napkin for your drool.

Aside from the flavors of this decadent cupcake, how stinkin' cute are they?!  Too cute, I know.  I don't say this too often but I was rather proud of their presentation, don't they look like little cookies topped with ice cream!?  Well if they didn't, they probably do now.  But regardless. Cute, right?  Glad we agree.    .

My Notes:

• I doubled the ingredients from the original recipe since it only made a dozen cupcakes and I needed these for work.  But just halve the ingredients below if you're looking for a smaller batch.
• The cupcakes don't rise incredibly much, so be sure to fill the liners 3/4 full.
• For the frosting, I added in about 2 teaspoons of milk.  But the amount depends on the consistency of your frosting and what you're actually looking for.

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

2 large eggs

1-1/2 c. loosely packed brown sugar

4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. old fashioned oats

2-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 tbsp. milk

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips (tossed in flour)

Cinnamon Sugar Chocolate Chip Frosting:

2 c. unsalted butter, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

1 c. loosely packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. milk (if needed)

2/3 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line a muffin tin with liners; set aside.
2. For cupcakes, whisk together eggs and sugar in a large bowl until combined and no lumps remain.  Add in vanilla extract and butter, whisking until smooth.  Add in flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stir until combined.  Add in milk and stir until smooth.  Gently fold in chocolate chips.  Fill liners about 3/4 full and bake 15 to 17 minutes or until cupcakes are set and spring back when touched.  Let cool completely before frosting.
3. For frosting, beat butter in large bowl until completely smooth and creamy.  With mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly.  Gradually increase mixer speed and add brown sugar and vanilla extract, beating for 2 to 3 minutes.  If frosting is too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.  Fold in mini chocolate chips.  Frost cupcakes as desired.

Yield: 2 dozen cupcakes

Tried & True Tuesday: Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

.  Geesh.  These Tuesdays are coming around mighty fast these days.  And I'm quickly winding down the number of old pictures I have for recipes I've tried in the past.  Hmm...what to do, what to do.

But for time being, I still have a few good ol' recipes up my sleeve.  Treats that have been patiently waiting for their reveal to blogland.  And these Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are a perfect example.  A chance in the limelight is just what they deserve.

To me, the name alone of this goodie screams winter, hot chocolate, and fire-snuggling.  Ha, that's a pretty picture, huh?  And these cookies would be a fitting complement, rounding out this scene to a 'T.'

So what is so special about these cookies?  I mean they're just chocolate chip cookies, right?  Just chocolate chip cookies?  Shame on you.  These are anything but a plain old chocolate chip cookie, or POCCC as my dad would like to call them.  These cookies are well...spiced.  Spiced with flavorful cinnamon and dark brown sugar, giving these lovelies a deep, rich, beautiful color.  And jam packed with hearty oatmeal and decadent chunks of chocolate chips.  Gah, pure cookie heaven.  I remember making these while I was in college when Robbie and I had some friends over to watch a football game and they got rave reviews.  Rave, I tell ya  .

My Notes:

• You can use what ever type of chocolate you'd like, though I would probably stick to regular chocolate rather than white.  Just my opinion though.  And you an also experiment with some add ins, such as cherries or cranberries.  Mmm, those would be good.

Adapted from chocolate bar

Ingredients:

1-3/4 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

1-1/4 c. dark brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats

12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together; set aside.  In a medium-sized bowl, cream butter, dark brown sugar and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla extract, beating until very fluffy.
2. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly until batter is smooth.  Add old fashioned rolled oats and chocolate chips, mixing until just blended.  Chill dough for 1 to 6 hours.
3. Heat oven to 350°F.  Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 13 to 15 minutes.  Let cool on pan before transferring to wire rack.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Not Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Chip Cookies...Round II!

. Redemption!!

I'm so happy about it.  And I think Brett was, too.  Let me explain.

It's been a long few weeks with work and all, so Robbie and I decided that this last weekend was a good one to just get outta town.  So we packed up our bags and the pups and headed down to Kansas City to visit Robbie's sister, Kelli and [her hubby] Brett.  Unfortunately Kelli had to be back in Omaha this weekend, so we ended up just switching places with her.  We realized that Brett had probably been looking forward to a weekend on his own but that didn't stop us.  Sorry, Brett...

But to make up for it, I decided to bring Brett some of my all time favorite cookies.  All.  Time.  Favorites.  You may be familiar with these if you've been reading my blog for awhile, I posted about the Not Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Tried & True Tuesday post a while back.  However, the [one] picture was absolutely horrendous [taken before I even knew about the blogging world} so I know these cookies haven't gotten the attention they deserve.

Anywho, I didn't want another disaster happening like the Fourth of July trip to Colorado.  So I made for certain these babies were making it to KC.  And guess what?  They did!  The entire plate, dog slobber-free!  See, I told you I redeemed myself.  And here's my proof.

I took this just so you know I'm not lying.  They really did make it!

These cookies are to die for.  They have a great thickness, ultra chewy, lovely texture from ground up oats, and fully loaded with both semisweet and milk chocolate.  This is a go-to recipe of mine, I seriously can't get enough of these suckers!  Someone vouch for me, please.  Robbie?  Brett?

I suppose you may be wondering what the name of this cookie is all about, too.  Well from a little research, I found out.  So basically, a woman was eating at a cafe in Neiman Marcus (surprise, surprise) with her daughter and the two enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie for dessert.  The cookie was so fantastic that the woman asked the waitress for the recipe.  The waitress informed the woman that she could purchase the recipe for 'two fifty' and the woman readily agreed, telling her to add it to her tab.  However, when she received the bill a month later, she was astounded to find out that the clerk had meant '$250'!  Enraged, the woman preceded to e-mail the recipe to every she knew to get back at the department store.  Which now brings us here!

Just kidding, that situation is actually a myth.  But it is the story behind this wonderful cookie, not sure if I would pay $250 for it but I would definitely front some cash [wink, wink].

Our weekend trip turned out really great, by the way.  We got into town late Friday night [after a couple several wrong turns] and then Saturday morning, after a quick walk with the pups, Robbie and I headed to The Plaza for a little bit of work time and shopping!  Not gonna lie though, the shopping trip was kind of a bust.  Both Robbie and I were beyond exhausted for some reason so we weren't exactly in the shopping mood.  I felt like I was fighting my eyelids the entire day, not fun.  So we headed home, picked up Brett, and headed out to our all time favorite BBQ joint [all time favs were in abundance this weekend].  And what place is this you ask?  You may have seen it on The Food Network, or maybe not.  But if you're ever in the area, put Arthur Bryant's on your to-do list.  GAH!  This place is one fabulous hole-in-the-wall.  No offense.  HUGE servings, juicy meats, best-ever baked beans, fries, and homemade BBQ sauces.  What's not to love?  I think one of Robbie's secret motivations for taking the trip to KC was that he knew we would be making a visit to this place.  It's that good.

Irritated.  He wanted to eat, not take pictures!

Well hope every one had a wonderful weekend!  And if you didn't, make a batch of these cookies.  They'll brighten your mood up in no time .

My Notes:

• Depending on what you're going for will determine how much you ground up the oats.  Last time, I ground the oats quite a bit so you most likely wouldn't have known they were even there.  They just added volume to the cookie.  However, this time around, they didn't get ground up quite as much, which you can tell by the pictures.  The oat flavor was a bit more prominent and the texture resembled more of an oatmeal cookie.  Either way, they're still my favorite!
• Also, last time I made these cookies, I used light brown sugar as the original recipe called for.  However, I wanted the cookies to be a little more eye appealing.  So I chose to try out dark brown sugar and the cookies looked beautiful!  It gave them that golden brown look and I loved it.  But taste wise, you can definitely use whatever you have on hand.
• I chose to use three bars of Guittard semisweet chocolate and chopped them up and also Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips [another one of my favs!].  I also excluded the nuts this time, but I know they would add fantastic flavor and crunch!
• The directions say to let the dough rest for a few minutes to set up.  I found that my dough was quite sticky so I stuck in the fridge for that time.  Also, keep the dough refrigerated in between baking batches, the dough will be much easier to handle.

Ingredients:

2 c. old fashioned oats

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c. light or dark brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 (4 oz.) milk chocolate bar, coarsely grated or finely chopped

1 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350F.  Move oven rack to upper third of oven.  Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

2.  In a food processor or blender, grind oats to a very fine powder.  

3.  In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

4.  In a large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until evenly incorporated.  Add half of flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Beat in chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and nuts (if using).  Beat in remaining half of flour mixture and beat until evenly incorporated.  Let stand 5 to 10 minutes or until dough firms up just slightly.

5.  Divide dough into quarters.  

6.  Divide each quarter into 5 or 6 equal portions.  Shape each portion into balls with lightly greased hands.  Place on baking sheets about 3 inches apart.  Pat down balls to 1-inch thick.

7.  Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and centers are just beginning to firm up.  Transfer baking sheets to wire rack and let stand until cookies firm up slightly (about 3 to 4 minutes).  Transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies