Oatmeal Cookies - Just Like Grandma Made Them

For starters, you know it has been too long since you have last blogged when you log in and the entire interface has changed and you spend five minutes trying to find the "create a new blog" button.  And for that, I apologize....mostly to myself....for not taking over my kitchen for the past couple months.

But on to more important things.  I like cookies....A lot.  And since these are packed full of oatmeal, they are quite healthy (I'm going to continue telling myself that).  They are even suitable for breakfast with a big glass of milk.   A couple weeks ago, I was cleaning and I found the old cookie jar from my grandparents kitchen and, I decided that I needed some oatmeal cookies.  It took a while to make these cookies because hunting down the recipe proved to be a bit of a challenge.  But, I have it now,   and these cookies are just as good as I remember them!


Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe from Grandma F.
1 c. butter softened
2 eggs lightly mixed
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 T. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 c. regular oats
1 c. chopped pecans (one of the few cookies where I leave this part in)

Cream butter.  Add eggs, then sugar and vanilla.  Mix dry ingredients together and add to butter.  Add oats and nuts.

Form into two logs and wrap in wax paper.  Chill overnight (or at least for a few hours) until firm. 

Slice thin and bake at 350 for 12 minutes until golden brown.

Chocolate Orange Beet Cake

Chocolate Orange Beet Cake....Sounds funny doesn't it?  But so does carrot cake and zucchini bread when you think about it.

I've been on a liquid diet for the last few days.  P. Fisher had his wisdom teeth taken out (finally) and I've been partaking in the soft foods.  Yesterday I made homemade vanilla pudding, Jell-o ice cream, and beer cheese soup.  Today I decided I was going to make something soft, but solid.  No more liquid or gelatinous textures for me.

A couple weeks ago, I saw Joy the Baker's chocolate beet cake.  I'm sure it was delicious.  But as I've mentioned before, I am incapable of following a recipe.  I don't love chocolate.  (I know that makes me a bit odd.)  But, I do like orange and chocolate together.  I love beets and orange together as well.  So orange chocolate beet cake it is.  And, our grocery store has started carrying golden beets which are a bit sweeter and even more delicious than the traditional red beets, so it all worked out so well.

Chocolate Orange Beet Cake
Adapted some from Joy the Baker.

2 medium beets roasted with a bit of olive oil in the oven for 1 hour.  After cool, peel and grate.

Cake:
1 cup shredded beet for the cake
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest from one orange
Juice squeezed from one orange
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Icing:
1 stick butter, softened
8 ounces (1 brick) cream cheese, softened
4 powdered sugar
1/4 c. grated beets
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. orange juice
A little bit of milk if needed to get a thinner consistency
pinch of salt



Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans.  Preheat oven to 350.


Mix butter and both sugars.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add beets, orange zest, vanilla, and orange juice and beat on medium speed until fully mixed.

Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  On a low speed mix the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk until just mixed together.  Pour into two 9 inch round pans and bake 26-30 minutes.


For the frosting, mix all ingredients together until you get to that spreadable consistency.  Spread on your cake and enjoy!

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread: Fresh Baked Slice-it-Yourself Bread

I always thought bread was much more difficult than it actually is.  For some reason my sister and I bake the same things at the same time.  One of us just gets around to blogging about it first.  The other day she mentioned that  she acquired the bread machine.  Since she moved my parents bread machine across the country and unfortunately it was not one of our wedding presents, I had to make bread the old-fashioned way.  With my hands.  I don't have any special recipes to share with you today - just wanted to share that it's really easy - and tastes pretty good compared to Wonderbread.

Cake that's good for you: Angel Food

Good for you might be a stretch, but it's mostly egg white.  And if an egg white omelet can be good for you, why can't a cake made of egg white be good for you, too??  That should make you feel better about eating a lot of it all at once.

I'll confess.  I haven't made a lot of cake from scratch.  But I was craving angel food and thought I might try it.  Google led me to Alton Brown's recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted
• 12 egg whites (the closer to room temperature the better)
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon orange extract, or extract of your choice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.
In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.
Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

Fruit Pie

As much as I like to cook, even I am surprised by this next fact.

I have never made a fruit pie...ever.

I love fruit pies....cherry, blueberry, peach, apple....you name it and I probably like it if it's fruit baked in crust.  I found this handy little tool to make mini-pie-pockets.  It's like your own homemade version of Hostess fruit pies!

Tonight I made cherry and apple pies to follow up the traditional corned beef new year dinner....blog on that coming soon.

In the cherries: pitted cherries, a little sugar, quick cooking tapioca, melted butter, vanilla, and almond extract.  Let it sit together for about 15 minutes.

For the apples: a sliced apple, a little sugar, melted butter, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

I cheated and used Pillsbury and then cut rectangles.

Put some filling into the pie press.

 

Put on a baking sheet and cut a couple slits in the top crust.  Brush with egg wash.  Sprinkle with some sugar....and some cinnamon on the apple if you'd like.

And then bake for 18-22 minutes at 400 degrees.  And eat!

Pumpkin Bars, A Fall Delight

As I may have mentioned before, fall is my favorite season.  And with fall, pumpkins start appearing everywhere.  I don't love (by don't love, I really mean hate) pumpkin in its more common dessert form, pumpkin pie.  But, I do love pumpkin bars.  I feel like I've eaten these every fall for as long as I can remember....all the way back to the Indiana days (I'm pretty sure this recipe came from one of my old neighbors).  For some reason I have two memories associated with these today.  1) My grandpa....for years he gave me a hard time because I only gave him a small piece to try because I wasn't sure if he'd like them.  And you would never want to waste these on someone who didn't like them for some crazy reason.  And 2) This old cat that lived in the woods.  Ralph was his name.  He was a sad cat missing a tail and ear and maybe even an eye. 

Now that I've shared that bit of odd cat nostalgia, I'll share the recipe for my favorite pumpkin bars.  Hopefully you enjoy them just as much as I do.

Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
1 c. oil
2 c. sugar
1 c. pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 c. flour
1 c. nuts (optional.....I always opt out, but if you like nuts, I guess that's fine, too.)

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a greased sheet cake pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Then you should have this:

Then, while they are cooling a bit, start working on the frosting:

3 oz. cream cheese
6 T. melted butter
3 c. powdered sugar

Mix and spread on the warm cake.

Oh and I remember something else.....don't forget the flour.  It doesn't turn out well.  And if you share relatives with me, you will never ever hear the end of it.

Apple Dumplings.....It's a Dumpling Day for the Family

There are a few things my grandma used to make....I remember "yay thick" meat (aka Swiss steak), chicken n' noodles, peach cobbler, stuffing balls, and apple pie or dumplings.  Today, I bring you apple dumplings.  My sister and I are on the same wavelength with food sometimes.  We seem to have the same things on our mind and make the same things and then one of us beats the other to a blog.  Today, S's blog brought apple dumplings to you first.  She inspired more than one person to make apple dumplings today--I came home and made some and my cousin also made them this evening.  That's two people--that's influence.

As you  may know, I like to cook.....quite a lot.  I like baked goods....quite a lot.  But, I don't bake all that much.  As scientific as I can be, it's so precise and I prefer throwing things together most days.  The thing that amazes me is that you can take a handful of ingredients, none of which taste good on their own (apples being the exception), and turn it into delicious.

I do like the results and I have to say that these are still delicious.  Try it....you just might like it.

APPLE DUMPLINGS

Recipe from Grandma

3-4 Apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)

 

Dough:

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 c. shortening

1/2 c milk (pour in all at once)

Mix it all together until it sticks

Sauce:

1/4 c. butter

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 c. sugar

2 c. cold water

Bring to a boil

Grab a little dough and put some apples in it.  Stretch the dough around the apples and put the dumpling in a pan.  Repeat until you have filled the pan.  Pour the sauce over the top and then bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Peach Cobbler....Straight From My Grandma

There are few things that make me love summer (especially since I don't particularly love the hot temperatures) more than peaches.

I've had peach cobbler in my head for a few days now and ran into some ripe peaches today so I couldn't say no any longer.  I know there are probably a million recipes for this dessert (or breakfast if you so choose - it has fruit in it after all), but I love only one.  My grandma used to make this in the summer and to this day it's the only recipe I use.  

The Peaches - About 8 peaches sliced, 2 T. melted butter, 1 pinch of cinnamon, 1 pinch of nutmeg, and 1 T cornstarch mixed with 1/2 c. water

The Butter - 1/2 c. butter melted in a 9x13, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

The batter -- 1 c. milk, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and a pinch of salt beaten until smooth

Pour the batter in the butter mixture

Pour the peaches on top of the butter and batter

Bake for 1 hour at 350  (knife test) -- And then you have bubbly, peachy, buttery, cinnamony deliciousness