If my life were Top Chef and I was involved in last week’s Quickfire challenge involving Oats I totally would have won immunity. Stefan’s Banana Oatmeal Mousse with Almond Crisp and Oat-Almond Petit Four has nothing on my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Or my granola, for that matter. What started out as a cookie experimentation in my cupcake-dominated life has quickly turned into one of my trademark sweets. There is always a multitude of Quaker Oats in cuddlegan due to my and Nina’s obsession with their grainy goodness so I’m whipping up batches of cookies on a pretty regular basis. In fact, I’m chomping on one right now.
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together the butter and sugars then blend in the eggs, milk and vanilla. You’re supposed to mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then slowly add it to the wet mixture but I don’t do this…I just throw everything but the oats and chips in the same bowl and blend away. I usually have to incorporate the oats and the chips into the mixture by hand because it gets so thick. I then use an icecream scoop to form the dough into balls and then space them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Wait a bit for the cookies to cool before removing them from the pan…or eat the cookies right from the pan being careful not to burn your tongue.
Now I have a few secrets to making my cookies top-notch that I probably shouldn’t share. But! I’ll give you one: I use 1 cup of “Old Fashion” oats and 1 1/2 cups of “Instant.” I like the juxtaposition of the bigger heartier oats with the smaller…use all big and your cookie doesn’t seem unified, use all small and the oats are almost lost! And another half-secret is that I like to do the same with chocolate chips.
And, since this post is oat-themed. I’ll take you through my granola as well. My mom and I made granola for the first time this summer and it was so good and so simple that I make it all the time. It’s yummy by itself or paired with yogurt or milk (or ice cream!)…put it in a container, tie it with a bow and you have yourself a nice little home-made thank you gift for old bosses!
2 cups oats
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Combine the oats, almonds and coconut in a large bowl. Heat oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and toss with the dry ingredients. Spread the mixture out on a baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes at 325F, stirring every ten minutes.
That’s the basic recipe. You can also add 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds to the oats and/or dried cranberries or other dried fruit after the baking.
-Amanda
SAUCY 