Oatmeal Cookies are incredibly versatile! Part crispy cookie, part moist cake, the oatmeal cookie is made in a variety of ways: from thin and crispy, to moist and chewy, to even extra sweet or laced with salt. You can customize the classic combination by mixing in different ingredients so you get a completely different flavor than you would expect.
Oatmeal cookies came into North American kitchens by way of the Quaker Oats Company. The original oatmeal cookie recipe was mass distributed in 1908, printed on boxes of rolled oats. Billed as ‘oat cakes’ the recipe called for 3 cups of rolled oats along with butter, sugar, and flour. The oat cakes were an instant hit with homemakers. In 1943, the Quaker Oats company reformulated their recipe, this time using the term ‘oatmeal cookies’. The revised recipe utilized bacon drippings or shortening instead of butter and dried fruits for minimal sugar needs.
The oatmeal cookie recipe released by Quaker Oats has been re-branded twice, re-emerging on oatmeal packages as ‘Famous Oatmeal Cookies’, and as it is known today as ‘Quaker’s Best Oatmeal Cookies’. This oatmeal cookie recipe has earned the distinction of the longest printed recipe on any Quaker Oats products.
Here’s just a few add-ins to bump up the basic recipe if you choose to:
- Dried fruit: Dates, Apricots, Cherries, Apples, Coconut
- Nuts: Walnuts, Pecans, Cashews, Peanuts
- Spices: Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg
- Chocolate Chunks: White, Milk, Dark
This recipe gives you the option of freezing the dough and baking it later or using it right away. Rolling them in ground flax seed gives them an added bonus in flavor – as if oatmeal cookies could get any better!
Print Recipe
Oatmeal Freezer Cookies
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Whisk both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cardamom in a medium bowl.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter & both sugars on high speed until light & creamy. 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend & scraping down bowl between additions. Beat in vanilla.
Reduce speed to low. Gradually add dry ingredients & mix just until combined. Fold in oatmeal & fruit.
Divide dough between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Using paper as an aid, roll up each piece of dough into a 1 1/2-inch diameter log. Wrap in plastic; freeze for at least 4 hours up to 3 weeks.
When ready to bake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Unwrap dough & cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Roll edges of rounds in ground flax seed. Place 2-inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake until edges are golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool. Store in an airtight container or freeze.
Recipe Notes
- Any fruit, nuts or seeds should be chopped quite small so your cookies can be sliced frozen.
- Rolling the edges in ground flax seed gives them such a nice flavor.
Eggs Benedict is a common North American breakfast or brunch dish, consisting of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. It was popularized in New York City.
Many variations of eggs Benedict exist, involving replacing any component except the egg such as:
- Avocado toast eggs Benedict – substitutes toast in place of the muffin and adds sliced avocado.
- California eggs Benedict – adds sliced avocado. Variations may include sliced tomato instead of Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Atlantic – substitutes salmon which may be smoked, in place of Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Blackstone – substitutes streaky bacon in place of Canadian bacon and adds a tomato slice.
- Eggs Florentine – adds spinach, sometimes substituted in place of the Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Mornay – substitutes Mornay sauce in place of the Hollandaise.
- Eggs Neptune – substitutes crab meat in place of Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Omar (steak Benedict) – substitutes a small steak in place of Canadian bacon and sometimes replaces the Hollandaise with bearnaise.
- Huevos Benedictos – adds sliced avocado or Mexican chorizo, topped with salsa and Hollandaise sauce.
- Irish Benedict – substitutes corned beef or Irish bacon in place of Canadian bacon.
Being seafood lovers, Brion & I are having a pre-Christmas treat of scallops benedict for brunch today. Yum!
Print Recipe
Scallops Benedict
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Ingredients
Chive Buttermilk Biscuits
Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
Chive Buttermilk Biscuits
Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Biscuits
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & baking soda. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until coarse crumbs. Add chopped chives. Toss together & make a well in the center. Pour in the buttermilk, stirring with fork to form ragged dough.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead gently until dough comes together. Pat or roll into 1 1/2-inch thickness. Using floured cutter, cut out rounds. Place, well spaced, on lined baking sheet. Dough should make 6 large biscuits.
Bake in the 400 F. oven for about 10 minutes before lowering the temperature to 375 F. & baking for an additional 10 minutes or until tops of the biscuits are light golden. Remove from oven & keep warm in a basket with a tea towel over it.
Hollandaise Sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, watching it until the color turns light golden brown. Pour it off immediately into a heat proof measuring cup, leaving the sediment behind.
In a blender, combine egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice & zest for a few seconds. With the blender on medium speed, slowly pour in hot butter in a thin stream. The sauce should thicken quickly. Pour into a bowl & keep the bowl warm in a warm water bath while preparing the other components of the scallops benedict.
Scallops
Season the scallops with Old Bay seasoning, salt & pepper. Pan sear them in a hot pan with butter & olive oil for only a few minutes per side. Keep warm. Prepare scrambled eggs.
Assembly
Slice biscuits in half, using bottoms as the base. Divide scrambled eggs evenly between the 6 bottom biscuit halves & top each with a couple of seared scallops. Pour some hollandaise sauce over scallops & sprinkle with chopped bacon. Garnish with chopped chives. Top with the second half of the biscuit if you wish.
Decorated trees, lights, candles, poinsettias, holly, special baked goods– there are some things that just define Christmas. When I was growing up, Christmas baking was such a major event my mother undertook. Although she put many hours of work into her baking, I think she really enjoyed it. Many of the ingredients for the special things she would bake at this time of the year were just too expensive to have on hand all the time. Somehow, she would work her magic and make that grocery money stretch to include these things. During my childhood fruit mincemeat was a pie or tart that we looked forward to having. Today, it seems – not so much.
As with many traditional recipes, especially the ones we make and enjoy around big holidays or life events, mincemeat pies are steeped with tradition and customs. Mincemeat would often be made on ‘stir-up’ Sunday along with the Christmas pudding, the last Sunday before Advent. Stirring the mincemeat was quite an event, and English tradition dictates that it should only be stirred clockwise. Stirring the mincemeat anti-clockwise would lead to bad luck and poor fortune in the coming 12 months. To spread the joy, it was tradition in England that each member of the family gave the mixture a stir, while making a wish. And if you wanted to be ensured good health and happiness in the upcoming year, you should eat one mince pie every day for the Twelve Days of Christmas, from Christmas Eve until the 5th of January.
Today’s modern mincemeat is a boozy, sweet, fruit filling for tarts and pies as well as a variety of other desserts. While mincemeat often plays a supporting role to the apple pie here in North America, the English mincemeat pie is only a two-bite size.
Both Brion & I still enjoy the taste of mincemeat. It just wouldn’t seem like Christmas if we didn’t have some version of it.
Print Recipe
Mincemeat Tart
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Pastry
In a medium bowl, cream butter with sugar, salt & vanilla; add the egg yolk. In a small bowl, whisk together flour & baking powder; add to creamed mixture. Blend well. Press into a 13 3/4" x 4 3/8" (35 x 11 cm) tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap set aside in freezer or refrigerator until needed.
Filling
In a large baking dish, combine all the ingredients except the alcohol, stirring well to make sure they're evenly distributed. Cover with a tea towel & leave overnight for the flavors to marinate together.
Preheat the oven to 230 F.
Remove towel & cover the pot with foil & place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from oven & stir mincemeat mixture well. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally. The stirring is essential to distribute the fruit as the mixture cools.
Once cooled, stir the mincemeat again, add the alcohol & stir one more time. Spoon into pastry shell & level out gently.
Crumble Topping
Beat butter, brown sugar & salt in a bowl with mixer on high speed until light & fluffy. Blend in flour & oatmeal just until crumbly. Crumble streusel mixture over filling.
Bake on bottom rack for 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown & filling begins to bubble. If topping is getting brown too fast, cover with foil. Cool completely on wire rack.
Recipe Notes
- SPICE COMBO
- 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- This amount will be enough for 2 recipes of mincemeat filling in case you want to make a dozen tarts as well!
Eggnog, which is actually a drinkable form of custard, began in England, where eggnog was the trademark drink of the upper class. There was no refrigeration, and the farms belonged to the big estates. Those who could get milk and eggs to make eggnog mixed it with brandy or Madeira or even sherry. But it became most popular in North America, where farms and dairy products were plentiful, as was rum. The name, ‘eggnog,’ is a combination of ‘noggin,’ a wooden cup, and ‘grog,’ a strong beer.
Throughout Canada, the United States and some European countries, eggnog is traditionally consumed over the Christmas season, from late October until the end of the holiday season.
The eggnog tradition kind of reminds me of the fall ‘pumpkin spice’ craze. What started out as a drink is now added to ice cream, cookies, cake, coffee, protein powder, latte, etc. etc.…
These cookies are soft and pillow-y, filled with chai spices and topped with a spiced rum glaze. The warmth of the cinnamon and nutmeg brings out the eggnog flavor in the cookies, making the traditional holiday drink the main flavor.
The holidays are a time for tradition. For a lot of people, that tradition consists of baking …. baking cookies…. lots and lots of cookies!!
Print Recipe
Eggnog Chai Cookies w/ Spiced Rum Glaze
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Cookies
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, cardamom & black pepper. Set aside.
In another bowl, using a mixer, cream together butter & sugars. Add egg yolks & vanilla. Beat until creamy. Carefully beat in eggnog.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients & beat until just combined.
Fit a piping bag with a large star tip nozzle & fill with cookie dough. Make 30 cookie swirls on parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms just start to turn golden brown.
Immediately transfer cookies to a paper towel covered flat surface. Allow to cool.
Glaze
Whisk together powdered sugar & cinnamon. Add vanilla, eggnog & spiced rum. Whisk until smooth.
Drizzle over cooled cookies & serve.
December is just around the corner and when I was growing up, that was officially ‘baking season’ for my mom. Many of the ingredients for the special things she would bake at this time of year were just too expensive to have on hand all the time. While we were at school, over the weeks prior to Christmas, she would bake many different kinds of cookies and squares. When we would arrive home in the late afternoon, there was no trace of what she had baked. Every cookie tin and various other containers were being filled with these glorious goodies. It all became part of the mystery and suspense of the season.
Like many traditions, the origin of the Christmas baking ‘bonanza’ comes from medieval times. Winter solstice rituals were conducted long before Christmas became the huge commercial holiday it is today. Celebrations revolved around food. By the Middle Ages, the Christmas holiday had overtaken solstice rituals and the pastry world was experiencing some big changes. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper as well as dried exotic fruits were becoming available. Expensive delicacies like sugar, lard and butter all became treasured ingredients that could only be afforded on this most important holiday.
Unlike pies and cakes, cookies could easily be shared and given to friends and neighbors. Our modern-day Christmas cookies are baked for similar reasons. They’re given as hostess gifts in festive tins, used on giant dessert trays and of course they make for wonderful family baking traditions.
I realize ‘mincemeat’ doesn’t appeal to everyone’s pallet. These days the ‘all-fruit’ varieties have made it much more appealing. Since Brion and I both enjoy the all-fruit mincemeat, I thought I’d do a Christmas version. Pairing the flavors of anise, apple, mincemeat and lemon was really nice.
Print Recipe
Mincemeat Filled Cookies
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Mincemeat
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Over a medium-low heat bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low & continue to simmer, stirring often, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat & cool until ready to use.
Cookies
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese & butter until fluffy & smooth; 1-2 minutes. Add sugar; beat another 1-2 minutes then add eggs & anise extract & continue beating 1 more minute.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, anise seed & salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to the butter mixture & stir just until incorporated. Do NOT over mix. Divide dough in half.
Between 2 sheets of parchment paper, roll each half of the dough to a 1/8"-1/4" thickness. Remove top sheet & using a 2 1/2" (6 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Using the top sheet of parchment, lay rounds about 2" apart. Slide a plastic cutting board under parchment paper & transfer to freezer for about 30 minutes. (I found this made it much easier to continue the procedure).
-
Remove cookies from freezer. Spoon about a teaspoon of COLD mincemeat filling onto center of each circle. Wet edges a bit with water or beaten egg. Fold cookies in half & using a fork, press edges to seal. (If your mincemeat filling is well chilled, I found it didn't run out of the cookies while being baked).
Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes. Cookies should be light in color, not browned & just starting to brown on bottom. * Length of baking time may vary from oven to oven. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon Glaze
In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients & beat to a drizzle consistency. When cookies are cooled, drizzle with glaze.
Recipe Notes
- SPICE COMBO
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- Combine well & store in a spice bottle.
- PREPARED MINCEMEAT FILLING
- 700 ml 5-fruit mincemeat (suet-free)
- 1 1/2 cups apple, cored & finely chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Combine mincemeat filling ingredients & refrigerate until needed.
Soup season is officially here! This satisfying, hearty vegetable dumpling soup truly creates the perfect cozy vibes this winter.
The exact origin of vegetable dumpling soup is difficult to pinpoint, as dumplings and soups have been staples in many cultures for centuries. Dumplings themselves have a long history, with early versions appearing in China when a physician named Zhang Zhongjing created them to help villagers with frostbite.
Vegetable dumpling soup, as we know it today, likely evolved from these early dumpling recipes, with variations appearing in different cuisines around the world. Here are a few notable examples:
- Wonton Soup: A Chinese classic, wontons are typically filled with pork, shrimp or vegetables and served in a clear broth.
- Mandu-guk: A Korean soup featuring mandu (dumplings) filled with meat or vegetables, often served in a beef or anchovy broth.
- Tortellini in Brodo: An Italian dish where tortellini, small ring-shaped pasta filled with meat or cheese, are served in a rich broth.
- Xiaolongbao: Also known as soup dumplings, these Chinese dumplings are filled with pork and a gelatinous broth that turns into soup when steamed.
- Matzo Ball Soup: A traditional Jewish soup with matzo balls (dumplings made from matzo meal) served in a chicken broth.
This vegetable dumpling soup has soft, fluffy, biscuit-like dumplings made with a mixture of flour, baking powder, salt & olive oil. The baking powder in these dumplings is what gives them their lift and results in a light and fluffy texture. The dough is cooked in the flavorful simmering soup, resulting in little balls of deliciousness.
Print Recipe
Vegetable Dumpling Soup
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Soup
Add all ingredients to a stock pot. Cover & simmer until the vegetables are tender, approximately 2 hours. Stir periodically during cooking time.
During the last ½ hour of the cooking time prepare dumpling dough.
Dumplings
In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt with a spatula. Form a well in the middle of the dry mixture & add olive oil & warm water. Mix until dough forms into a sticky ball. Cover with a dish towel & set aside for about 10 minutes.
During the last 10 minutes of the soup’s cooking time carefully drop in dollops of the dumpling dough, about 1 inch (2-cm) in diameter.
Let dumplings simmer for about 10 minutes, or until chewy and cooked through.
Ladle soup into serving bowls & top with dumplings. Serve hot.
Fall is here and its pumpkin season! It’s like a pumpkin explosion in the stores this time of year with pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin spice candles, pumpkin spice Oreos, pumpkin spice M&Ms, pumpkin spice Ramen noodles, Doritos and so many others.
Unlike pumpkins, however, blueberries have a flavor that knows no season or food type. They pair well with just about anything, and pumpkins are no exception. Blueberries have just enough sweetness to complement pumpkin-y flavors and stay juicy during the baking process.
These pumpkin blueberry muffins make for an ideal autumn indulgence.
Print Recipe
Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 cup large muffin tin with parchment papers/cups
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 2/3 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & allspice. In a small bowl, combine pumpkin puree with milk.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter & brown sugar until creamy. Add egg; beat until fluffy.
Alternately add flour & pumpkin mixtures to butter mixture, stirring just until blended. Combine blueberries with 1 Tbsp flour in a small dish. Fold gently into mixture. Spoon batter carefully into prepared muffin cups.
Topping
In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon & salt. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add pepitas & combine. Divide evenly over muffin batter.
Baking
Bake for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool in pan for a few minutes then remove to a rack to finish cooling. Store muffins in a covered container.
Recipe Notes
- If you would prefer smaller muffins, divide batter between 12 paper lined standard muffin cups. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
It’s the fall season, so bring on the chai flavored recipes! Fall can encompass many different flavors including apple, pumpkin, maple, cranberry and ginger just to name a few. To me, baked goods and chai spices are a no-brainer. Traditionally, chai is made into a tea which consists of milk, spices, sweetener, and black tea. Chai spices can be used for so much more than just tea. Once you make your basic chai spice recipe, there are so many ways to utilize it.
Chai can include several different spices. Cardamom is the most common ingredient, followed by a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, star anise and cloves. Pepper and coriander, nutmeg and fennel are also used but they are slightly less common.
In the winter of 2011, Brion and I traveled Turkey for a month. We were meeting with the Trafalgar tour group in Istanbul. Arriving a day early gave us time to ‘snoop’ around a bit. Next to our hotel was a ‘Starbucks’, so we went in. When Brion ordered my coffee, they gave me a ‘Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte’ by mistake. That (pumpkin) chai flavor was just incredible. I have been addicted to it ever since.
A stay in Istanbul would not be complete without a traditional and unforgettable boat excursion up the Bosphorus, that winding strait that separates Europe and Asia. Its shores are a mixture of past and present, grand splendor and simple beauty. Modern hotels stand next to shore-front wooden villas, marble palaces in contrast to rustic stone fortresses and elegant compounds neighboring small fishing villages. Since Turkey actually straddles two separate continents, its culture features strong elements and traditions from both east and west. At that point in time, we found Turkey a relaxed country to travel in which made our time there very enjoyable.
These crescent rolls are a shortcut to making the classic cinnamon rolls using cream cheese pastry and that incredible flavor of the chai spice. Yum!
Print Recipe
Chai Cinnamon Crescents
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Chai Spice Filling
Whisk together all chai spices with brown sugar. Set aside.
Crescents
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt. With a pastry blender, cut in cream cheese & shortening until mixture resembles coarse peas. Stir in milk. On a lightly floured work surface, knead dough gently about 20 times.
Form dough in a ball then roll out into a 14-inch circumference. Spread butter over the surface of dough then spread spice/sugar combo (all but 1 tsp needed for drizzle) evenly over the butter.
Cut circle into 12-14 equal wedges. Roll each wedge from the outside edge to form a crescent shape. Slightly curve each one & place on baking sheet.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until pastry is baked. Remove from oven & place on wire cooling rack.
Drizzle
In a small bowl, beat together cream cheese & butter until smooth. Add 1/2 tsp chai spice mix, powdered sugar, salt & vanilla. Beat until well combined then add enough milk to make a drizzle consistency. When crescents are cool, drizzle & serve.