Ingredient: whole wheat flour

Oatmeal Freezer Cookies

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!

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 Oatmeal Freezer Cookies
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword oatmeal freezer cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword oatmeal freezer cookies
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Whisk both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cardamom in a medium bowl.
  2. 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.
  3. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add dry ingredients & mix just until combined. Fold in oatmeal & fruit.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

Apricot Orange Newtons

Do you recall the iconic Fig Newton? For some, fig newtons were the loser cookie – the one you would only eat out of pure desperation if there was nothing else resembling dessert in sight. What could be worse than mysterious, brown fruit ‘goo’ wrapped up in flavorless, dry ‘cake’? They felt that it was not a treat, it was a healthy breakfast disguised as a cookie.

I really don’t remember eating any amount of fig newton cookies myself, probably because my mother always baked. When I did finally taste them as an adult, I actually liked them. Maybe that had something to do with my love for figs or maybe I just like cookies…not sure!

The ‘fig newton’ was one of the earliest commercially baked products in North America. Introduced by the Kennedy Biscuit Company in 1891, fig newtons were named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts, which was near the factory that first produced the cookie commercially. Kennedy Biscuit eventually merged with several other bakeries to form the National Biscuit Company, now known as Nabisco.

The recipe for the fig filling was the brainchild of Charles M. Roser, a cookie maker born in Ohio, USA. Roser worked for a bakery in Philadelphia who sold his recipe to the Kennedy Biscuit company.

The manufacture of fig newtons was made possible by the creation of Florida inventor James Henry Mitchell, who revolutionized the packaged cookie business by building an apparatus that could make a hollow cookie crust and fill it with fruit preserves. His machine worked like funnel within a funnel; the inside funnel supplied jam, while the outside funnel pumped out the dough. This produced an endless length of filled cookie, which could then be cut into smaller pieces. 

Original fig newtons were the only variety available until the 1980s and as of 2012, Nabisco now makes several varieties of the ‘newton’, which, in addition to the original fig filling, include versions filled with apple cinnamon, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and mixed berry.

As Nabisco likes to remind us, ‘newtons aren’t just cookies’, they’re fruit and cake. Bringing me to the idea of apricot newtons. There seems to be numerous versions of them around so we shall see how these one turn out.

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 Apricot Orange Newtons
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apricot orange newtons
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword apricot orange newtons
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Dough
  1. Whisk the flours, baking powder, cardamom & salt together in a medium bowl.
  2. Beat the butter & brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light & fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer & add the egg & vanilla. Finely grate the zest of the orange into the bowl (save the zested orange for the filling). Beat on medium speed until incorporated. Stop the mixer & scrape down the sides of the bowl & the paddle with a rubber spatula.
  3. Return the mixer to low speed, gradually add the flour; mix until just combined (the dough will be very soft and sticky). Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap & press into a disk about 1-inch thick. Wrap the disk tightly in the plastic wrap & refrigerate until firm, but still pliable, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, make the filling.
Filling
  1. Place the apricots in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment & process until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. (No need to wash out the food processor; you will use it again.)
  2. Juice the zested orange and add 2 tablespoons of the juice to the pan. Add the water & honey. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apricots plump up and all the liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes.
  3. Transfer the mixture back to the food processor and process into a smooth paste, about 1 minute. Let the mixture cool completely.
Assembly
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside. Transfer the cooled apricot mixture to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag.
  2. Dust a work surface generously with flour. Unwrap the disk of dough and cut it into 3 equal pieces (about 6 1/2 oz (185 gm) each). Place one piece on the work surface, rewrap the other 2 pieces back in plastic wrap; refrigerate those 2 pieces.
  3. Reshape the remaining piece of dough into a log about 2 inches wide and 4 inches long. Place the log with the short side facing you, generously dust the top with flour, and roll into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long.
  4. Using kitchen shears, snip off a bottom corner of the plastic bag or piping bag. Pipe enough filling down the center of the piece of dough so that it is 1-inch wide and 1/4-inch thick.
  5. Using a bench scraper, scrape up the right side of the dough & gently fold it over the center so it reaches the middle of the filling. Repeat with the left side of the dough. Gently pat the top of the dough down with your hands, pinching it together as needed, so that it completely covers the filling and flattens slightly. (It should now be in a Fig Newton shape.)
  6. Cut the filled dough in half crosswise. Using the bench scraper, carefully flip each piece over & transfer to the baking sheet so that it is seam-side down. Repeat with the rolling & filling of the remaining 2 pieces of dough, using flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. You will end up with 6 filled & shaped pieces of dough on the baking sheet, so space them in 2 rows of 3 each, about 2 inches apart.
  7. Chill the logs for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350 F.
  8. Bake until just lightly browned around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Cut each bar crosswise into 5 pieces and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

‘Everything Spice’ Rolls

‘Everything’ bagels have been around at least since the 1980’s, but more recently we are seeing the everything spice blend itself, showing up on grocery store shelves.

Everything spice has similar flavor notes to a number of Middle Eastern spices and dishes that have moved into the mainstream over the past few years. The mix of poppy and sesame seeds, garlic, dried onion and salt has always been a popular variation for people who want some tang at breakfast or brunch.

It automatically gives almost any food item that you dust it with a ‘trendy upgrade’. On one recipe website they list more than 101 ways to use the everything spice. Some of them included cheeseballs, savory french toast, meatloaf, cheesesteak and risotto.

To be sure, this spice isn’t for everyone. If you like blueberry bagels and red velvet doughnuts this garlicky blend won’t work for you.

In August of 2020, the Presidents Choice Brand made their ‘copy kat’ version available here in Canada. For that reason, I see no excuse not to buy some. You can stir it into plain cream cheese, sprinkle it on grilled meats, avocado toast, rice, scrambled eggs, salads, chicken, pancakes or use it on top of some ‘Everything Spice Rolls’. Yum!

Print Recipe
 'Everything Spice' Rolls
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Keyword 'everything' rolls
Servings
Ingredients
Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Keyword 'everything' rolls
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup oats, honey, butter & salt with boiling water until combined. Cool to room temperature.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the yeast with warm water. Let stand for about 5 minutes until foamy. Pour into the oat mixture followed by flaxseed meal, whole wheat flour & 1 cup all-purpose flour. Use a wooden spoon to stir into a shaggy dough.
  3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface & knead until the dough is smooth & elastic, about 8-10 minutes. If the dough feels too sticky, add a little more all-purpose flour (up to 1/2-3/4 cup). Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover & let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
  4. Punch down the dough & let it rest for 5 minutes. Divide the dough in half; cut each half into 12 portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent from drying), shape each portion into an 8-inch rope. Tie each rope into a single knot; tuck top end of rope under bottom edge of roll. Place each roll on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap coated with baking spray; let rise in a draft-free place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  6. Combine egg & water in a small dish; brush egg mixture over rolls. Sprinkle with everything seasoning mix. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.
Recipe Notes
  • If you wish, shape your dough into more than one style of bun.