Guest Tuesdays: in the kitchen with LC's chocolate oatmeal cherry cookies

LC is my new baking buddy.

For the cookies:

1 cup butter
1 cup medium brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture just until combined. Do not overmix. Stir in oats, cherries, and chocolate.

Roll into balls (about 1 inch in diameter). Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until bottom edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.

Apple oat bars with dulce de leche

If you're like me and you like apple crisp but wish the crisp to apple ratio were a little bigger, try this recipe. Mostly crisp, then some apple on the side. Hehe. And the brown sugar/oats combo is awesome. Add in some dulce de leche for some caramelly goodness and you've got yourself a really really good dessert.

Makes ~32 bars

For the bars:

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (NOT instant oats)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3-4 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dulce de leche or 1 cup from a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (you can buy this in the store or you can make your own, I made my own so it's included in the recipe)

Peel the label off of the can of sweetened condensed milk. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the can, with about an inch between the top of the can and the water. Place the can in the water to check, then remove it and set it aside. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce to simmering over medium to medium-low heat and add in the can.

Add in enough warm water to keep the water at the same level every 30 minutes or so (I did about 3/4 cup of water every 30 minutes). Simmer the can for a minimum of 3 hours. After 3 hours, turn off of the heat and place the pot on a different, cool burner. Do NOT remove the can from the water immediately, as the temperature change may cause the can to explode. Allow the can to sit in the water for 30-45 minutes, then carefully, with tongs, remove the can to another surface and allow it to sit for another 20 minutes or so, until it is cool enough to touch.

Use a can opener to open the can. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cream together the butter and brown sugar, until fluffy, about 3 minutes. In another bowl, combine 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, the oats, the cinnamon, the salt, and the baking soda. Set 2 cups of this oat mixture aside and press the remainder into a greased and/or lined 9×13 baking dish.

Core, peel, and dice your apples into thin, bite-sized pieces. Toss them with lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Spread the apples over the dough pressed into the dish. Take your set aside dulce de leche and drizzle it evenly over the apples (it doesn’t have to be perfect). Sprinkle the 2 cups of oat mixture that was previously set aside over the apples and dulce de leche, then press down to be sure that everything sticks together. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until set and golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into small bars and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Recipe from Crepes of Wrath

Oatmeal plum upside down cake

I'm so glad I have friends that eat as much as I do. Today Lanie came over and obviously I was in the kitchen. I was also really hungry, which is a bad thing to be before baking, so I decided to pull out some cookie dough from the fridge and munch on it while making the batter for this cake. Lanie, of course, did the same.

Then the batter was finished and we put the cake in the oven. Lanie couldn't pull herself away from the cookie dough, so I asked if she just wanted me to whip up a batch in the oven. She looked at me, her bod not wanting to say yes but her sweet tooth screaming DUH. The sweet tooth won.

So at this point we had a cake and some cookie dough in the oven, and of course we left a bit of dough out to eat right then.

By the time Rose came over the cake was finished and we all helped ourselves to a big slice.

Then Lanie ate more cookies.

It was hillarious.

We sat around and talked like good friends do. I'm not going to include the part where I got sugared out and fell asleep a couple hours later, so this is where I stop...


For the cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3 eggs

6 ounces sour cream (or plain yogurt)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the upside down:

1 large plum

1/2 cup regular oats (not instant!)

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

small pinch of cloves

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

4 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan, set aside.

Cut your plum into slivers, about 12 to each half. Place in a circular pattern on the bottom of the greased pan.

Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a small pan and mix with the brown sugar until the sugar granules are gone. Take off heat and add in the oats. Pour the entire mixture over the plums (mixture will be thick, feel free to spread it out to coat the pan evenly with a metal spoon).

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream until blended. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring the entire time as to prevent lumps from forming. Pour the batter over the plum and oatmeal in the cake pan. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean!

Recipe by me! 

Maple oatmeal raisin cookies!

I feel like such a mom today. And you know what? --don't judge-- I'm loving it. I woke up this morning, went for a run, made these cookies, had a lunch (of cookies, duh). After spending the majority of my morning in the kitchen, I went to pick up some girlies from school (Rebe, and Maeve, who's a second grader and Rebe's and my pretty-much-sister). I was still in my workout gear and feeling pretty mom-ish. But then I felt cooler when we turned on the radio and jammed to Nelly. After stopping in the center of town to do some errands, we made our way home for some milk and cookies... and we danced some more. Now the girls are in the dining room, doing a puzzle, and I'm about to join. It's been a major housewife day. And it's great. Lol.

Makes approximately 32 cookies

For the cookies:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups old-fashioned, rolled oats

1 stick  room temperature unsalted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup raisins

For the maple glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup

4 tablespoons heavy cream

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl,  using a beater on medium speed, combine the butter, sugars, and maple syrup. Add in the eggs and beat until incorporated. Next add the flour, salt, and soda and beat until batter forms. Last, mix in the oats and raisins and beat until just incorporated. 

cookie models

Using a small ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), place the batter onto greased cookie sheets, keeping an inch distance between the cookies. Bake for 7-10 minutes, then place hot cookies on a wire cooling rack. 

While the cookies are cooking, beat the confectioner's sugar, maple syrup, cream, and salt together on medium-high speed until mixture is glossy. Dip a whisk into the batter and then shake the whisk over the cookies on the rack to drizzle. It's as easy as that. Yumski.

Recipe adapted from Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather via La Kocinera.

Half-way to heaven peanut butter cookies

This recipes is nearly all in halves, which makes it super easy to remember. It's brought to you by my friend Mallory's childhood nanny, who would make these for her growing up. I have to say, I've never been a fan of peanut butter cookies because they are too heavy-tasting for my palate, but the oatmeal in this recipe balances the strong peanut flavor to make it enjoyable for even the most un-peanut-buttery people out there. Good stuff.



For the cookies:

1 1/2 cups quick oats


1/2 cup flour


1/2 cup sugar


1/2 cup brown sugar


1/2 teaspoon baking powder


1/2 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


1/2 cup honey roasted peanut butter (you can find it freshly ground at Whole Foods)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened


1 egg

For the filling:



1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar


1 cup smooth peanut butter*

Preheat an oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix butter, both sugars, egg, peanut butter, and vanilla. Pour oat mixture into peanut butter mixture, stirring until just mixed. Place rounded teaspoonfuls of batter on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving 2 centimeters between each one. Using your finger, pat dough down so they form small flattened circles. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely on cookie sheet.



While the cookies are baking, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and peanut butter until light and airy, about 5 minutes.



On a work surface, place half of the cookies upside down. Whisk the filling to lighten it. Dollop 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of each upside down cookie.  Place second cookie on top of filling and press together until filling just comes to the edges. Ta-da!

*do not use natural p.b. for this part- the frosting will come out thick and heavy

PS-- check out Mallory's blog, Savings and Cravings!