Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love chocolate chip cookies (seriously... this is the 4th or so variation we've posted). These oatmeal chocolate cookies are scrumptiously soft, and the oats give a great texture.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Yield: 4 dozen)

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. In large bowl, use a hand mixer to mix brown sugar and butter until blended. Add vanilla, egg, baking soda, and salt, mixing until light and fluffy. 
3. Stir in oats and flour until uniformly mixed; stir in chocolate chips. 
4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. 
5. Bake about 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. 
6. Share with your loved ones!

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

This year I put an idea I found on Whipperberry to use as a Christmas goodie to give out. It was yummy and cute and several folks asked for a recipe, so I figured I would share it and my observations here.

The Hot Chocolate on a Stick that I made consists of three parts: (A) candy cane, (B) homemade marshmallow, (C) chocolate ganache block. The candy canes were not homemade (sorry) but the other parts were, and the recipes will be found below, along with assembly tips and instructions. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I was home alone and making these things required both hands! If you visit Whipperberry's posts (link above) you can see her pictures.

I was so pleased with how my marshmallows turned out, even though I had several things working against me, namely:

• I don't own a candy thermometer, so I had to guess as to when to remove my mélange from the stove
• Totally forgot to add vanilla!!
• I also don't own a standing mixer, and my hand mixer couldn't handle the thick, gooey marshmallow for more than about 5-6 minutes, as opposed to the 12-15 minutes recommended in the original recipe.

I was so worried, when I was pouring it into the baking dish to set, that I was going to end up with marshmallow creme. It was so sticky and gooey. But it actually worked and they were melt-in-your-mouth yummy!

Homemade Marshmallows
3 packages unflavored gelatin (I bought a box with 4 envelopes, and used 3)
1 c ice cold water, divided
1 1/2 c sugar (granulated sugar, nothing special)
1 c light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
~ 1/3 c each powdered sugar and cornstarch (the original recipe calls for 1 c of each, but I ended up with a lot left over....)
nonstick cooking spray (or a paper towel and some crisco)

1. Combine 1/3 c powdered sugar and 1/3 c cornstarch in a small bowl. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and dust with mixture. Reserve any extra in bowl.
2. In a separate bowl (or in a standing mixer, if you have one) combine gelatin and 1/2 c cold water. After a few minutes it will look oddly solid but this is ok.
3. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Place over medium high heat and cover. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Uncover and cook (I suggest stirring constantly) for 7-8 minutes, or until mixture reaches 240°F (soft ball stage)
5. Remove from heat immediately, and pour into bowl with gelatin/water mixture. Using hand mixer or standing mixer, whip until very thick, white, and lukewarm in temperature. As mentioned above, it took about 5-6 minutes to get so thick my hand mixer could no longer mix.
6. Add vanilla in final minute or so of whipping.
7. Pour into prepared baking dish (see step 1). It is so sticky, you will want to use a rubber spatula. It's ok if you do not spread it to fit the entire dish, but try to get it to be an even height all the way across.
8. Pour some of the remaining cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture on top. Whatever is left will be used to coat the sticky edges of your individual marshmallows when you cut them. You might have some bubbles show up in your marshmallow but I think it adds character :o)
9. Let this rest, uncovered, for at least 4 hours before cutting. To cut, turn out onto cutting board and slice with a pizza cutter or cookie cutters. Coat individual marshmallows with leftover cornstarch/powdered sugar to cut down on sticky fingers. My marshmallows were approximately 2" squares.

Chocolate Ganache
1/2 c heavy cream (whipping cream)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

1. Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil. Set aside.
2. Heat heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk in a double boiler on the stove (you can use 2 pots of about the same diameter for a double boiler: fill one with 2-3 inches of water and rest the other pot over it. You will want the top pot to completely cover the bottom pot in order to use all of the heat from steam.). Heat on a low setting so water does not boil over.
3. Add chocolate chips and let melt.
4. Once melted, add vanilla and whisk until smooth.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into prepared baking dish.
6. Let sit ~6 hours.
7. Pull foil out of baking dish (with ganache inside), taking care to not disturb ganache by folding/jerking/etc.
8. Turn out onto plate and remove foil.
9. Let sit ~2 hours. This will let the ganache set up a little more, aiding in cutting.
10. Once set (should no longer be overly sticky to touch), you can cut the ganache. I cut it into ~2" squares. It will still be sticky on the sides. I recommend cutting it as you assemble your hot chocolate on a stick.

Assembling your Hot Chocolate on a Stick:

1. Remove about 2-3" of candy cane wrapper from straight part of cane.
2. Insert unwrapped candy cane into center of one marshmallow, pushing marshmallow up about 1".
3. Insert bottom part of unwrapped candy cane into center of one ganache square.
4. My ganache was so sticky that in order for this to work for me, I needed to let my individual servings lay on a plate until the ganache had set up even more before I could wrap them. This takes ~1 hour.
5. Place into a plastic bag or wrap in saran wrap and tape/tie closed.

Whipperberry has a label printout you can use, with instructions for turning your treat into hot chocolate (stir into 4-8 oz. heated milk). Unfortunately, I had already labeled most of mine before I realized the typo on the labels ("chocolate" is spelled wrong) and I didn't have success in fixing the image on my computer on a time crunch.

Overall though, I was very pleased with how these turned out!

Chocolate truffles

Back in high school, I took several French classes. Occasionally, the French teachers would let us cook French food! I believe I got this recipe for chocolate truffles during one of these French cooking classes. I typically make them around Christmas because they make great gifts for friends.

Chocolate Truffles
1/2 c heavy cream
1/3 c sugar
6 T butter
1 c chocolate chips
1 t vanilla
cocoa powder

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat. Immediately add chocolate chips.
2. Stir until chocolate chips are melted; add vanilla.
3. Pour into a bowl. Cool, stirring occasionally.
4. Cover & chill concoction in the fridge for several hours, until it becomes more set but is still soft (you really don't want it to set completely - it makes it a challenge and a half to perform the next step, so only make this recipe if you know you will be able to get back to it within say 3 hours).
5. Form mixture into small (1") balls. I find it is easiest to use two small spoons. Drop into a bowl of cocoa powder and coat well - for a twist, add cinnamon. You can also roll these in chopped nuts of your choice.
6. Enjoy! They will remain relatively soft, so it is best to store them in the fridge. You can find small foil candy holders (see below) and gift boxes at your local craft store.

(Like Thomas' plate? He made it as a young child. We're not sure if those are flowers or Ts...)

Marble squares

Hungry for chocolate chip cookies, but short on time?

Need a yummy dessert for a pot luck?

Marble squares are a delicious solution to both of these predicaments. They are essentially chocolate chip cookie bars, which means they are cooked in one pan and you don't have to spend an hour or more baking 12 cookies at a time!

Marble Squares

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F, or the appropriate temperature for your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.
2. Make the batter for your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, using about 1/3 to 1/2 less chocolate chips than it calls for. One of our favorite recipes can be found here, with the ingredients listed below:
   

   1C shortening
   3/4 C sugar
   3/4 C brown sugar
   1 T vanilla (liberally)
   1 t salt
   1 t baking soda
   2 eggs
   2 C flour (may take up to 1/4 C more)
   12 oz. Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate chips

3. Spread your cookie dough into a 9"*13" baking dish.
4. Sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.
5. Set into your preheated oven for about 5 minutes, or until chocolate chips are melted. Remove baking dish from oven. Using a knife, "cut" into the dough length- and width-wise in straight lines, pulling the chocolate as you go. This is to create the "marbled" look. See photo below.
6. Continue baking for about 15-20 minutes, until done.
7. Cut into squares and serve (goes great with ice cream!)

It will be sticky, but try to spread the cookie dough evenly into your baking dish.

The dough may shift in the direction you "cut" it, but it will slide down the edges of the pan as it finishes cooking.

Notice the lines running horizontally in this photo. Cut vertically also.

The final product!

Variation on a Theme

In case you have not already noticed, we have two recipes for chocolate chip cookies (Chocolate Chip Cookies and Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies). Why shouldn't we add a third?

I got this recipe from a packet of recipe cards I received in the mail. I like the texture and the toned-down sweetness.

"Secret Recipe" Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup rolled oats (regular or quick)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
2 eggs
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Put oats in a food-processor, chopper, or blender. Process until finely ground. You will basically end up with an oat flour.
3. Combine list items from oats to cinnamon.
4. In a separate bowl, cream butter (softened) through eggs. Beat until fluffy with a hand mixer.
5. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients, blending well. Add chocolate chips and nuts.
6. Scoop out small portions onto baking sheet. We lightly greased ours; the original recipe suggests using parchment paper. The original recipe also calls for making each cookie from 1/4 cup dough; I used less. 
7. Bake until cookies are lightly browned. Makes about 45 cookies. Enjoy!

oxox

Camp Cuisine

After a weekend of camping, we thought we'd share our thoughts on the camp food we brought. It's that time of year, so if you haven't yet, get outside and enjoy the wilderness!!

Although we only actually built one campfire over the course of our trip, here's a photo of the campfire ring we improved at our campsite:

The two rocks that stick out awkwardly (at the bottom and right of this photo) are flat on top - perfect to use as "counter space" when cooking outdoors. We put these to use even when we cooked on our camp stove. Following are meal ideas and a few recipes we really used this weekend.

Breakfast

For breakfast on the first morning, we brought a couple flour tortillas, some pre-cooked turkey sausage, a few tomatoes, and some eggs to assemble into breakfast burritos.

The eggs were somewhat challenging to bring in, but they were tasty nonetheless. We neglected to put any sort of oil or grease in the pan, which made for an... interesting... cleanup process, so if you try this one out, please be more wise than we were.

The other mornings, we kept it simple with instant oatmeal. At Walmart, we picked up a box of the generic brand flavored stuff. We chose the "fruit and cream" variety box. It worked out pretty well.

Unfortunately, the gas for our camp stove ran out about halfway through the trip, and the second canister we'd brought along was not the correct size. This meant that the oatmeal we ate, we ate cold. However, we did not find this to be too big of a problem.

Lunch

We only ate two lunches out in the woods. The first day we dined on Maruchan Instant Lunch - the ones in the foam cups. They're inexpensive at 28 cents each, but I think they work out pretty well! I chose the shrimp flavored one and Thomas had the hot & spicy chicken one (and let me tell you - they don't lie about it being hot and spicy!).

The second day we had Uncle Ben's packaged rice thingies. These were ok, but we wouldn't recommend them. We were consoled in that we got them for cheap - Thomas got a coupon for one for free and another coupon for some amount off so we picked up two. All in all, the flavor was peculiar and we actually ended up tossing some of it.

Dinner

Dinner number one was a campfire favorite: foil dinners! Due to some hiking troubles we got in late and were unable to build a campfire, so we cooked ours on the camp stove.

Foil dinners are great because you put everything together and then just let it all cook. You almost can't mess them up! We used cut-up potatoes, baby carrots, and Italian sausage in ours and wrapped it all up in foil. I added some salt, pepper, rosemary, and Worcestershire sauce and they turned out pretty well. One thing I didn't do that I wish I had is to put the ready-to-cook meals in their own Ziploc bags. Instead, I put them into a grocery sack... and they ended up leaking liquid.

On the second night, we built a campfire in which to cook foil-wrapped potatoes. We supplemented them with a can of chili we heated on our camp stove. For a simple and fast dinner, it was pretty tasty and quite filling.

Dinner number three was fabulous: Thomas has sold me on Mountain House meals. They are freeze-dried and delicious! Because by this point we were unable to use the stove (as mentioned above), we tried a new method for heating our filtered water: we filled up our kettle and let it sit in the tent during the afternoon. This actually worked pretty well!

We'd purchased the Lasagna with Meat Sauce entree for 2 - and preparation consisted of pouring water into the bag, sealing it, and letting it sit for a few minutes. It was really tasty! These pouches tend to be a little pricey, but they're worth every penny. We ended up using both pouches because, well, we were hungry and it was so good.

Dessert

We didn't have time (or light) for dessert the first night, so we ate what we'd brought for that night on the second night. I first made these orange-peel chocolate muffins at Girls' Camp when I was 14 or 15, and I think they're cool - and yummy.

All you do is put chocolate muffin mix (prepared according to the recipe or box instructions) into half an orange peel. We used Jiffy Chocolate Muffin mix, which I believe called for an egg and water. We brought half of what was in the box and added an egg and some water in a Ziploc bag. After slicing 2 oranges in half and scraping out the fruit flesh (which we then ate), we cut a corner of the Ziploc to facilitate squeezing the batter into the orange halves. Then we wrapped them in foil and cooked them in the campfire. They cooked pretty quickly. I love these because the muffins pick up some of the flavor of the oranges!

Our final camping dessert was Instant Jello Pudding. This requires just cold milk - which is fine, unless you're (tent) camping, right? Well, we solved that last little issue by adding some powdered milk to the pudding mix. Due to some unclear conversion information on the milk package, we added a bit too much water.... but it tasted fine anyway.

Do any of our readers have favorite camping recipes?? Feel free to comment!!

oxox

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A normal title for a "normal" recipe. Actually, this comes from my (Thomas') mother's arsenal and is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe that I know of. We often would double or quadruple it, as a single batch only makes about 40 (forty). And yes, I can end a sentence in a preposition and be grammatically correct. And yes, I can start a sentence with "and"... :D

On to the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1C shortening
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1 T vanilla (liberally)
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
2 eggs
2 C flour (may take up to 1/4 C more)
12 oz. Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven
2. Mix all the ingredients excepting the flour
3. Add flour (more if it is extremely sticky)
4. Roll into 1.5 inch balls
5. Put into preheated oven. Bake at 375° for 4-5 minutes or until they look like slightly doughy cookies (but have flattened out into the shape of cookies)
6. Take out (and don't let the bottoms get more than light brown)
7. Let cool a bit
8. Test (i.e. taste), varying cook time accordingly

(Mmmmm...Crisco!)

(Eggs, sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla...)

(Cookie dough sans chocolat)

(After the addition of Ingredient X)

(Dough ready to be incinerated)

(Some of the final product)

And, as a bonus, Lisa has assembled ice cream sandwiches. Try them out!

Belated Birthday Retry

Due to popular demand (or my incessant demand), Lisa was convinced to remake the wonderful Bûche de Noël (Yule log) she made for my birthday (link), this time with pictures for all to enjoy. If you end up making it and liking it, or liking it and wanting it made, comment below (no guarantees, though). There are a lot of steps, but it's well worth the wait. Anyway, here it goes.

Bûche de Noël

Along with the other ingredients, make sure you have:
Wax/parchment paper
Flour
Cocoa powder
Powdered sugar

Cake ingredients:
4 egg yolks
6 egg whites (save the 2 extra egg yolks for the frosting)
8 T sugar (6 for the yolks, 2 for the whites)
1 T vanilla
1/8 t salt
1/4 t cream of tartar
1/2 C flour
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Grease a jelly roll pan, cover it with wax paper, then grease and flour the wax paper.
3. Separate the egg whites and yolks.
4. Beat the egg yolks until creamy, adding 6 T sugar gradually, then add 1 T vanilla.
5. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with 1/8 t salt until frothy, then add cream of tartar. Continue to beat until they hold soft peaks. Add 2 T sugar and beat until they hold stiff peaks.
6. Fold two mixtures together with 1/2 C flour and 1/4 C cocoa powder until smooth.
7. Pour mixture into jelly roll pan, spreading it evenly with a spatula.
8. Bake it for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick test comes clean.
9. Dust the cake lightly with cocoa powder, cover with wax paper, and let it cool until warm.
10. Flip the cake, and peel off the wax paper that was originally on the bottom. Dust it with cocoa powder, cover with a new sheet of wax paper, and roll it up.
11. Set the cake aside and let it cool.

Frosting ingredients:
6 egg yolks
2/3 C sugar
1/4 C water
3 sticks (1 1/2 C) butter, softened
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 T vanilla

1. Beat egg yolks until creamy. Have this and a mixer ready for step 3.
2. Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and boil until it reaches softball stage (238°F).
3. Immediately pour the water/sugar mixture into the egg mixture with the mixer running, and beat until cool.
4. Mix the butter, chocolate, and vanilla with the egg mixture.

Assembling the yule log:

1. Unroll cooled cake and remove the top sheet of wax paper.
2. Spread half of the frosting on the top of the cake.
3. Reroll the cake, removing the outer sheet of wax paper.
4. Cut a small diagonal piece off one of the ends of the roll (to be the branch).
5. Put the main cake on a plate and frost its outside.
6. Place the small diagonal piece perpendicular to the main cake and frost it as well.
7. Scrape the cake with the prongs of a fork to make it look like bark.
8. Dust the entire cake with powdered sugar.

Cake Pictures


(Thomas cracking. Eggs, that is.)


(Mixing cake egg portions)


(Adding cocoa powder)


(Lisa spreading the batter onto the jelly roll pan)


(Baked cake with wax paper on top)


(Cake flipped, removing wax paper)


(Cake rolled)


Frosting Pictures


(Lots of butter)


(Butter/chocolate mixture)


(Sugar/water mixture boiling)


(Adding sugar/water mixture to eggs)


(Adding butter/chocolate mixture to eggs)


Assembly Pictures


(Branch removed from log)


(Frosting the cake)


(Almost done...)


(There you go at last!)


Enjoy!