Pumpkin Spice Everything

Ahhh . . . fall.  Leaves falling, cooler temperatures - nope.  Here in Southern California we are having 90+ degree weather almost every day and the kids are swimming on the weekends and blistering hot during their midday soccer games.  Despite this, I've been craving fall foods and flavors and made some new pumpkin cookies when my girl friends came over a week or so ago.  I had lots of help from Little who has been enjoying the one-on-one (aka not taking turns with the mixing or having to share the kitchen stool) time we get together this fall.

These cookies are sort of like a fall version of the molasses spice cookies I make at Christmas or similar to pumpkin snickerdoodles.  They were delicious!

In other pumpkin spice news, I've been loving the "pumpkin spice almond beverage" from Trader Joe's and have been putting it in my coffee or making overnight oats with it.  My PSA for the day is to stock up on the pumpkin stuff you love from there . . . it won't last all the way through the holidays!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
from Just So Tasty blog

2.5 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

To roll the cookies in:
1/4 cup granulated sugar combined with
1.5 tsp. cinnamon

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  In a separate bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy and then add the brown and granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Turn the mixer to low and beat in egg yolk, vanilla, and pumpkin.  Gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated but do not overmix.  The dough will be very sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 2 days).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 and take the dough out of the refrigerator.  Form into balls (about 2 T apiece) and roll in the cinnamon sugar.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with silpat mats or parchment paper and bake for 7-9 minutes or until the cookies look barely set.  Cool on a rack.

Baking with Little

I had the strongest sense of deja vu the other morning when it was me and Little at home while sisters were in school and she asked me to "make." It reminded me of when Middle would do the same thing after Big started school.  There's something about being the only one at home - the only one who gets to dump, mix, and taste without having to take turns - that makes baking sound like extra fun.  Of course, she wanted to do it right away.  I hadn't been planning on it and had no softened butter so I played around with my usual oatmeal chocolate chip recipe to substitute vegetable oil.

The results weren't bad - not quite as soft and chewy but still really yummy.  And, my house smelled amazing all morning!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (made 4 dozen)

2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil

2 large eggs

4 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dump in everything except the chocolate chips and cranberries.  Beat until the dough is moist and the ingredients are combined.  The dough might be a little crumbly.  If it's too dry, add a little more oil, a tablespoon at a time.

Either using your hands or a small scoop, form balls about a tablespoon in size and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

When your neighbor gives you lemons

One of the things I love about where we live is having great neighbors . . . the kind that say "hi" to my kids and put up with their antics, the kind that stop while out walking their dog to chat, the kind that have your back.  I'm not sure what the residents of our quiet cul de sac thought originally when we moved in with the kids, but we love it and are here to stay!

Our next door neighbor has been giving us citrus from her trees and I made a third variation on the lemon crinkles I've been making recently.  This time, I found a recipe that uses almond paste which is one of my favorite things ever.  You really do have to crumble or grate it from the tube or else the dough will be pretty lumpy and the cookies will be uneven.  I made a double batch  in my stand mixer and baked half of them the first day and refrigerated the dough for 2 days and then baked the rest to give some to my book club friends.

The verdict:  These Almond crinkles are my favorite but the cardamom ones are a close second!  Even though there's no photo of the end result, here's the almond paste you're looking for:

Lemon Almond Crinkles (4 dozen)
recipe from Odense website

1 (7oz) box almond paste
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 T grated lemon rind (1 large lemon)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. Confectioner's sugar

Put the sugar, butter, egg, lemon rind and lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Crumble or grate the almond paste over the top.  Beat together until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix until well-combined.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  The original recipe said the dough would keep well in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Line  baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll dough into balls and roll in confectioner's sugar.  Place 2-3 inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes or until puffed up and lightly colored on the edges.  Cool on wire racks and store in an air-tight container.

PIlgrim Hats

All right, while there's still ONE WEEK before Thanksgiving, here is an easy Thanksgiving treat.  It involves no baking (which I was mildly disappointed in, since I love to bake) but some assembly.  Buy cookies that have fudge on one (or both) side (I used Keebler Fudge Stripes), some miniature Reese's peanut butter cups, and orange icing.  Place the cookie fudge side up, put a peanut butter cup upside down, and use orange icing to adhere the peanut butter cup to the fudge cookie.  Draw a little square buckle on the hat . . . and there you have it! Even me, craft-challenged Mama with a shaky hand and poor fine motor skills (note the not straight icing) managed to pull this one off for a party tomorrow.

I thank God for this day

For the sun in the sky

For my home on the ground

That keeps me warm and dry

For the love that we share

'Cause God listens to my prayers

And that's why we say thanks every day

For a grateful heart is a happy heart

I'm glad for what I have, 

(that's an easy place to start)

for my mom and my dad, 

I'm so very very glad

And that's why we say thanks every day!

--Veggie Tales

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amaretti Cookies

I love almond flavored baked goods and if a pastry has almond paste, even better.  The bakery in Claremont makes some of the best almond croissants that I've ever had and I seriously have to avoid that place or else I'd eat way too much.  I've been intrigued by this Amaretti cookie recipe since it a) only has 3 ingredients, b) is basically almond paste, and c) is gluten free and dairy free.  I finally tried them out this past weekend.  Middle, my helper, was quite disappointed that there wasn't more to measure and mix but we finished this project pretty quickly and the results were great.  The almond flavor is strong as you would expect an amaretti cookie to be, but I filled some with raspberry jam (homemade by my friend Ellen) to create sandwich cookies and that helped balance the flavor a bit.  

My husband observed that these are a lot like macarons - chewy yet light - and he didn't love them as much as me but he still ate his fair share!  I'm imagining all kinds of other fillings . . . nutella, chocolate ganache, fig jam . . . these are definitely going into the rotation of gluten free Christmas cookies!  

A couple of baking notes:  the cookies spread a lot so make sure you use small dollops and leave space between them.  As always, check your almond paste to ensure it's gluten free if you need to avoid wheat.

Amaretti Cookies (4-6 dozen)
from Smitten Kitchen

1 (7oz) tube almond paste
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.

Pulse almond paste, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer until broken up and mixed.  Add egg whites and mix at medium high speed until smooth.  Place dollops of batter (approximately 1 T) on cookie sheets, leaving plenty of space between them.

Bake, rotating pans halfway through) until puffed and golden brown, about 14-17 minutes.  Let cookies cool almost completely on the pan.  Once they've cooled off, they're easier to remove from the parchment paper.  Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two.  On Smitten Kitchen, it says they can be frozen for up to a month.

If desired, use your choice of filling and make sandwich cookies.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

It still doesn't feel much like fall in So Cal (yes, we do have seasons . . . just not so much this year!) but I made some yummy pumpkin cookies a week ago.  We devoured them - I still love the Joy of Cooking version (here on the blog) but these oatmeal ones were pretty yummy too.  We like chocolate chips in our pumpkin cookies and I usually do the mini ones because they're less messy in little hands.  But, I think dried cranberries or raisins would be good in this recipe too.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (made 3.5 dozen)

adapted from All Recipes

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

1.5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and spices.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and then add the sugar, beating until fluffy.  Lower the speed on your mixer and add the pumpkin puree and egg.  Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Drop tablespoons of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.  

Churro Cookies

My girls love "the sweet" from Rubio's - the half churro that comes with the kid's meal.  For years, I kept this from them and snuck it for myself but now that they know it exists, it's part of the appeal of Rubio's. I pinned this recipe a few weeks back intending to make these for Cinco de Mayo but when that didn't happen, we made it for a Mother's Day supper with my mother in law.  Both big girls wanted to help with the meal so Big made her "famous fruit salad with the secret ingredient" and Middle made these cookies with me.  She's a little obsessed with the pastry brush and was thrilled to use it to apply the melted butter.

The verdict:  regular old fried churros are best but these are pretty delicious.  I probably would pick snickerdoodles over these but my husband and girls were big fans - especially of the cream cheese filling.

I got 2 dozen using the smallest biscuit cutter that I had.  I had quite a bit of dough left over from in between the rounds and later, I thought that I should have twisted the dough (like actual churros) and tried to bake the rest as well.

Churro Cookies (makes 2 dozen)
Recipe from Oh, Bite It!

4 oz cream cheese (softened)
3/4 sugar (divided)
Pillsbury pie crust (2 ct)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T cinnamon
2 T melted butter

Mix together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla extract.  Spread one of the pie crusts on your work surface and spread it with the cream cheese mixture.

Put the other pie crust on top.  Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter.

Use a fork to crimp the edges.  Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Mix 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon. Brush cooled cookies with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Repeat on the other side of the cookies.

Meyer Lemon Sugar Cookies

I love meyer lemons and recently was given some yummy ones.  I had to try new cookies although I still like the Meyer Lemon Cardamom Crinkles we made last year.  That last year's recipe and post was almost exactly a year ago and it's crazy to see how much bigger my girls look now.  As Middle helped me out in her Rapunzel dress, it also reminded me of baking with this other Rapunzel . . . ironically, we made a lemon meringue pie.

The verdict on the new recipe:  While these had less lemon in them, they were a delicately flavored and textured sugar cookie.  It actually reminded me of my Grandma's sour cream cookies with a lemon flair.  We all gave them 2 thumbs up and with 4 dozen, passed some out to teachers, our tennis instructor, and friends.

Before I share the recipe, here are some pictures to show you how huge my kids are these days!  How did I get to be the mom of 3 so beautiful, smart, and funny children?  Most of the time, I can't believe believe I'm the mom.

Meyer Lemon Cookies (makes 4 dozen)

from Patent & the Pantry

2 3/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. butter, softened

1.5 cups white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of one large Meyer lemon

4 T fresh Meyer lemon juice

1/2 c. sugar for rolling the cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.  Add the dry ingredients, beating until just combined.  

Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and then roll in sugar.  Place on prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until delicately golden and and slightly cracked in the center.  Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Baking Christmas Cookies

I love the Christmas season. . . the carols, picking out and wrapping gifts, the decorations, houses lit up . . . all of it!  And, not surprisingly, one thing I look forward to is making Christmas cookies.  This year, I'm getting together with a friend to bake (links to two of the recipes below).  Even though we're not doing rolled, decorated sugar cookies, I still wanted to share the recipe we used all through my childhood.  Our family would add a step between refrigerating and baking - brush the cut out cookies with a lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with decorating sugar.  They turn out so pretty and yummy!

Since I don't have a photo of these (you can sneak a peek here), I'll share some pictures of our kids from when we picked out and decorated our Christmas tree.

What I'm baking this year:

GF Chocolate Crinkles

Molasses Spice Cookies

Mary's Sugar Cookies (4-5 dozen)
from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book

1½ cups of sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond flavoring
2½ cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Mix sugar and butter. Add egg and flavorings; mix thoroughly. Sift flour. Stir dry ingredients together and blend in. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.  Heat oven to 375°. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until delicately golden!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

 

 

It's officially fall!  Although the kids have been in school a few weeks, today marks my first day back in the classroom after 7 months.  In fact, 7 months ago today, baby girl was born!  I'm thankful for the time I had at home and for the flexibility that a teaching job provides me but leaving the baby for such a long time made me a little sad this morning.  I'm sure she'll be having fun with Daddy & her big sisters and won't be as sad as I am.

 

It even rained a little bit this morning and cooled down to feel more like fall than the 90 degree days we've been having around here.  These cookies have a distinctly fall flavor with pumpkin and spices.  I've made snickerdoodle variations in the past but this is probably my favorite.  I only had whole wheat flour when I made these and they still turned out light and delicious.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies (makes about 4 doz)
from Baked by Rachel

1 c. butter, softened
1.5 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. pumpkin puree
2 3/4 c. all purpose flour (or combination of whole wheat and regular)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For topping:
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add egg, vanilla and pumpkin. Mix until barely combined.

In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients.  Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into batter until mixed.  In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients.  Shape balls of dough that are about tablespoon sized and roll in the topping mixture.  Place on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake for 11-12 minutes.  Cool on pan for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

We're on vacation for a few weeks and here are some photos of what we've been up to:  

Giving Cinderelly showers on the beach

Bamboo pole fishing

Putting our toes in the sand

But, before we left, we made some cookies and want to share the recipe with you:

These cookies are gluten free and dairy free.  The only refined sugar is in the chocolate chips and if you use vegan chocolate chips, they'd be vegan.  You can substitute the agave for honey if you prefer.  At only about 85 calories per cookie, it's a healthy indulgence!

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (makes 2-3 dozen)
from Two Peas and their Pod

3 ripe bananas, peeled
1/2 cup all natural creamy peanut butter
1 T softened coconut oil
2 T agave nectar (or honey)
1 tsp. vanilla
2.5 cups oats (I used gluten free)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt (if you're using unsalted peanut butter)
1/2 cup chocolate chips  (I used the mini ones)

Mash the bananas with a fork.  Add the peanut butter, coconut oil, agave and vanilla and stir until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until set.  These won't spread much and will stay more like balls.

Meyer Lemon Cardamom Crinkles

The dough

Monday was a holiday for me and Big and we did some fun things around the house - organized some shelves in preparation for baby sister, 2 trips to Target, went out for lunch with Daddy, finger-painted, and made cookies.  I was looking around Pinterest for Meyer Lemon recipes after the girls picked some beauties from our potted tree in the backyard and this one caught my eye.

They were great - not overly sweet, distinct cardamom flavor, and cakey texture.  We made a decent mess baking them although the recipe isn't very complicated.  I used this cool microplane zester thing that I got for Christmas (4 Meyer lemons is a lot of zest!).  The dough was pretty sticky for forming balls and rolling in the powdered sugar and maybe a little time in the refrigerator would help that (or dipping your hands in water keeps the dough from sticking too bad).

The cookies

Meyer Lemon Cardamom Crinkles (makes 2 dozen)
from Cooking Channel TV via Pinterest

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of 4 Meyer lemons
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cardamom, baking powder, sea salt, and lemon zest.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter for about a minute.  Add the granulated sugar and cream for 2 minutes more.  Add the eggs, one at at time, and the vanilla extract.  Carefully mix in the flour mixture, just until combined.  Don't over mix.

Sift the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl.  Roll the dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and roll in powdered sugar before placing on a cookie sheet (leave about 2 in between the dough balls).  Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until the tops are cracked and puffed up.  They won't really get brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

Starters and Endings

Today, a great appetizer and yummy cookie recipe that we enjoyed over the Christmas holiday.  I think I've written before about how I'm appetizer-challenged . . . I feel like I rarely have a good idea and when I put a lot of time into an appetizer when I'm entertaining, the rest of the meal suffers.  Typically, I do a cheese plate with crackers or veggies and some sort of dip.  But, this holiday season I got to bring appetizers to a few different gatherings where I wasn't responsible for the rest of the meal.  So, here is one of the easiest and yummiest appetizers I've made for awhile:

Tortellini Skewers

Prepare a package of cheese tortellini according to the directions, drain and set aside.  

Cut some cherry tomatoes in half and some mozzarella into bite sized chunks.  

On small skewers, thread a tomato half, a piece of mozzarella, a tortellini and another tomato half.  

Put the skewers in a large, shallow pan and drizzle with a red wine or balsamic vinaigrette (I bought a red wine vinaigrette from Trader Joe's).  

Refrigerate for an hour or two.  

Remove the skewers from the vinaigrette and put on a serving platter.   

I also wanted to  post about some delicious GF cookies I made for Christmas.  Alas, there is no photo of the cookie but they turned out great.  I wasn't sure of the recipe . . . with no butter it's also a good dairy free option but I wasn't sure how they were going to hold together.  The egg whites did the trick and gave the cookies a glossy appearance.  This recipe was perfect for Christmas baking - One bowl, no melting or whipping or extra steps.

Flourless Chocolate Coconut Cookies (makes 2 dozen)
from Everyday Food 12/12

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 cocoa powder (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup roughly chopped toasted almonds
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
4 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in the middle and lower third of the oven.  In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, and salt.  Stir in the chocolate chips, almonds and coconut.  Add egg whites and stir until combined (do not over mix).

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets.  Bake until tops are dry and cracked, 15-18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.  Let coo completely on cookie sheets (place the whole sheet on a wire rack).

Chocolate Crinkles

In our family, chocolate crinkles always show up at Christmas time.  I was at a friend's Christmas party last weekend and she had the most delicious ones . . . and they were gluten free!  I'm going to be making these for my family this season and wanted to share both versions of the recipe with you.

Chocolate Crinkles (makes 6 dozen)
Betty Crocker Cookie Book

1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup powdered sugar

Melt the unsweetened chocolate and cool slightly.  Mix oil, chocolate, and granulated sugar.  Blend in one egg at a time until well mixed.  Add vanilla.  In a separate bowl, Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix into the oil mixture.  Chill for several hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball.  Roll in into the powdered sugar.  Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 9-11 minutes.  Don't over bake!

GF Chocolate Crinkles (makes 2 dozen)
Original Recipe here

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 oz)
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, divided (plus 1/2 cup for cookie coating)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick baking spray.  Melt 1 cup chocolate chips, cool slightly.  Using a mixer, beat whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar.  Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow cream.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.  On low speed, beat this mixture into the meringue.  Mix in the lukewarm chocolate mixture and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup powdered sugar in bowl.  Roll 1 rounded tablespoon of dough into a ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly.  Place on prepared cookie sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes.  Cool about 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.

Mocha Blondies

The other day, I wanted to bake something to take to the beach the next day.  Big was home from summer camp and she happily agreed to help me make Blondies. She kept asking "Blondie like me?  Like my blond hair?"  Sort of.  Blondies are bars, similar to brownies, but with brown sugar instead of cocoa.  I modified these a bit by adding espresso powder and mini chocolate chips so they were really more mocha than brown sugar (in complexion as well as flavor).  I loved the results.  Usually, I'm a brownie person through and through.  I'd rather have chocolate than just about anything else but I thought these turned out fantastic.

Mocha Blondies 

(adapted from Mark Bittman & Smitten Kitchen)

2 sticks butter, melted

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups flour

2 Tablespoons espresso powder

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9x13 pan.  Mix butter and brown sugar together - beat until smooth.  Beat in eggs and then vanilla.  Add salt, stir in flour, and then mix in the espresso powder and chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 18-22 minutes or until set in the middle.  Cool on rack before cutting them.  Forget to take them to the beach and watch your kid throw a gigantic temper tantrum in the parking lot when she finds out.  Serve them the next night for dessert when you have family over.

Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies

I bought some beautiful strawberries the other day and my girls kept telling me (insert whiny voice):  "I don't waaaannnt those" when I'd put them on their lunch or dinner plate.  Okay.  I couldn't stand to see the strawberries get soft and go bad so I thought I'd bake something instead.  I'm still trying to watch my sugar intake and lose a few pounds before Hawaii so I only had one (~85 calories/cookie) but it was delicious.   And, now I hear "I want a cookie!" instead of the complaining.

At first I was skeptical about the step of refrigerating the dough but it was too soft when it was all mixed up.  I thought the strawberries would start to macerate or get brown by letting the dough sit in the refrigerator but they held up well.  I diced them small, right before I mixed them in so that there wouldn't be too much liquid and it worked well.  I didn't add the chocolate chips or pecans this time but it would taste good with them!

Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies (1.5 dozen)
adapted from Cooking Light

3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup oats
dash of salt
3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
2 T butter, softened
2 T unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
3/4 c. diced fresh strawberries
1/3 c. toasted pecans (or white chocolate chips) - optional

In a large bowl, whisk flour, oats, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat applesauce, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla on low speed.  Add egg and beat until fully mixed.  Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir well.  Gently fold in the strawberries (so they don't mash) and pecans or chocolate chips (if using).  Mix until fully combined.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap or foil and chill in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Once chilled, remove from fridge, preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line or lightly grease a baking sheet.  Scoop cookie dough about 1 tablespoon at a time onto the sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch space between scoops.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

New Snack and Family News

Oh, man.  So, the other day I signed up for Pinterest and let me tell you, that is a major time suck.  I've managed to avoid starting a Facebook account but I already spend time reading blogs.  Now Pinterest . . . it's fun and I liked taking some bookmarked ideas and having a visual representation of them.

My most recent new recipe came via a friend via Pinterest (thanks, Lisa!).  These are little no-bake treats with no refined sugar or flour.  I've made them with almond butter and with peanut butter and cut down on the honey a little bit.  Big sister and I loved them.  I think Little wanted them to be more like actual cookies (they're pretty chewy) and wasn't as jazzed.  With GF oats, they're a good little GF treat.

Click here for the recipe

In other news, I have actually been doing some stuff other than wasting time on Pinterest.  I've been driving to swim lessons every day and twice on Mondays and Wednesdays. Big is learning the backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.  She passed from Level 2 to Level 4 after being able to swim from one end of the pool to the other doing her stroke.  Don't you love how you can see her dimples while she does the elementary back stroke??  If anyone in the area needs a great swim instructor, I'll put you in touch with Coach Matt!

Little is taking her second year of ISR . . . videos to come in a few weeks!  You'll be amazed to see her swim.

Big also got chosen to do the Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland the other week.  She was so nervous to fight Darth Vader and was fighting back tears as she waited for her turn, but was then very proud of herself for conquering her fear.  It's also really cute . . . she thinks she's an actual Padawan and takes it very seriously.

Little loved Disneyland.  She got a little scared on some of the rides (Snow White and Peter Pan in particular) but it was a super fun day.  Little also recently learned the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle. I didn't teach either to her but I think her Dad has been singing while her Mom has been teaching.  And, when I asked her "who sings Twinkle Twinkle with you?" she said "Haaayyyydeeee" (her Grandma).

And, George got to come to Big's preschool for show and tell.  He was a huge hit . . . actually did some stuff like eating food and walking around and peeing.  The kids especially liked the part where he peed (4 year olds + an animal peeing = levels of excitement I didn't anticipate*).

*Wow . . . I never thought I'd write that last sentence on a food blog.  Sorry.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Now, these cookies aren't anything new (I've had them before when my mom and sister in law have made them) and the recipe isn't a big family secret - you can find it on the back of the bag of Trader Joe's gluten free oats.  But, they are so good I had to put the recipe here so everyone can make them.

My motivation in baking them last week was twofold.  First, I was at the park when Big sister came running over to tell me that "these girls are selling cookies in boxes."  Girl Scout cookie time!  I told her we could buy some, gave her some money, and then realized that my niece was standing there and couldn't have any cookies because the Girl Scouts haven't yet decided to make a gluten free cookie.  I felt so bad and we didn't open them there, but waited until we got home.  So, I wanted to make gluten free cookies to give some to my niece the next time I saw her.  (Funny story - she almost didn't get any because the adults scarfed down all the cookies except one while the kids were playing)

Also, we got invited to go to the Huntington Library with a new friend who I know from the internet & blogging.  It's always fun to meet someone whose writing I admire and whose life I sort of keep up with in a virtual way.  If you know me from my blog or from "real life," you'll remember that when I'm trying to make a friend or get on someone's good side, I bake.  Karin was gracious and patient with my kids (even daring enough to share snacks with them) and a lot of fun to hang out with.  The weather was beautiful and Big keeps asking when we're going back - it was a great outing.

I didn't get a photo of her eating the cookies, but how about these two chocolate chip faces??

My nephew enjoyed the gf dessert offering

I can't tell you how many cookies Little ate because you'd think less of me as a mother . . . 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (makes 4 dozen)

1/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 c. gluten free rolled oats
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
6 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a large bowl.  Beat until creamy.  Add eggs, vanilla, and baking soda.  Mix well.  Add the peanut butter and mix.  Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.  Place dough by heaping teaspoons on a lightly greased cookie sheet (I lined mine with Silpat, parchment would also work fine) about 2 inches apart.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

My 300th post

Today marks 300 posts on my blog!  Thanks for reading and commenting . . . I'm still really enjoying writing this blog and I hope it's inspired you to cook something new.

For the past few years, I've hosted the Christmas party for 4 of my girlfriends and their guys.  Like last year, we did cocktails and dessert (without any kids) and I had a great time.  Things are changing with our group (bff is moving, twins are being born, busy schedules) so we're not getting together weekly like we used to, but the party this past weekend was a fun reminder of how special it is to have a group of close girl friends who know each other well.   Thanks for a fun evening girls!

Whether or not you're hosting a party this Christmas season, here are a few new ideas to try out:

First up, a holiday cocktail:  Cranberry Ginger Rum Martinis

I made a mason jar of this and it was decided that next time, it should be a pitcher (there were 10 of us so it didn't go very far).

1)  In a jar (or pitcher), thinly slice some fresh ginger (I did about 4 long peels).  Add 1.25 cups of rum.  Use the handle of a wooden spoon to crush the ginger and release juices.

2)  Stir in 4 cups of cold cranberry juice.

3)  Refrigerate overnight so that the ginger has time to flavor the mixture.  Shake in a martini shaker with ice to make it really cold.  Serve in martini glasses with a sugar rim (dip rims of martini glasses in water and then in sugar).  Yields 8 drinks

Next, a new cookie:  Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (recipe from sugar, eggs and love)

This recipe yields about 2 dozen but I made a double batch.  At first, I wasn't as excited about them as I thought I would be but they really grew on me and I liked them even better the next day.  They are reminiscent of chocolate crinkles, a Christmas cookie staple in my family, but with cinnamon and a little kick from the cayenne.  Be careful when adding the cayenne . . . for some reason, the bottle I have is super hot (even for our tastes) and I know better than to add the full amount to anything.  1/8 tsp was perfect for me.  I burned the first batch so pull them out a little earlier than you think you should.

For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 T half and half (or almond milk for vegan cookies)
1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
1 2/3 c. flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (my jar is super hot so I only used 1/8 tsp)

For the topping:
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two large baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.  Mix the topping ingredients together in a shallow bowl.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, use a whisk to vigorously mix together the oil, sugar, syrup, half and half, and vanilla extract.  Use a mixer to mix as you sift in the remaining ingredients.  Once all ingredients are incorporated, mix until you have a pliable dough.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls.  Roll them in the cinnamon sugar topping mixture.  Transfer to baking sheet and flatten slightly.  Place them on baking sheet at least two inches apart.  Bake 9-11 minutes until the top is a little crackly but not 100% dry.  Remove and let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Finally, a dessert that will accommodate a lot of dietary restrictions:  Pumpkin Custards


My mom made these for us a little while ago and I was hooked.  They are gluten free, vegan, and contain no refined sugar.  But, they're really tasty and satisfying as a dessert.

The white spots are from the coconut milk and it has a good pumpkin pie flavor - neither the maple syrup or coconut milk are very noticeable flavors in the final product so don't be put off by those ingredients.  I served it with whipped cream.

Pumpkin Custards (from Living Without magazine) - serves 6

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (not lite)

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. maple syrup

1 T arrowroot (powder - can buy it in bulk in the spice section of Sprouts)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil 6 ramekins.  In a large bowl, whisk together coconut milk, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and maple syrup.  In a small bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time, stirring constantly.  

Pour batter into prepared ramekins, about 3/4 cup per serving.  Place ramekins in a 9x13 pan and add enough warm water until it reaches half way up the outsides of the ramekins.  Carefully place baking dish in preheated oven and bake about 45 minutes, until custard is no longer jiggly and has lightly browned tops. Cool on wire racks. You can make them ahead and refrigerate until you want to serve them (probably for a couple days if you tightly cover them) or serve them warm. (230 cal/ramekin)