Archive for the ‘oatmeal’ Category
Grandma Pat’s Chocolate Oatmeal Refrigerator Cookies
My mom would make these cookies for our family for dessert on special nights. We loved it when mom would tell stories about grandma Pat making them for her nine kids. There are a few favorite recipes in my mom’s family that are passed down. They’re usually simple and affordable recipes made popular by an ability to feed a lot of people on not a lot of money. An example being my mom’s potato salad, a dish so delicious it could sway a vote or sail a ship.
The process of stirring melting butter, sugar, and cocoa on the stove until boiling coupled with the aroma of the ingredients melding into one is satisfying. It reminds me of home and my family. I like to think about my grandma Pat hurriedly making these cookies while some of her kids clung to her pant legs, while others still in diapers pulled things out of cabinets. There was no such thing as an “easy” recipe for a mother with nine children.
I can remember my mom pulling a chair up to the stove and putting a wooden spoon in my little hand, guiding it around the pot carefully, making sure the sugar didn’t burn so I could learn how to make these cookies. I think that’s why they’re the best cookies ever.
I made this batch for a party and put a little shaved macadamia nut on top and dusted the platter with some cocoa powder to make these cookies look fancy.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (half a stick) of butter
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- 2 cups of rolled oats
- (optional) 3-4 macadamia nuts, very finely cut for topping
- (optional) 1 Tbsp cocoa powder for dusting a platter
Instructions:
- Mix sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk in a sauce pan until boiling over medium
heat for 1 minute.
- Take off stove and fold in the oats and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Using a spoon, drop cookies on wax paper, or a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
- If desired add shaved macadamia nuts and dust with cocoa powder
- Refrigerate for one to two hours, until hardened, if you can wait that long.
Makes about a baker’s dozen.
ShareCarrot & Caramelized Banana Oat Bomb!
I got the idea from these geniuses, who in turn got it from this brilliant gal with a blog. They all used canned pumpkin to make this recipe. The can of pumpkin I had expired May of 2010, so I was out of luck on that front. I decided to grate up some carrots and add a little yogurt to the mix. Also, I caramelized my bananas in the same iron skillet I baked this glorious dessert/breakfast in.
I portioned out the oat bomb into 8 different little containers as to grab it quickly in the morning on our way to work. That’s four days of breakfast for both of us on the cheap and sweet! But since I made this dish at night I transformed it into the base of a delicious dessert for my boyfriend. Here’s the oat bomb in a fancy party dress. Old oat bomb really cleans up well! ->
I really recommend using greenish bananas for this baked oatmeal dish. I should have followed the original recipe but I’m going with what I have in house. The bananas I had in my kitchen were just about turning brown. I have to be honest, when I took the oat bomb out of the iron skillet it was just about the most unattractive thing I’ve ever baked. As the infamous Channel Bowl once wrote on their white board, “food doesn’t have to look pretty to taste good”.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 large yellow-green bananas, sliced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp molasses
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup raisins, chopped finely
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped finely
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup of grated carrots
1 cup of low-fat plain yogurt
1 tbsp milk or cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375
- Melt butter in an iron skillet
- Add in the sliced bananas and cook for 2 minutes, gently stirring every now and then. Add cinnamon and 1 tbsp honey, let mixture boil & thicken for about 30 seconds.
- Take bananas off heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together oats, apricots, raisins, pecans, larger portion of honey, baking powder, and spices,
- In a separate bowl whisk egg, milk or cream, add carrots, yogurt, and vanilla.
- Combine dry and wet ingredients, stirring well and adding to the top of banana bottom layer.
- Bake for 35 minutes
- Allow 5 minutes to cool before serving
Banana Yogurt Honey Muffins
I don’t think I’ve ever met a muffin I didn’t like. When I make muffins I use natural sweeteners and limit my use of white flour. The integration of wheat bran and oatmeal brings a whole new level of fiber and chewiness to these bombs of deliciousness. I have a fantasy of really giving them the Greek treatment and topping them with a whipped Greek yogurt topping and honey. That might be an acceptable Sunday brunch kind of ordeal, but this is your every day muffin. This is your wake up late, make a pot of french press coffee, and read the New York Times muffin.
The photo above and some of the ingredients listed may look and sound much like the huckleberry muffin recipe I already wrote about. But the addition of honey, yogurt, and bananas really made these treats even more moist and delectable.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup of wheat bran
1 cup of whole wheat flour (sifted if possible)
1-1/4 cups yogurt, plain, Greek, or flavored
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 ripe smashed bananas
12 pecans for topping
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg, smash the bananas, and mix honey, yogurt and apple sauce. Integrate dry and wet ingredients. Stir into a batter just until moistened.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Top each muffin with a pecan or a walnut, pressing the nut lightly into the muffin. Bake at 400 F. for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.
You can top with Greek yogurt and honey, or enjoy a simple hearty & healthy muffin.
Happy Eating!
The Alia Breakfast
I spent the last week down in San Francisco visiting with family and friends. The Bay Area is a ridiculously beautiful place to live and also ridiculously expensive. I stayed with my two favorite girl cousins, one of whom, like me, is temporarily unemployed. Unemployment is a time where the glory of air miles and the promise of a job come the winter months make taking a quick trip out of town possible. My cousin Anya works as a clothing designer for the cutest toddlers in America. When Anya went to work each day, Alia and I came up with a new public transportation adventure to embark on. We started many of our mornings off with this simple, filling, and cheap breakfast. Our fresh fruit came courtesy of the Mission Farmer’s Market, the Asian produce markets lining the Richmond, and the market stalls lining the border of China Town. Ali and I soon discovered to our delight that San Francisco is full of cheap delicious food to be made or bought.
This is a meal that allows for creativity and personal preference. It’s always best to use fruit that’s in season, and in our case the fruit that was most affordable. I think fresh walnuts or almonds would be great as a garnish on this breakfast, but it varies from the bare bones tradition of this cost effective recipe. If you’re trying to impress someone and want to get really fancy, roulade and thinly julienne some mint on this piece!
Ingredients:
- 1 large peach
- 1 banana
- 1 orange or 1 apple (or both)
- 1 cup of rolled extra thick oats
- 2 – 4 tablespoons of low-fat plain yogurt (Greek or European yogurt is delicious)
- Cinnamon to taste
- Fresh honey, use sparingly (optional)
Instructions:
- Wash fruit and cut it into similar sized cubes
- Mix fruit with plain yogurt in a small bowl and reserve
- Cook rolled oats using your method of choice (Alia used the old school stove method)
- Spoon 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cooked oats into a bowl
- Top with fruit and yogurt mixture
- Season with cinnamon and/or honey
This makes 2-3 servings with even a little left over fruit for a later day snack.
Happy Eating!
drmrru12
matterymae
Patrice Helmar
The Fantastic Mr. Feedbag
