Hearty, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I like to think of oatmeal cookies as healthy.

I mean, oats are good for you, right? And brown sugar is the best sugar.  And eggs?  I eat those for breakfast.

I jumped at the chance to make these when Kellen complained, “you never make me anythinggg.”  (Which, by the way, is not true.)

Knowing that Deb has no-fail, amazing recipes, I barely changed her original recipe.  I chilled half of the dough for a couple of hours, and made the rest straight away.  Kellen and I both preferred the cookies made with un-chilled dough, so I guess that one’s up to you.  These are the best oatmeal cookies I’ve made.

The big debate: Do you like raisins in your oatmeal cookies or not?


Hearty, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Smitten Kitchen

(Makes 24 cookies)

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 ¾ cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.
3. At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.
4. The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Happy National Peanut Butter Day- Stockpile of peanut butter recipes

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!

What have you done today to celebrate?

I had a bowl of oatmeal with a hugggeee glob of peanut butter on top.  As you can see, I’m never short on peanut butter.

I didn’t bake anything with peanut butter today, but if you feel like celebrating, here are some of my older recipes:

Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy Peasy 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Healthy Coconut Oil Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Vanilla Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Mini Peanut Butter and Jelly Hand Pies

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Or you can check out some other yummy peanut butter recipes from around the blogosphere:

Peanut Butter Granola- Peanut Butter Fingers

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins- Delish

Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes- The Sweet Life

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars- Baked by Joanna

Peanut Butter Blondies- Brown Eyed Baker

Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast Cookies- Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

How are you celebrating National Peanut Butter Day?

Sweet Cornbread Muffins (and blog changes coming soon!)

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I’m really excited.

Jessica at Southtown Creative is redesigning What Katie’s Baking.  I will no longer be hosted by Blogger. It’ll be all my own, which is really awesome.

I can’t wait to show you all, but until then, things might be a little crazy around here for the next couple of weeks.

Until then, here are some muffins.  I was in a hurry, so I threw these together in about 45 minutes and got the recipe straight from All Recipes, no adaptations except the addition of an egg.

Because of that, I wasn’t going to give you the recipe, but it was too good not to.

Between me, my parents, and Kellen, we devoured the muffins in two days.  So. Good.  I say sweet, but there is just a hint of sweetness, not an overpoweringly sweet taste.  And they’re moist and fluffy.  So. Good.  Make them.  Also, they go perfectly with creamy corn soup, which I’ll have a recipe up for soon.

Sweet Cornbread Muffins
All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 
  

• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan (or line 12 muffin tins).
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in eggs, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

• 
  

21st Birthday and “Peanut” Brittle… with no peanuts

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Today is my 21st birthday!

I celebrated last night like this:

I had never had a drink before, so I only had two drinks last night.  It was a lot of fun and I’m really grateful I was able to spend it with good company.

How did you celebrate your 21st birthday?  If you’re not 21, what was your favorite birthday and how did you celebrate?


“Peanut” Brittle… with no peanuts
All Recipes
This recipe isn’t very sweet, but super crunchy and perfect for people with a peanut allergy.  It also makes a great gift!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• ½ cup white corn syrup (I used white, but next time I’d probably use dark)
• ¼ cup water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  
• 
  

Directions

1. Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray coating.
2. In a 4 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat to boiling (300 degrees, or until the mixture beads when dropped into water).
3. Take from heat and quickly mix in the salt and baking soda until well blended.
4. Pour the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheets. Allow mixture to spread on it’s own. Cool completely, and break into pieces. Store in air-tight container or plastic bag.

Cinnamon Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Toffee Pecan Buttercream Frosting

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Every once in a while, creativity strikes.

This was one of those times.

These cupcakes are cinnamon-y sweet cups of decadence topped off with huge globs of crunchy, sugary frosting…and they’re gorgeous.

I’m just gonna leave it at that and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Cinnamon Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Toffee Pecan Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
Cupcake:

1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking power
½ tsp salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 stick (½ cup) butter
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
½ cup milk

Frosting:

5 tablespoons butter
1 cup powered sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup toffee bits (Heath bits)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. 
2. Whisk dry ingredients (except for sugar) in a large bowl. 
3. Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. 
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
5.  Reduce speed to low. Mix in milk. 
6. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. 
7. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
8. Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
9. When cool, make the frosting:
10. Cream the butter in a small bowl with the brown sugar.
11. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. 
12.  Beat with an electric mixer, until the desired texture is achieved.
13. Fold in pecans and toffee bits.
14. Frost cupcakes.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Made With Coconut Flour (Gluten Free)

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I’ve had coconut flour sitting up in the cabinet for about 6 months now.  I bought it because it’s good for you, it’s gluten-free, high in fiber and protein, and I wanted to bake with it.

I hadn’t done a thing with it, so I looked up “Recipes using coconut flour” and got some pretty good results, but in the end I went with these delicious muffins.  I normally associate lemon with summer time, but since the weather has been ridiculously nice lately, I figured these were appropriate.

The consistency of the muffins was really thick and dense.  I didn’t know what to expect since I had never baked with coconut flour before, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The coconut flavor is pretty predominant in these, but I think that’s a good thing.

Have you baked with coconut flour before?  What did you think of it?


Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Made With Coconut Flour
Elana’s Pantry


Ingredients:
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
¼ cup honey
¼ cup oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon poppy seeds


Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a large bowl, blend together eggs, honey, oil and lemon zest
3. Blend dry ingredients into wet.
4. Fold in poppy seeds.
5. Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each greased mini muffin cup.
6. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes.
7. Cool and serve.

Sweet and Salty White Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Snack Mix

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I’m not usually the biggest fan of salty and sweet combinations.

I’ll eat them, but I don’t crave them.

Until now.  

I was going to make caramel corn, only to find out that we were out of popcorn, but we did have a bag of pretzels, so I swapped the popcorn for the pretzels.  

This is the best combination of salty and sweet I’ve ever had.  There isn’t much caramel to cover the entire 1 pound bag of pretzels, so it’s just a light and crunchy glaze that isn’t too sweet, but then you add the white chocolate and it makes it just sweet enough.  Trust me.  When can you ever go wrong with white chocolate pretzels, anyway?  You can’t, but add caramel and you definitely can’t.

What’s your favorite salty sweet combination?

P.s. I have a pair of Nike’s selling on ebay if anyone’s interested: Women’s Nike 6.0.

Sweet and Salty White Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Snack Mix
Adapted from: Karan’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 pound bag pretzel twists
½ cup butter
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
12 oz white chocolate

2 tsp oil

Directions:

1. Combine butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave (high) for 1 ½ minutes; whisk until smooth and slightly thickened. 
2. Drizzle over pretzels; stir until pretzels are coated. 
3. Transfer to a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven, stirring every 3 minutes during baking, until coating is dry, about 10 – 12 minutes. 
5. Spread onto foil-lined tray to cool.  
6. Melt white chocolate with oil.  (About 1-2 minutes in the microwave)
7. Drizzle over pretzels, mix to coat.

Happy New Year! Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Happy New Year’s Eve!

I hope that you all have some festivities planned for tonight.  Mine are unclear, and I don’t get to spend New Year’s Eve with Kellen this year, but I’m going to make the best of it.

This year has been wonderful and so many things have happened.  I traveled to New York, Portland, Arkansas, Chicago, and many other places.  I took a photography class and improved my food photos big time.  (Take a look for yourself.  This is my post from last New Year’s Eve: Cranberry Walnut Bread.)   I transferred to a new school that I love and made lots of great new friends.  I got a new kitten and named him Francis.  I went to KanRocksas, my first concert.  Kellen got me my very first Tiffany’s necklace.  I baked a lot.  There are many, many more things and all in all, it was a wonderful year.  I hope 2012 is just as good.

I don’t have any resolutions this year, only to be grateful for what I do have instead of trying to change.

Do you have any resolutions?  If so, what are they?


Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft
1 cup (7 ½ ounces) packed brown sugar
¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 3/4 cups (11 5/8 ounces) All-Purpose Flour
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt½ cup peanut butter

Directions:

1. Place the very soft butter in a medium-large mixing bowl. Add the sugars, salt, vanilla, and stir well. Add the egg and stir until well blended. Add the baking soda and flour, mixing until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter.
2. Scoop rounded teaspoons of dough onto light-colored baking sheets. Flatten into disks, using gentle pressure from your fingers.  You can also flatten with the bottom of a cup or something.  Sprinkle a little pinch of salt on each of the cookies.
3. Bake the cookies in a preheated 375°F oven for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned; the tops shouldn’t brown, they should still be slightly gooey. Remove the cookies from the oven, let them rest on the pan for 5 minutes, then slide them onto a rack to cool completely.