oatmeal-craisin-chocolate chip-pecan cookies

This started as a quest to use up stuff I had around the house and to make cookies to take with me to work. It’s a variation on the cookie recipe in the lid of the Quaker Oatmeal box.

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixer, mix

1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar

As I have said before, I let the mixer run for seven or eight minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then add

2 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla

Mix well. In a separate bowl combine

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Add the dry mixture gradually to the wet mixture until combined. Finally, mix in

3 cups oatmeal
1 cup Craisins (not craziness, as first published)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a greased cookie sheet or a Silpat and bake for 15-18 minutes.

Peace,
Milton

bacon-cheddar-grits balls

1 cup uncooked grits
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
8-10 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 large eggs (for egg wash)
3 cups Panko bread crumbs (or Ritz cracker crumbs)
oil for frying

Heat milk until it is beginning to simmer and whisk in grits gradually. Add salt and cook until grits pull away from the side of the saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, bacon, and pepper; keep stirring until cheese is melted. Spread out on a greased baking sheet and let cool. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours.

To prepare grits balls, put cold grits mixture into a bowl and roll grits into 1 inch balls. Whisk together eggs and 1/4 cup water. Put breadcrumbs in another bowl. Dip balls in egg wash, and roll in breadcrumbs.

Pour oil to depth of 3 inches in a large, heavy skillet; heat over medium-high heat to 350°. Fry fritters, in batches, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally. Drain on paper towels. Keep fritters warm on a wire rack in a pan in a 225° oven up to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

NOTE: You can make the grits balls and then cover and chill in a single layer up to 4 hours, if you want to make them ahead of time and then fry as directed. You may also freeze on a baking sheet for 30 minutes or until firm and then transfer to a zip-top plastic bag and freeze. Cook frozen fritters as directed, increasing cooking time to 5 to 6 minutes or until golden and centers are thoroughly heated.

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found in Southern Living magazine.

Peace,
Milton

risotto al cioccolato

That's chocolate risotto to you and me.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup arborio rice
8  cups of milk
4 tablespoons sugars
1 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt the unsalted butter in a sauté pan and add the rice and stir for about a minute. Heat the milk in a saucepan or a micowave safe dish. Don't boil it, but get it good and hot so that it doesn't lower the temperature of the risotto when it's added. Pour about a cup and a half of milk into the pan and stir until the milk is almost absorbed. Add the sugar and another cup and a half do milk. You will need to stir almost continuously. As the milk evaporates, add another cup of milk to the rice and continue stirring until the milk is absorbed and the rice is tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until they are melted and the risotto has reduced to a creamy consistency. Let sit covered for about ten minutes before serving.

I served the dessert topped with marscapone cheese that was mixed with confectioner’s sugar and some fresh berries.

Serves 8-10.

Peace,
Milton

elvis has left the building cookies

Ginger and I are heading out of town for a couple of weeks, which means I will be gone for a couple of weeks from my job at the computer store, which means I won’t be taking in cookies for a while. These circumstances inspired my recipe for today, which I can my “Elvis Has Left the Building Cookies,” or peanut butter-banana-chocolate chip treats.

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 banana, mashed
2 eggs

Cream the butters, banana, and sugar together in an electric mixer. As I have said before, I usually let it run five to seven minutes. Then add the eggs and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, mix together

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine well and then gradually add to the butter-sugar mixture in the electric mixer until everything is incorporated. Then add

1 12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup (generous cup) dried banana chips

And mix it all together. Use a one ounce scoop to drop the cookies on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper. Bake in a 375 oven for 12-14 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Peace,
Milton

coffee toffee icebox cookies

An icebox cookie is basically a sugar cookie you chill (in the icebox) and then slice to cook.

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

2 large eggs

Beat the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer for 5-7 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant espresso


Mix dry ingredients together and then add gradually to butter mixture. Then add


1 12 oz. bag of Heath Bits o' Brickle

Divide dough into four equal parts and form each section into a log about an inch and a half to two inches in circumference. Chill for at least two hours. You can keep them for up to three days. When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350. Line your baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place them on the baking sheet. I find I can cook 18 on at a time. Bake 8-9 minutes.

Makes 8-10 dozen cookies.

Peace,
Milton





This recipe was first inspired by this recipe in the August 2012 issue of Southern Living magazine.

craisin-orange-rosemary icebox cookies

An icebox cookie is basically a sugar cookie you chill (in the icebox) and then slice to cook.

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange extract
2 large eggs

Beat the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer for 5-7 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons orange zest or dried orange peel

Mix dry ingredients together and then add gradually to butter mixture. Then add

1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
a big handful of chopped fresh rosemary.

Divide dough into four equal parts and form each section into a log about an inch and a half to two inches in circumference. Chill for at least two hours. You can keep them for up to three days. When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350. Line your baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place them on the baking sheet. I find I can cook 18 on at a time. Bake 8-9 minutes.

Makes 8-10 dozen cookies.

Peace,
Milton



This recipe was first inspired by this recipe in the August 2012 issue of Southern Living magazine.

double squash cookies

These cookies went to work with me along with the coco-choco-peanut butter ones because some of my co-workers are allergic to nuts and a couple of others, inexplicably, don't like chocolate. I started with this recipe and made a couple of changes. The name for these cookies came from one of my co-workers since they have both zucchini and pumpkin seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups packed brown sugar 
2 eggs 
1 teaspoon vanilla 

3 cups flour 
1 teaspoon salt 
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons dried lemon peel 
1 teaspoon baking soda 

2 cups grated zucchini squash 
3 1/2 cups oatmeal 
2 cups roasted pumpkin seeds

If the pumpkin seeds are not roasted, spread them out on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for about seven or eight minutes. Stir and return them to the oven, checking them every two or three minutes until they begin to brown. Set aside to cool.

Mix the butter and sugar together for five or six minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again.

Combine the flour and the next four ingredients and then add it gradually to the butter mixture. When they are well mixed, add the zucchini, then the oatmeal. Finally, stir in the pumpkin seeds.

Use a 1-ounce scoop to drop the cookies on a baking sheet lined with either a Sil-pat or parchment paper. Cook for 11-13 minutes. Makes a little over five dozen cookies.

Peace,
Milton

 

coco-choco-peanut butter cookies

I've been on a cookie baking binge mainly because I bake them and take them with me to work at the computer store where they are well received. This recipe comes at the suggestion of Hakim, one of my co-workers and slightly adapted from a recipe I found here.

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour

1 12 ounce package chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Start by toasting the coconut. Spread it evenly on a baking sheet and put it in a 350 degree oven for about seven minutes. Stir it and then continue in two or three minute segments until it is a little brown. :Let it cool on the baking sheet and it will brown a little more. Set aside.

Lower oven temperature to 325.

Cream the butter and peanut butter together until creamy and then add the sugars. Let the mixer run for a good five minutes until the mixture is fluffly. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together and then add it gradually to the butter mixture. Once they are combined, add the coconut and the chocolate chips.

I use a 1-ounce scoop to drop the cookies on a baking sheet lined with a Sil-pat. You can also use parchment paper. Cook the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Makes about five dozen.

Peace,
Milton

lemon-basil-ginger snaps

My search for a summertime cookie has led me here.

3/4 cup butter, room temperature3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped fine

Cream butter until fluffy; add sugar and let the mixer run for about five minutes. Add the egg and beat until mixed well. Add the other three ingredients and mix until everything is combined.

2 cups flour
1/3 cup fresh basil, julienned
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

 Put the julienned basil in a food processor and chop it into fine pieces. add 1/4 cup of flour to basil and combine until it creates a green flour. Whisk that in with the rest of the flour and the other dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture a little bit at a time, mixing until combined.

1/2 cup lemon sugar (I found it at Whole Foods)

Using a one ounce cookie scoop, drop the cookies into the sugar and roll until they are covered. Put them on a cookie sheet and press them down lightly with your hand. Bake at 350 for twelve minutes. Makes about three dozen.

Peace,
Milton

cocoa cinnamon treats

The story behind these cookies begins with a request from one of my colleagues at the Apple Store for a sugar cookie with either chocolate chips or toffee. I thought, “Why not both?” The first incarnation was pretty good, but I had some ideas on improvements. Our friends Areli and Leon are opening a coffee shop in our neighborhood called Cocoa Cinnamon, so, with them in mind, the second version of these I rolled in sugar mixed with both cocoa powder and cinnamon, along with a touch of chili powder. And there’s one more thing. Roberto, the chef at Old Havana Sandwich Shop, renders manteca from the pork they slow cook everyday. I use that for the shortening.

These may be the best cookies I have ever made, or at least so say most all recent reviewers.

Preheat oven to 350.

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg

Mix the butter and shortening together until blended; add the sugars and mix for five to seven minutes. Add the egg and mix until blended. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

With the mixer on low, add incrementally to the butter mixture until combined. Add

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

and mix until blended. Then add

1 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (6 ounce) package Heath  Bits O’ Brickle chips

and mix until combined. You may have to do the last mixing with a spoon. I dump it out of the mixer into a bigger mixing bowl where I can stir it.

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chili powder

Using a 1 oz scoop, drop balls of the dough into the sugar mixture and roll them to coat. Put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat and bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes. I choose the lesser time because it make a wonderfully soft cookie.

The recipe that got me started is here.

Peace,
Milton