How about a blast from the not-so-distant past?
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July 2011
July 31, 2011
July 30, 2011
Quik Time!
For my next recipe, I knew I wanted to do a strawberry, coconut, and almond cookie, but I wasn't sure how to fill up those guys with strawberry flavor. Longtime readers will know that I've made a few berry cookies that use three forms of fruit--fresh, dried, and cooked--to deliver the yumminess. This time, though, I wanted to try something a little different because I couldn't find dried strawberries at my grocery store. But what to use? Even more fresh or cooked strawberries?
When you make berry- or fruit-flavored cookies, you always have to address the moisture factor. Fruit is wet, and cookie dough that is too wet often yields too-moist, cakey cookies, which is fine if that's what you like. But I prefer the perfect balance between chew and crunch. And so the search for an alternative ingredient for dried strawberries began.
And then it hit me: Strawberry Quik! Some pink stuff in the dry ingredients will do the trick.
July 29, 2011
Salad-Inspired Cookies
A few weeks ago, at Wednesday night dinner with the boys, I had a pretty unique salad: spinach with coconut, strawberries, and almonds. I've had spinach salad before with fruit and nuts, but the coconut was a new one on me. It tasted really good, but even more important, I think it gave me my next cookie recipe!
July 28, 2011
Go West, Young Man
As I'm sure longtime readers have noticed, my posts this summer have been few and far between. Sorry about that! What can I say? I've been very busy at home and even busier at the office.
I hate it when work interferes with my cookies, which is why an impromptu trip to California with my bestie Ken was just the break I needed.
Lounging by the pool, walking on the beach, cruising the Pacific Coast Highway, checking out Beverly Hills and Malibu, stuffing my face at In-N-Out Burger. I could get used to that!
Thanks to a week away, I was able to reclaim space for the Oatmeal Cookie Guy. Stay tuned...regularly scheduled blogging and baking have commenced.
July 27, 2011
July 26, 2011
July 25, 2011
July 04, 2011
July 03, 2011
Repost: Picturing Fourth July Cookies
Here's the recipe for my Fourth of July Cookies in process.
Cook the blueberries, white sugar, lemon juice, and milk. Once you've got a silky purple mash, set aside the mixture to cool. This stuff is good enough to eat on its own...or on top of vanilla ice cream.
Cream the creamables: butter and light brown sugar.
Add the cooled blueberry mixture to the creamables. Mix. It looks messy, but don't worry.
Combine the dry ingredients. This recipe is loaded with flavorful stuff: dried cherries, fresh cherries, coconut, white chocolate chips, cooked blueberries, and fresh blueberries. Yup...red, white, and blue.
Add the dry ingredients to the combined creambles and cooked blueberries. Mix. Then chill to firm up.
Scoop, bake, and set off the fireworks. Happy Birthday, America!
July 02, 2011
Repost: Fourth of July Cookies
(This recipe is a repost from The List.)
This recipe has been on The List for a long time. I meant to make it last Fourth of July, but I got distracted by the parade, fireworks, and--of course--all the hamburger eating I was doing. So, at long last, here's the Fourth of July Cookie. Happy Birthday, America!
The ingredients for this cookie are really obvious: I just needed to find red, white, and blue stuff. Cue the cherries, white chocolate, coconut (because Mumma loves it) and blueberries.
To maximize the blueberry flavor and color, I decided to use my signature no-egg process and replaced the traditional egg and vanilla wet ingredients with cooked blueberries amped up with white sugar, lemon juice, and milk. The result is a moist, flavorful, and colorful cookie. The splash of lemon juice really balances out the sweetness of the berries and brightens the flavor.
Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Fourth of July Cookies.)
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Creamables |
1 stick butter 1 cup light brown sugar |
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Wet Ingredients |
1 1/4 cups halved fresh blueberries 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 tablespoon milk |
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Dry Ingredients |
3 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups coconut 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup white chocolate chips 1 cup dried cherries 1/2 cup halved fresh blueberries 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cherries 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt |
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In a small saucepan, heat blueberries, milk, lemon juice, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, crushing the blueberries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly purple.
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Remove blueberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 4.
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In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
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Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
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Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up a little.
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Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
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Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
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Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.