Delicious

So, I have been totally M.I.A again...I hate how the semesters take away from my precious blogging time.My goal is at least once per week for the next 13 weeks...yes that is right, 13 weeks until graduation (or 93 days, but who is counting). After that I'll have to come up with another excuse as to why I haven't been posting ;)

I made these cookies a few weeks ago and they are by far the BEST cookies I have ever eaten. Even better then the ooey-gooey cookies from those quaint little family-owned cookie shops that use recipes passed down from generations. The best part of this recipe is the tart cranberries with the crispy outside and chewy inside. The walnuts at just a touch of crunch to finish it off. Needless to say these did not last long.

Oatmeal-Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup crushed walnuts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. Mix flours, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs; mix well.
4. Slowly add the dry mixture to the butter mixture, beating on low. Beat until well mixed (and then place the beaters on high to get the rest off).
5. Add oats, cranberries, and walnuts and mix well with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
6. Drop dough onto a cookie sheet; leave about 2" apart.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes, until edges are golden.

Baking Biscotti for the Centennial Post

I can't believe it, but this is my 100th post. Prior to this I had thought I fell off the wagon when it came to posting, but now I realize that 100 posts in a little over a year isn't too shabby. Jason is at work tonight, so I will have to save the celebrating for our weekend camping :)

Lately on "Everybody Loves Raymond" Marie has been talking about biscotti. I have never made biscotti and I am not really sure why. It seems simple enough - bake the cookie twice instead of once - but for some reason the thought has never crossed my mind. With camping tomorrow and all of this talk about biscotti, I decided we could use a little treat for the trip and what better than a dessert that is already hard and doesn't need to be refrigerated? We are even bringing a french press with us to make coffee, so we can have our own little French cafe in the woods.

Chocolate Biscotti with Almonds
(adapted from multiple recipes)

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, soft at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup white flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup slivered almonds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well.
3. In a small bowl add the remaining ingredients and mix well with a whisk.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix again until smooth. The dough will be sticky.
5. Split the dough in half and place it on the parchment paper. Form the dough into a log about 12 inches long. Press down so the dough is about 1 1/2 inches thick.
6. Repeat with the remaining dough. Leave at least 2 inches between the logs (I did not and mine started to touch while baking).
7. Bake for 25 minutes. I recommend checking them at 20 minutes first. They are done once the middle is firm and the tops are starting to crack.
8. Remove from over and place parchment paper with logs on a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes.
9. Line the baking sheet with a new piece of parchment paper. Slice the logs into 1 inch pieces with a serrated knife and place the cut side down onto the sheet (see photo). Repeat until all of the pieces are cut.
10. Bake for 7 minutes on each cut-side to harden up the biscotti.
11. Remove from the oven. Let cool and store in an air-tight container (after enjoying one, of course).

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

For some reason, when I make cookies I can't seem to leave the recipe as is; I always have to attempt to make it healthier. With that said, this is not a traditional cookie in the sense that it is more dense than flimsy. I believe the reasoning for it is that I substituted half of the butter for applesauce. When you substitute applesauce for butter, you do not get as much of a creaming effect, leaving the final product more cakey than buttery. If you prefer flimsy cookies over cakey cookies, I would suggest not omitting and butter.

If you would like to try to substitute applesauce if other baked goods you make, I would suggest using it for muffins and cakes. I have substituted applesauce 100% for these baked goods and the final product was still delicious. If you are going to use applesauce, be sure to get a no sugar added applesauce, otherwise, you are not doing yourself much good by making the substitution. Apples are naturally sweet, so if you are making muffins or cakes you could try omitting 1/4 of the sugar called for in the recipe.


Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
½ cup applesauce
½ cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
4 TBSP milk (1/4 cup)
4 cups oats
1 ½ cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325F
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream sugars and butter. Add in applesauce. Beat in eggs one at a time and then add vanilla.
   
3. In a separate bowl, combine next five dry ingredients. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk.
   
4. Mix in oats and then the chips.
   
5. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12 minutes.