OATMEAL COOKIES

I made these this morning. Yummy! I love eating something that is at least partially healthy! :)

A pretty easy recipe. I have another recipe that is more work, but these are nearly as good. A little chewy with soft centers.

3 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. Do not substitute quick oats or any other kind.

IN A BOWL MIX

• 1 cup All Purpose Flour 
• 3/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

IN ANOTHER BOWL MIX:

• 4 Tbsp melted and slightly browned unsalted butter
• 1/4 Tsp cinnamon  (add to browned butter when it’s done and removed from the stove)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg and 1 yolk lightly beaten
• 1 Tsp vanilla
• 1, 4 ounce block of Baker’s brand Premium White Chocolate Bar. You can use morsels, but check the ingredients. If it says palm kernel oil and other stuff it’s fake. It should say  “white chocolate!” Palm oil is really bad stuff.
• 1/3 cup of chopped whole almonds - pulse them in a food processor or chopper until about 1/4 inch inch pieces. (You can substitute pecans or walnuts or even macadamia nuts.) 

You could also add 1/3 cup of dried cherries, raisins or dried cranberries.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix well.

Add oats to mixture and mix well. The batter will be very stiff and hard to mix with a utensil - just use a clean hand to mush it all together.

Scoop about 1/3 cup of the mixture into balls and place on some parchment paper lined baking sheets. You’ll get about 6 per sheet. (You can use a 3 ounce cookie scoop if you have one.) With wet fingers, flatten each ball to about 3/4 inch thick.

Bake one tray at a time at 375 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes. The edges should be just slightly golden. Bake an additional minute or 2 if needed. Remove and let the cookies sit on the hot tray for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

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Amaretto Cake

The other day I bought the basic ingredients to make a bundt cake. I like bundt cakes because, while I do like cakes with frosting, I am really more a fan of the cake itself. I have a recipe for a rum cake which is a great basis for making all kinds of bundt cakes. In my cookbook I use my rum cake recipe to create other flavors like a chocolate-orange bundt cake. So the question was what to do with my bundt cake ingredients - make a rum cake or maybe something else. I took a look at my liquor cabinet and there it was - a bottle of Amaretto liqueur. Amaretto is an almond flavored liqueur. I had just seen a recipe for an almond cake on America’s Test Kitchen that looked amazing so my mouth was kinda watering for that flavor. This recipe is not near as complex as was that one, but it turned out to be very tasty none the less. You could serve a slice with some fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream for a nice dessert. 

Bundt pans: there are basically 2 types of bundt pans. The one I used is a simple round pan with a flat bottom typically used for angel food cakes. The other type will have a more complex shape usually with flutes. The flat type works best with this recipe because of the sliced almond topping.

Tools: large mixing bowl, hand mixer or stand mixer, small saucepan, bundt pan

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box yellow cake mix or butter cake mix. Be sure it does not already contain pudding as many do nowadays. Read the label.
• 1 box (3.5 oz) French vanilla instant pudding
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup Amaretto or an almond flavored liqueur
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 to 6 ounces of sliced almonds

AMARETTO SAUCE

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup Amaretto
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grease your bundt pan with butter or cooking spray. Then add a couple of tablespoons of flour and toss it around in the pan so it is coated with the flour. Invert over the sink and tap to remove excess flour. Place pan in the fridge until it is needed.
2. In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, water, oil, Amaretto and nutmeg. Mix with a hand blender (or stand mixer) until well blended. Add cake and pudding mixes. Blend for 2 minutes on low speed. Wipe the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula then blend for another minute.
3. Spread the sliced almonds in the bottom of your bundt pan. Pour the mixture over the almonds evenly in the bundt pan. Even out the mixture with a spatula if needed.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F. on the center oven rack for 45 to 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
5. A few minutes before the cake is finished make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then stir in rest of the ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Be careful it can bubble over so you need to watch it and stir it.
6. When you remove the cake from the oven pour the hot sauce all over the cake leaving about 1/4 cup in reserve. After 30 minutes place a plate, top side down, on the top of the pan and invert it to remove the cake. Pour the remaining sauce over the top. For best flavor, make a day ahead if serving to guests. This gives it time to develop even more flavor.

(To make a rum cake substitute rum for Amaretto and chopped pecans for almonds. For a lemon or orange cake substitute lemon juice or orange juice for the liquor, no nuts needed. Also add the zest of 1 lemon or orange to the mix if you have whole citrus. Omit the nutmeg in these versions.)

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Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Bread pudding is a pretty simple dessert and oh, so comforting especially on a cold night. Best served warm about 15 minutes after removing from the oven. Serve with some bourbon sauce (see below) or vanilla ice cream. Heat leftovers in foil in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Don’t microwave as it tends to toughen bread.

Oven Temp: 350 degrees F. (DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN)
Cooking Time: 50 minutes to 1 hour or more
Serves: 6 (Double recipe to serve 12 and use a 9 by 13 baking dish)
Tools: large mixing bowl, 2-1/2 to 3 quart baking dish

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups bread pieces about an inch squarish (see below)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup chopped or broken pecans or walnuts (Don't use nuts that are chopped too small - you want to see them and taste them.)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1//4 teaspoon nutmeg
• (option) 1 cup, 1/2 inch diced apple

THE BREAD: I like to use a bread that has some body - not ordinary white bread. You can use ordinary white bread and many do, but a heartier bread, I think, makes a better pudding. I typically use a French baguette or a some type of ciabatta loaf. Challah bread and brioche (an eggy bread) are also common breads used for a bread pudding and they work well, too. If you can find a whole grain or whole wheat baguette that would be a slightly healthier substitution. I have even seen some recipes that use stale croissants. Never tried it – could be interesting.

The bread typically is day old bread. This comes from the days when you bought your bread fresh for use that day - like they still do in European countries. By the next day the bread was getting hard. Old bread is not the same as bread that has been dried out. I saw a complete scientific explanation of this on America’s Test Kitchen. You want bread that has been dried out in an oven not set out on the counter overnight. It makes a better pudding.

Many recipes tell you to cut the bread in 1 inch cubes. I find this makes for a more dense pudding. I recommend tearing the bread in pieces about 1 inch. Irregular pieces will not mash down as easily and this creates an airier and lighter pudding.

DIRECTIONS:

So, start tearing up your bread and put the pieces in a measuring cup. Empty the pieces onto a baking sheet pan until you have 6 cups of pieces. Spread them out evenly. Put them in a 225 degree oven. In about 30 minutes or so they will be nicely dried out. Drying time will depend on the type of bread you use.

In a large bowl mix all the other ingredients together. (Don’t add hot melted butter to the eggs or it will scramble them. Add the butter after you have added the milk. (You can mix all of these ingredients ahead of time and refrigerate - just let it come to room temperature before mixing with bread.)

Place the dried bread in a buttered 9" by 9" baking dish or an equivalent oval or round baking dish. Pour the liquid over the bread. The liquid should almost come to the top of the bread, if not, add some additional milk.

Let it sit about 20 minutes so the bread absorbs the mixture. If you can, weight it down a little so the bread submerges in the liquid. You can put a plate with something heavy on top.

Place the dish oven on the middle oven rack, then turn the oven on to 350 degrees F.

When it has risen and the top is golden, its done. It may take a little longer than the time given above. It depends how wet it is.

BOURBON SAUCE (or use rum)

• 1/2 stick softened butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup bourbon

Cream the soft butter (not melted) and sugar together. Add the egg yolk and mix. Pour it into a small saucepan and add bourbon. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Let simmer for about 3 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

It will thicken a little as it cools. Add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of bourbon right before serving. Sauce should be warm and poured over the warm bread pudding.

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Pecan Pumpkin Pie

I’m not crazy about pumpkin pie, but this recipe elevates a plain pumpkin pie and makes it something special And its very easy to make.

Time: 75 to 90 minutes
Serves: 6-8

    


       INGREDIENTS

• 1 pie crust — the kind that comes in a foil pan 2 to a package.

BOTTOM LAYER:

• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice or 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, ground ginger, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

TOP LAYER:

• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoon melted butter 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 cup pecan halves or pieces

     DIRECTIONS

1. Mix Bottom Layer ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour into unbaked pie crust. 

2. Combine Top Layer ingredients in same bowl and pour over bottom pumpkin layer. 

3. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until fill-ing is set. Cool on a wire rack. 

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