Almost Diet Peanut Butter Cookies!

This is Tuesday.  And I should have sunshine and maybe a little green popping up here and there.  But there's white crap falling out of the sky.  So I'm skipping Garden Tuesday, and going to something more cheerful: Cookies!

When I was posting about my falling-apart cookbook, I also thumbed through it.  This recipe caught my eye, because it seemed to have less sugar than other recipes.  Bonus!  I altered it a little bit, and made these Peanut Butter Cookies that are "almost" healthy, diet cookies!

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES - DIET STYLE
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 egg whites + 1 tsp water
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Cream the butter with the brown sugar; beat in the vanilla and peanut butter until smooth.  Whisk the egg whites with the water, beat it into the creamed mixture.  Stir together all of the dry ingredients, and beat into the creamed mixture.  Drop onto greased cookie sheets and press a fork into the cookie tops twice, to create the crossed lines pattern; bake at 375F for 8 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned.

These cookies used half the sugar of other recipes, and by using egg whites instead of whole eggs, the cholesterol is reduced greatly.  No one even noticed the white whole wheat flour, either.  For more texture, try using chunky peanut butter.  Trust me, these were good!  Better yet, trust Mark and his father, cookie lovers both!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Chocolate Peanut Cookies

Since Ryan has been at college, Mark announced that he hates cake, pie, quick bread, and just about every confection save ice cream, brownies and cookies.  This is one cookie I made during this massive cold snap.  They were gone in a day, even with only 2"starving" gents to consume them.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT DROP COOKIES
adapted from the Red Plaid Cookbook

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 egg whites or 1 egg
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Cream the butter and sugars; add the egg/egg white and beat until fluffy.  Stir together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, and add to the creamed mixture.  Add the vanilla and milk, and beat until smooth.  Stir in the peanuts.  Drop on greased cookie sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  I used my smallest cookie scoop, and so got about 4 dozen from this recipe.

Using margarine, nonfat milk and egg whites makes these cholesterol-free and heart healthy.  But even with real butter, they only contain 3mg of cholesterol per cookie if you use egg whites, so that's pretty healthy, right?  Still, I won't call these health food cookies.  They are not too sweet, more like a semi-sweet cookie, which is very nice.  I also didn't chop my peanuts much, because that's too much like work; I just fed them through the slicing blade of my food processor.  Naturally, my youngest fussbudget announced that he hates peanuts, and picked them out, but my dearly beloved consumed them like it was the end of the world.

My conclusion is that you all need to make these cookies this weekend!  And have a great weekend.

Valentine's Day is Nigh...

This is Ryan's first year of college, and I wanted to send him a box for Valentine's Day.  Oh, I know he's big and stuff like that, but we moms have the right to be sentimental and hold with tradition.  Initially, I was going to just get him a nice big box of chocolates, wrap and send it.  But then, it rained over the weekend, so I stayed home.  And then it got colder Monday, so when I went out on Tuesday to buy milk and Valentine's Day candy, my garage door wouldn't move.  The rain melted just enough snow to cause it to run under my garage door and freeze it shut.  And it's only gotten colder as the week has gone on; today's high was 9. (For those of you in celsius-land, that's like -13C.)  So, after contemplating Poppy's comment about cocoa powder in her oatmeal, I knew what I had to do.

NO BAKE OATMEAL COOKIES
(with variations)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk (I use nonfat milk)
optional: 2 tbsp dry milk powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/3 cup chopped nuts

Melt the butter in a pan with the milk.  Stir together the sugar, cocoa powder and milk powder if you're adding it (to give them a richer flavor), and whisk into the warm milk/butter combination.  Bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is fully dissolved.  Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla, until the peanut butter is melted.  Add the oats and nuts, stir until combined, and drop by the teaspoonful onto baking sheets lined with waxed paper which has been sprayed.  The recipe says it makes 30 cookies, but I use my smallest cookie scoop, which makes 2-bite sized cookies, and routinely get about 70 cookies from this recipe.

To make these lower sugar if you have sugar issues, substitute 1 cup of Stevia for 1 cup of sugar - don't replace all of the sugar with Stevia, or the cookies will fail.  These are good without peanut butter or nuts for nut allergy sufferers, and fine without cocoa powder for chocolate allergies.  Using the small scoop as I do, each cookie only contains 3mg of cholesterol, even using butter; I figure the oats surely counteract that, right?  So comfort yourself in the knowledge that these are almost-health-food treats, perfect for Valentine's Day if your car is frozen into your garage!

Happy Weekending, everyone!

Honey Bunches

I found this recipe in the Winthrop College cookbook my (then future) daughter in law gave me a couple of years back.  It seemed like an easy and good recipe, and given that Louise just finished posting that September is National Honey Month (I think she's told us that before, but I always forget; I count on her to keep track of food holidays), this seemed like a great way to celebrate.

HONEY BUNCHES

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2/3 cup honey
1-1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

In a pan, melt the butter.  Stir in the honey (spray your measuring cup to avoid having all the honey stick to it), bring to a boil, and simmer for one minute.  Meanwhile, stir together all of the dry ingredients.  Pour the butter/honey mixture over it, stir together until well combined, and drop by the rounded spoonful into a well greased mini muffin pan.  Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven, and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before attempting to remove from the pan (otherwise, they will break - trust me on this).  Store tightly wrapped to keep them soft.  Makes about 36.

I used my smallest cookie scoop to fill the muffin pans.  I also topped with some melted chocolate chips I happened to have (from another project).  Next time, I'd line the muffin pan with mini muffin papers, and spray those, to make it easier to remove them from the pans, and so I don't have to worry about eating the ones that break and don't look pretty.

My dearly beloved really liked these, and even Mark managed to compliment me, after a fashion: "These aren't half bad."  Trust me, that's high praise from that kid.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Wonder Bars

About 5 years ago, before we had even met her, my oldest son's then-girlfriend, now wife, bought a cookbook published by her college, and told him to give it to me.  I thought that was really nice, and I've used it a couple of times.  Well, in August, after Ryan took up complaining about how boring it was to have cake all the time (and I had to discard the last quarter of a cake, because it went stale when no one ate it!), I returned to Ashleigh's cookbook for a few desserts.  This was one that everyone particularly enjoyed.

WONDER BARS:

CRUST:
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1 box yellow or vanilla cake mix
1 egg at room temperature (drop it in a cup of very warm water for 5 minutes)
FILLING:
2 eggs at room templerature
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 ounces cream cheese (regular or low fat)
3 cups confectioners sugar
3/4 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup chopped nuts(I used walnuts)

Generously grease or spray a 15"x10" jelly roll pan.  Stir together the yellow cake mix, butter and 1 egg, and press into the pan (the mixture will be fairly dry).  Beat the eggs, vanilla and cream cheese for a minute, then add the confectioner's sugar, and beat until very smooth.  Stir in the coconut and nuts, and pour over the crust.  Bake at 350F for 45 to 50 minutes until lightly browned.

These are very rich.  They are very delicious.  Even my nut-hater and coconut-haters enjoyed them immensely.  I suspect that Ryan would like me to put some in a care package to college one of these days!  (Yes, I send him baked goods, because I can.  And because on Tuesday he commented that he always thought I was a good cook, but he especially appreciates my food now.)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

James Beard's Oatmeal Carrot Cookies

Ryan found this one, too, after he had located the meatloaf recipe.  He told me that his father likes cookies, everyone likes oatmeal cookies, and making them would be good amusement for a Friday night.  I made a couple of minor changes, and here they are!

JAMES BEARD'S OATMEAL CARROT COOKIES

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats (quick, steel cut or rolled)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream the butter until fluffy; add the sugar and blend well.  Beat in the vanilla and egg, then add the carrot.  Sift together the flour, powder and salt and beat into the creamed mixture, then stir in the oats and walnuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake at 375F for 10 to 12 minutes.

The cookbook says this makes 2 dozen.  I think it made about 5 dozen, and here's why:  While I was making them, friends of Ryan started arriving at the house, around 10PM, for an all night Risk (board game) marathon.  The first two arrived about a minute after the first 2 sheets came out of the oven, and so I offered them cookies: they're teenaged boys, and that species likes cookies, right?  And then another boy arrived and had cookies, and I think the last 2 boys had cookies after they'd all consumed the pizza the last 2 boys had brought.  And there were still cookies for my dearly beloved.  So 2 dozen is just not the right count.

These cookies stayed soft and moist, and were well received by adult men and teenaged boys.  It's proof positive that the incomparable Mr. Beard knew what he was doing!

Happy Weekending, everyone!

Candy Cookie Bars

I decided to make these using some of the huge basket of candy my boys bought for all of our non-existent trick-or-treaters.  They were a good way to winnow down the amount of chocolate available to me for the ruination of my perpetual diet, and the boys liked them, too!

CANDY COOKIE BARS

1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg beaters
1-1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: 1/2 cup salted peanuts
assorted candy: I used 5 mini bags peanut M&Ms, 5 mini hershey bars, quartered and 5 mini Milky Way bars, quartered

Cream the margarine and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the egg, then add the dry ingredients, vanilla and milk.  Beat until combined, then stir in the candy and, if desired, peanuts.  Spread in a 9x11 baking pan; the mixture will barely fill the pan.  Bake at 350F for 24 to 26 minutes, until done.  During that time, the batter will spread and rise so the pan is nicely filled.  Let cool before cutting.

I made mine without the peanuts, and Ryan commented that they could have used more "crunch".  Dan, on the other hand, thought they were perfect.  Mark had no comment, which is par for the course, and better than him admitting that he didn't like it, because dislikes almost everything.

So, there you are: what to do with the Halloween candy that's taunting you.  Or maybe not, because these are pretty caloric, too.  Durn it!  So many dilemmas!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Apple Oat Bars

I wanted a fast and easy dessert the other night; one further requirement was that it should be lunch box friendly.  After all, I would never want poor little Ryan to feel unloved because he doesn't have a special dessert made by his Mom!  That would be awful, right?

In the cookie section of the red plaid cookbook, I found this bar cookie.  With a little tweaking, I made it my own.  And everyone enjoyed it, especially my dearly beloved, who deemed it "Portable Apple Pie!"

APPLE OAT BARS

1 Cup flour
1 cup oats (quick or regular)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup margarine or butter

3 apples, shredded
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp water
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch

Stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda.  Cut in the margarine (or use your mixer at low speed, which is what I did) until the mixture looks like coarse grains.

Cut the cores out of the apples, and shred them - I used the shredded disc for my food processor, and left the skins on the apples.  Trust me, no one will care if you carefully dice the apples, or if you're lazy like me.  Put the apples in a 2 cup measuring cup, and stir them together with the sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.  Sprinkle the water over the mixture, and microwave for 4 to 6 minutes, until it bubbles and thickens.  Stir 2 or 3 times during the process.

Grease a 13x9 baking pan (I used the wonderful Pampered Chef stoneware baking pan I got from Chan, which makes the best bar cookies on the planet).  Press 2/3 of the flour mixture into the bottom of the baking pan, then spread the cooked apples over the top of the flour mix.  Sprinkle the balance of the flour mixture over the apples, and bake at 350F Convection or Conventional - about 20 to 22 minutes for the convection oven, or 23 to 26 minutes for a conventional apple.  Let them cool somewhat.

I served them with whipped cream for the boys, although I had a small one unadorned.  Everyone enjoyed them so much that after Dan had breakfast, there were just 2 little pieces left for Ryan and Mark's after school snacks.  Not a bad reference, right?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Cape Cod Oatmeal Cookies

I was looking for a slightly different recipe for oatmeal cookies.  Oh, it's not that my go-to recipe isn't delicious; it is.  I just sometimes get bored, and have to try something different.  This is modified from a recipe I found in my mid=1990s Fanny Farmer Cookbook.

CAPE COD OATMEAL COOKIES

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup egg beater (or one egg)
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/4 cup milk (skim or regular)
1 tbsp molasses
1-3/4 cup oats - regular or quick
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Put the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and stir together.  Add the egg, margarine, milk and molasses, and beat on low until combined.  Stir in the oats and nuts, then drop by the teaspoon onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes (10 minutes at 350F in convection setting).  Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

The molasses gave these a different tang.  I don't know whether this is really a "Cape Cod" recipe, since, as we've previously discussed, I've never been there, but Gemma probably knows.  And were they any good?  Well, I put them in this new cookie jar which my little guy bought for his Dad for Christmas, so Mom would make Dad more cookies.

And this is what was left the next day, around noon.

Enough said.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Well, I spent Saturday looking like half of my face had been run over like a truck, and slept about 16 hours, but at least I'm no longer in need of Kevin's "happy drugs", and therefore, no longer an idiot!  So last night I made my guys some cookies for dessert

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIES

3/4 cup melted margarine or butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp milk powder
2 cups oats
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg beaters
2 tbsp water

Beat together the margarine, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla.  Add the flour, powder, soda, salt and milk powder, and beat until well combined.  Add the oats, egg and water, and beat until combined.  Scoop out onto greased baking trays, and bake 9 to 12 minutes at 375F or 350F in a convection oven.  Makes about 5 dozen.

And not one picture.  That's right.  My guys ate them so fast that I didn't take a single picture.  You'll just have to believe them that these were good!

(The plum tree out front will have to serve as a substitute for a picture of cookies.)

Giant Ginger Cookies

Between summers during college, Dan worked for a guy named Jim, a small time builder hereabouts. One day, Dan came home with a recipe card. Turned out that the previous day, Jim had some cookies his sister had made, and Dan liked them so much that he requested that Jim's sister write down the recipe, so I could make them for Dan (and presumably the rest of the family, although Dan would share only grudgingly). I made them a number of times that summer and the next, but this recipe slipped my mind for a few years...until last Thursday night.

GIANT GINGER COOKIES

1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup egg beaters (or 1 egg)
1/4 cup molasses
2-1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cloves
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger

Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat together the margarine and shortening until well combined, then add the sugar and beat until creamy. Add the egg beaters or egg and molasses, and beat until smooth. Beat in the dry ingredients, half at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Drop onto greased cookie sheets by large spoonsful (I used my large cookie scoop, which is 3 tbsp), and bake at 350F for 13 to 14 minutes in a convection oven, or 16 to 19 in a regular oven. Makes 18 to 24 cookies depending upon the size.

These cookies are huge. Dan and Ryan each "only" ate 2 for dessert on Thursday. But, trust me, they were gone by sundown Friday. They are just that good.

Oatmeal Apple Bars

This was another bar cookie I recently tried. It didn't last any time at all. Everyone who tried it loved it.

OATMEAL APPLE BARS

Crust/Topping:

1 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine (or butter)

Filling:

2 to 3 apples, shredded (2 cups shredded; they needn't be peeled)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tbsp water

In a large glass measuring cup or mixing bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients. Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every minute, until bubbly. Meanwhile, at low speed, beat together the margarine and all of the dry ingredients for the crust, until the mixture is crumbly. Press all but about 1 cup of this mixture firmly into a greased 9" square or 7"x11" baking pan. Spread the filling over this base, and sprinkle the remainder of the crust mixture atop the filling. Bake in a 350F preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the crust and topping are nicely browned. Cool somewhat before serving.

My dearly beloved was very excited by these cookie bars; he said the filling tasted exactly like apple pie. Indeed, the poor dear got into them when I wasn't looking, and ate too many. They were just that good.

Addictive Oatmeal Cookies

Yes, my dearly beloved called these addictive. I am afraid that means I'll have to make them again, possibly this weekend, despite my aversion to making cookies.

These were adapted from the red plaid cookbook, and made to be cholesterol free, but I'll put in parenthesis how to make them full fat and undoubtedly just as tasty, in case cholesterol matters not a whit to you, as it didn't to me just a few short months ago!

ADDICTIVE OATMEAL COOKIES

3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) margarine (or butter)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1-3/4 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats (quick or regular)
1/4 cup egg beaters (or 1 egg)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

Cream the margarine with the brown sugar. Add the white sugar, 1 cup flour and 1 cup oats, and beat until combined. Add all of the remaining ingredients, and beat until combined - the dough will be very stiff. Drop by teaspoonsful onto prepared baking sheets (I line mine with waxed paper, then spread a few drops of oil on the paper, and cleanup is a breeze). Bake at 375F for 10 to 12 minutes in a conventional oven, or 350F for 8 to 10 minutes in a convection oven. Makes about 4 dozen (46, to be exact).
There were 7 cookies left this morning, out of that 46, and my dearly beloved happily snagged them for his breakfast. I think that's a testimonial as to how addictive he found them!

It's supposed to rain all weekend, so I'll be happily hibernating. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Carrot Cookies

If we had to leave treats for the Easter Bunny like we do for Santa, these cookies would be just the ticket.

I found this recipe in my 1930s Encyclopedia of Cookery when I was looking up "yellow carrots" which appeared in a frozen veggie blend I'd bought (and, no, I found no listing for "yellow carrots"). It looked interesting, and I thought the boys might like them for lunches. So, I've made them twice. The original recipe had nowhere near enough sugar, so they came out tasting like flat bran muffins, but the second attempt was perfect! Best of all, no one even recognized that these are even good for you!

CARROT COOKIES

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups quick oats
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Cream the shortening with the eggs. Stir together the dry ingredients, and beat them into the creamed mixture. Add the milk to moisten the mixture, then stir in the carrot and nuts. Drop by spoonsful onto greased baking sheets. Bake 15 to 18 minutes in a preheated 350F oven, until browned. (Please don't laugh at my baking sheets. They've been with me for 32 years, and I won't toss such loyal items.) These would keep well for more than a day if you have fewer cookie monsters in your house than I have!

Tomorrow, Thor will give you his view of Easter! Today, he's just snoring through another rainy day.