Hearty Oat Loaf

My parents get to see a lot of pictures of our food. My mom does some proof reading for me. However, much to their disappointment, they don't get to do any taste testing.  They live close, but not that close.  Since they are always wanting to sample, when they call to say they are coming over, I try to make sure I have something on hand.

For their last trip over, I didn't have anything. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.  I don't think well under pressure, so a cookbook was useless. I needed photo's. Pinterest... Save me! Yup, good old Pinterest. I had this recipe pinned. It came together so quick, and it was a lovely moist quick bread. This bread is definitely best the day that you make it!

Hearty Oat Loaf  (Source: Delightful Country Cookin')

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp oats, divided
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/2  cup milk (I use 2%)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9 inch round baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine all-purpose flour, wheat flour, 1/2 cup oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil.  Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.  Spread batter into baking pan.  Sprinkle batter with remaining 2 Tablespoons oats.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.  Serve warm.

For best quality, enjoy same day!

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Treasure Box Tuesday

Frosted Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Fall is so close, I can just about taste it! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. The temps are absolute perfection in my opinion. The colors are gorgeous. Seeing the fall color change in the Smoky Mountains is one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. And.... let's not forget all the amazing fall foods! It's finally cool enough to enjoy soups and chili's again. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes, can get back into the rotation. The fact that it is cool enough to get that oven going again and bake cookies, just makes me smile! Granted, I never quit baking cookies in the summer, but there is a lot of grumbling in the kitchen about the temperature.

This month, the cookie bakers from "Fill the Cookie Jar" were to bake a "fall" inspired cookie. I really had to think what flavor I wanted for a fall cookie, and when I found the recipe for my Frosted Apple Oatmeal Cookies at Betty Crocker, I knew that was my "perfect" fall cookie. We love them. I will be making more of these this week, and several more batches this season. Truckin' Man loves them. Every time he grabs a cookie, he mutters "These are a problem". Pretty good review, I would say. My parents stopped over the weekend, and took a cookie for the road. I don't think my mom was out of the car yet, when she was asking for the recipe for the cookies. They are soft, moist, packed with apple flavor. I love having the oatmeal in the cookie, for the texture.

If you are interested in joining Fill The Cookie Jar group on facebook, fill out the form that can be found at Fill The Cookie Jar. Each month we bake a different theme for the cookie.  We bake, we share and we enjoy our cookies!

Frosted Apple Oatmeal Cookies   (Source: BettyCrocker.com)
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (I used quick-cooking)
1 medium apple, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup)
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons milk or apple juice (I used milk)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with on medium speed until creamy. Beat in vanilla and eggs, scraping sides occasionally, until blended. 
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour mixture into sugar mixture. Mix well.  Add in oats and apple. 

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet then transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely; about 15 minutes.

In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk until smooth. With a spoon, drizzle frosting over cooled cookies on cooling rack (slide some parchment paper or wax paper under your cooling rack for easier clean up!). Let stand about 1 hour or until glaze is set..... If you can wait until then!

Enjoy! 

Sharing this at:
The Weekend re-Treat 
Weekend Potluck 
From the Farm 
Scrumptious Sundays 
What'd You Do This Weekend 
In and Out of the Kitchen Party
Finding the Pretty & Delicious
Tuesday Talent Show 

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe has been my go to Chocolate Chip Cookie quite some time now. I always tweak the recipe for us, but I never seem to manage to write down my changes. I think I am usually to excited for them to come out of the oven to bother writing down what it is I do!  I finally I have my recipe documented and preserved. 

This cookie is simply the perfect cookie...  Oatmeal... Peanut Butter... And Chocolate Chips.. Perfection in a bowl! Even my truckin' man requests these. This weekend when he saw the cookies in the oven, and wanted to know if it was the "good ones"? He doesn't always have rave reviews when I try a new recipe, so he is happy when I make these. Even after he sat down with his cookie from the last batch, I heard "Wow" from the other room. I figured he was "wowing" the new episode of Pawn Stars or Storage Wars, but he was "wowing" the cookie. That is success in my book :)

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker) 

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. dark brown sugar 

1/3 c. light brown sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

1 c. rolled oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, light and dark brown sugars, and vanilla extract, for about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk, beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the oats, and chocolate chips.

Use a medium cookie scoop and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on baking sheet.

Enjoy :)

Sharing this recipe @ Thursdays Treasures , It's a Keeper , Weekend Potluck , Strut Your Stuff Saturday
Foodie Friends Friday 

Fall Baking has begun!

My mom turned me on to the wonderful world of Penzeys Spices.  For some time, I hadn't been impressed with the quality of spices I was buying in the store, and I knew how she always looked forward to her Penzeys Spice shipment.  So, earlier this year I asked her to order a couple of spices for me the next time she ordered.  I have been hooked ever since.  

Penzey's Spices is a great Wisconsin based company that offers a huge assortment of quality spices.  I have so many new spices that I look forward to trying.  I have also found another bonus of being a Penzey's shopper is their catalog.  Yes, you can order online as you can with most companies today, but they also send a hard copy catalog, periodically, that is full of idea's, pictures, and....  Recipes!!! I hadn't paid much attention to the recipes until the Fall 2011 issue.  I was really craving sweets the day I was reviewing the catalog, as I hadn't baked in some time.  I stumbled across a recipe for Oatmeal Chip Bars.  The next weekend, I made them for my first time.  I wasn't sure if they really were that "out of this world", or if we were that over due for a baked yummy treat.  We decided that they really were that good!  

Today, I made the second batch of these bars.  I did make a couple of changes.  When I had first told my mom about how good these were, she didn't want to make them because of the amount of butter, but wondered about substituting in some peanut butter.   I made that change, as well as omitted adding butterscotch chips, since I never seem to have those on hand.  I hope this pan doesn't disappear as quickly as the first pan did!!

Oatmeal Chip Bars

1/2 c. Butter

1/2 c. Peanut Butter

1 1/4 c. Brown Sugar ( I used 1/2 dark, and 1/2 light)

3/4 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 c. oats (quick cooking or regular)

2 c. miniature chocolate chips

Preheat over to 375.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.  Fold in the oats and chocolate chips.  Spread in a greased 10 x 15 rimmed metal pan, using a spatula or your hands to press into place.  Bake for 20 minutes at 375.  Cool, but cut the bars while still warm, as a knife will go through them more easily.

Enjoy! ! !