Showing posts with label oatmeal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oatmeal. Show all posts
Sunday, May 7, 2017
oatmeal dark chocolate peanut butter bars
oatmeal dark chocolate peanut butter bars
These bars are rich and delicious. If you are looking for a treat that packs a lot of flavor in one bite this is it. The peanut butter, dark chocolate and oatmeal work great together and these are super easy to make. I used crunchy peanut butter so the topping had an extra crunch.
Oatmeal, Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Bars
1 c. softened butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. oatmeal
1 c. dark chocolate chips or 1 dark chocolate bar
1 c. peanut butter
1-2 tsp of milk or shortening (optional)
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Combine butter, sugar and vanilla and beat until creamy. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour and oatmeal. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 20 minutes. While the oatmeal mixture is baking, use a double boiler to melt the chocolate with the peanut butter. Depending on how thick the chocolate mixture is, you can add in 1-2 tsp of milk or shortening if needed. Let the oatmeal base cool and then spread the warm chocolate, peanut butter mixture over the oatmeal base. Place in fridge to let cool and harden for 30 minutes.
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Thursday, April 13, 2017
Oatmeal Pancake with Poached Rhubarbs
Oatmeal Pancake with Poached Rhubarbs
Im grateful today that...
...a big genuine smile can make for a really great day :D
...not being always in control (as much as id like to be) humbles and frees us.
...i have a roof over my head and that i can wake up and not have to worry about soooo many things i take for granted. but it saddens me that i can just flick through the channels between devastating news around the world and the silly reality TV shows and feel...normal.
...in quietness and trust i get my my strength.
...no one saw me when i fell flat on my face at the station :P
...that people encourage one another. lets keep it going because we all need that!
...i have access to amazing produce which made up my delicious breakfast.
So one Saturday morning, we visited Sydneys Pyrmont Growers Market for the morning grind and weekly grocery. Happy times!
I foresee lots of oven baked fries in the upcoming days...with lots of garlic and pepper!
Poppies are such cheerful and whimsical flowers, dont you think?
Despite the busy-ness of the market, my eyes turned to these vibrant dark strands of ruby red rhubarbs and recipes after recipes appeared in my mind about what Id do with them. If I could, I would buy them all!
I love rhubarbs in crumbles, with cream cheese on tarts, but my favourite way of eating them is poached with a bit of lemon and cinnamon!
So for breakfast today, its poached rhubarbs (prepared previous day) with oatmeal pancakes and a bit of greek yogurt! (I wanted to make some waffles initially...but then realised that I do not have a waffle maker! Duh.)
But the good news is, this pancake is delicious - soft and tender as all pancakes should be! If youre an oatmeal lover, then this pancake is for you. Cooked rolled oats combined with some oat flour is used to make up this double oated goodness!
You can prepare the poached rhubarb in advance as I did. They keep well in the fridge for up to a week and you can have them with everything (well almost!). My favourite is with rice puddings!
Dont forget to sweeten up your greek yogurt with some honey too, as you may find the rhubarbs slightly tart!
Oatmeal Pancakes
adapted from Kim Broyce’s Good to the Grain
makes enough for 4
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup of oat flour
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- about 1 1/4 cup of milk (more if needed to thin out the batter)
- 1 cup of cooked oatmeal (not quick-cook or steel-cut)
- 1 tablespoon of unsulphured molasses
- 2 large eggs
2. Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly before whisking it with the milk, eggs, oatmeal and molasses in a separate bowl.
3. Fold in the milk and oatmeal mixture into the dry ingredients, gently mixing until combined (don’t use a heavy hand if you’re aiming for tender pancakes).
4. If the batter is too thick, thin out with a little bit more milk.
5. Heat about a tablespoon of butter in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and ladle 1/4 cupfuls of batter into the skillet once it’s hot (no more than 3 at one time).
6. Once the pancake batter starts to bubble, flip and cook for another minute or two before transferring to a plate.
7. Continue to scoop in 1/4 cupfuls of batter (re-butter the skillet as necessary) until you have used up all of the batter. Adjust the skillet temperature if you feel that the pancakes are burning or not browning evenly.
Poached Rhubarb
- 600g pink rhubarb (~one bunch)
- 200g caster sugar
- 500ml water
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
2. Tip in the rhubarb and gently poach for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are just tender but still holding their shape. Transfer the rhubarb with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
3. Boil the syrup until reduced by two thirds to a thick, syrupy sauce. Pour over the rhubarb, leave to cool completely, then chill; the rhubarb will continue to stain the poaching syrup pink with time. This can be kept chilled for up to one week.
Weekend is almost here!
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Sunday, April 9, 2017
Oatmeal Raisin Spelt Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Spelt Cookies
My last trip to Taiwan (my hometown) me and some friends made a trip to a scenic spot just to say farewell to the sun.
The sunset was incredible. And all around me I could spot people gasping with delight at the sight of the slowly descending sun or people posing for the cameras with the sunset as the backdrop, or couples embracing in silence as they soak in the beauty of it all. Fascinated. Content. Seems like the worries and the grudges of daily life suddenly disappeared for everyone.
And so I wonder what it is about nature which has the power to mesmerize us over and over again? The ever changing colour of the sky, the lofty mountains, the incredible sunrise and sunset....I mean, surely weve seen a number of these in our lifetimes? Its nothing new to be honest - but how does it inexplicably melt the hardest of hearts and calms the most unsettled soul?
As Im getting older (another birthday this month! Eeek.), its not hard to notice that my sense of wonder declines. Only the new can amaze me - the latest gadget and what the next superfood is. Tomorrow the new becomes old and yesterdays wonder is not so wonderful anymore. Its all temporary, no?
Id like to think that I understand a little bit more about life, about people and about God as I mature but sometimes (and often) pride tricks me into thinking that Ive seen it all or done it all. That I dont need to go back to the basics or re-learn some of the forgotten lessons or be reminded about the familiar Scriptures that I thought I understood.
Afterall, I have a looong list of things to do and who has the time to walk the same walk and whats the point of looking at something Ive seen already?
But every once in a while, just like on this recent trip, I do take my time to gaze at Gods amazing creation and my hard heart melts, my weariness disappears...and I am humbled by the beauty and wonder of it all, once again.
And in a sort of similar way like the sunset (okay, maybe not quite comparable), there are some of my favourite basic foods that I simply forgot about in the busy-ness of trying all other new and exciting recipes and food combinations.
One of them is my all time favourite oatmeal cookies (yes, they beat choc chip cookies for me!)
This is back to the basics for me. I remember making them growing up. This was the only way Id have oat back then (how things have changed - now I have oatmeal every morning!)
Im also beginning to find spelt flour extremely versatile and use it to replace the All Purpose flour completely in many of my bakings.
What is different about this recipe is that the oats are first toasted lightly in the oven so as to deepen the oaty flavour. Hmmmm, delicious. Next time I want to try another recipe soon using oat flour instead of spelt flour. Imagine that, oat + oat flour = oat-ness overload.
I was in a hurry to leave the house after baking these cookies so had to pack them up (in style) as my train ride snack (then took a photo of it, obviously hehe):
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
From Whole Grains Everyday Everyway
- 3 cups old rashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 12 tablespoon (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup rasins
Makes 2 1/2 dozen 3-inch cookies
Vivs note: I halved the recipe so only made 1 tray.
1. Place one rack in the top third and another in the bottom third, and preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread the oats out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake on the bottom rack for 3 minutes, stir and continue baking until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 more minutes. Set aside to cool. (you can omit this step - but baking the oats deepens the oaty flavour)
3. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F (177C)
4. In a large bowl combine the spelt flour, cinnamon, baking soda, powder and salt. Stir until blended.
5. In a food processor fitted with steel blade, or with an electric mixer, process the brown and white sugars and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add 1 egg and process for about 20 seconds. Add the second egg and vanilla extract and process until the mixture is smooth, about 20 secs more. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until the flour is absorbed. Blend in the toasted oats and the raisins until the oats are all coated with the dough.
6. Drop heaping tablespoonful of the dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the cookies for spreading. Use the back of the spoon or your fingers to gently flatten the cookies roughly into rounds about 1/2-inch thick.
7. Bake on the upper rack until the tops and bottoms are nicely browned and the tops spring back to a very gentle touch, 8 to 10 minutes. Rotate the cookies every 3 mins for even browning. Slide the parchment paper onto a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, relining the cookie sheet with a clean parchment paper and making sure to let the sheet cool between batches.
Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 10 days.
I hope your week has been nice so far.
Oh, and I finally updated my About me page too. I will be working to complete the other tabs soon.
I hope!
Toodles for now :)
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Friday, March 31, 2017
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie COFFEE CAKE
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie COFFEE CAKE
Yes, you read that right.....this is a coffee cake filled with yumminess with all the delicious-ness of an oatmeal raisin cookie. Hands down one of the BEST coffee cakes I have made in a LONG time. Of course it doesnt hurt that I am a sucker for oatmeal raisin cookies along with any type of coffee cake. Put these two sweets together and you have a master piece I tell ya!
There are some recipes that I make and after putting in my time, energy and taste buds towards the finished product I decide not to make the recipe again....and then there are recipes that put me over the edge with happiness with all the applauds of yumminess ?from myself and those that I share it with. I will definitely be making this recipe again. I recommend it to all of you to do the same. Especially if you are a coffee cake and an oatmeal raisin cookie fan.....its a LOVELY combination of both.
I also really liked how there was a thick ribbon of cinnamon and brown sugar goodness that ran through the middle of this cake. Raisins and chopped nuts studded the middle of the cake too making it a true oatmeal cookie delight.
Because Valentines Day is just around the corner I couldnt resist making this coffee cake in a heart shaped pan.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake
(recipe found on the lovely and oh so scrumptious blog, A Whisk and a Prayer)
Cake Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
2/3 cup oats (regular or quick cooking)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling/Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup AP flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small chunks
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round (or heart shaped) spring form pan.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.
4. Add in 1/3 of flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Then mix in 1/2 the milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract followed by another 1/3 of the flour mixture. End with remaining wet ingredients and then the last of the flour. Set aside as you make the filling/topping.
5. Make the filling/topping - In a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add in 1/4 cup butter chunks. Using the back of a fork or a pastry cutter blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse sand.
6. Pour 1/2 of the cake batter into prepared pan. Then sprinkle 1/2 of the filling/topping mixture. Sprinkle over filling/topping raisins and chopped nuts. Pour remaining cake batter over raisins and chopped nuts. Top everything off with the remaining filling/topping mixture.
7. Place coffee cake into oven and bake for a good 45-50 minutes (my heart shaped cake took almost a full hour to bake), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake on a wire rack until it comes to room temperature and then remove sides of spring form pan.
So, so numilcious!!!
Happy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake Baking!
Available link for download
Saturday, March 4, 2017
oatmeal cookie chunk ice cream
oatmeal cookie chunk ice cream
Believe me when I tell you this is the best ice cream ever. My favorite ice cream flavor is Ben & Jerrys Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Ice Cream with sweet cream cinnamon ice cream with oatmeal cookie chunks and fudge. After moving to Charlotte from Raleigh last year I quickly learned that this ice cream flavor was going to be impossible to find. Having lived in Charlotte for over a year now, I had to get my fix somehow. The sweet cream cinnamon base alone is so rich, creamy and sweet that it would make me happy with no add-ins but throw in crispy, chewy oatmeal cookies and it is one of my all-time favorite desserts. And because I had full control of the amount of cookie chunks, I loaded them in so I wouldnt have to dig through the ice cream to find them like I do in a Ben & Jerrys pint. I also took the semi-homemade approach with this ice cream and baked Betty Crockers oatmeal cookies because before I was an avid baker these were my favorite cookies to bake and sometimes still are. If you want to take the 100% homemade approach, these oatmeal cookies would also work perfectly. I decided to omit the chocolate chunks but included it in the recipe so you have the option. The cinnamon sweet cream ice cream base would be great on top of any apple, berry or pumpkin pie too.
Oh and bad news, I bought the waffle bowl so I dont have a recipe for it. I bought it from my favorite frozen yogurt store, Yoforia, and they charge by the ounce making this waffle bowl less than $1. I looked like a total wierdo only buying a waffle bowl (at 10am) but the yoforia guy was so nice about it and even offered to punch my loyalty card for it. I would love to get a waffle cone maker, it was such a treat and a perfect way to serve ice cream. If only my small kitchen could fit all the unnecessary kitchen appliances I want.
Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Ice Cream
makes about 1 quart
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
9 oatmeal cookies, broken into small pieces
1/2 c. milk chocolate chunks (optional)
Mix the milk and cream together in a pan over medium-low heat. Heat the milk mixture for 10 minutes or until it reaches 140°F and then remove it from the heat. In a bowl, beat the eggs until lighter in color and fluffy. Add the sugar to the egg mixture very slowly. Then slowly whisk the milk mixture into the egg & sugar mixture to temper the eggs. If you added the milk to the egg mixture quickly then the hot milk would cook the eggs and you would have scrambled eggs, you dont want that! Now add the the entire egg/sugar/milk mixture into a pot and heat over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove mixture from the heat and pour it into a clean bowl and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour. Stir in the cinnamon and freeze the ice cream according to your ice cream makers manufacturer instructions. I added half of the cold oatmeal cookie pieces into the ice cream mixture 5 minutes before it was done mixing and then folded in the rest after removing the ice cream from the ice cream maker.
Available link for download
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Oatmeal Molasses Bread
Oatmeal Molasses Bread
Today I made bread. TWO loaves of delicious beautiful bread in fact. The bread feed my family which in turn feed my heart. Sappy I know but the honest truth. For the past two weeks I have been blessed with the presence of three family members that live in France. I am lucky if I see my French every couple of years. Every minute of our time together has been filled with adventures, laughs, amazing food, lots of wonderful chats and beautiful memories to cherish of one another. In an effort to comfort myself with their impending departure and to provide a delicious addition to our time together I decided to make bread. Oatmeal Molasses Bread at that! A soft in the inside, crunchy crust on the outside, full flavored bread. A magical bread in fact and I have Renee from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
to thank for the recipe.
Kudos Kitchen By Renee has been my August assignment for the Secret Recipe Club. I just love Renee! I have been following her blog for quite some time now. Not only does she create delicious recipes full of beautiful food but she is in amazing artist. I have had my eye on her custom made mugs. I may need to drop a hint to Santa for a special Christmas gift (wink, wink).
I will leave you today with the gift of this recipe. It is a generous recipe that makes 2 BIG beautiful and fragrant loaves. Molasses, oats, whole wheat and unbleached all purpose flour and yeast are the simple ingredients that make up this treasure of a bread. It provides happiness to the tummy and comfort to the heart. Merci Beaucoup Renee for sharing this recipe with me. You are a gem! In turn I pass on this recipe to all of you! Enjoy!
Oatmeal Molasses Bread
(recipe from slightly adapted from Kudos Kitchen by Renee)
Ingredients:
2 packages of active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
3/4 cup warm milk (I used almond milk as that was all I had on hand)
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
2 cups oats (regular or quick is fine)
2 1/4 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup molasses
1 TBSP salt
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, gently mix the yeast, room temperature milk and sugar all together. Let this mixture set for a good 10 minutes to allow the yeast to proof (it will get nice and foamy).
2. In a large bowl pour boiling water over the oats and mix well. Let sit for a bit as the water absorbs into the oats. Then add in molasses, melted butter and salt. Mix well all together.
3. In another large bowl (Renee suggests using the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook or a regular bowl with a wooden spoon) combine flours.
4. Add in oats/molasses mixture to the flour. Stir by hand or with dough hook to combine slightly. Add in yeast mixture. This will call for a little extra time as you knead all of the ingredients together. The dough will be heavy and dense but well worth all the work. Make sure it is well combined.
5. Transfer dough into a oiled bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm location without any drafts. Allow dough to double - this will take about 1 hour. Once dough has doubled, punch down and then divide in half. Shape gently in loaves and place into greased loaf pans. Again, allow breads to rise in a warm location without any drafts - about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Bake breads in an oven of 350 for 45-55 minutes. Breads will be done when they sound hallow when tapped. Cool breads for 15 minutes before taking out of pans. Cool completely before slicing to enjoy.
Happy Oatmeal Molasses Bread Baking!
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Thursday, February 16, 2017
oatmeal peanut butter cup carmelitas
oatmeal peanut butter cup carmelitas
My family moved around a lot when I was little. I was born in Nashville, TN, moved to Singapore for two years, then to Montreal, Canada and by the time I was 8 years old we settled in Raleigh, NC. Now I live and work in Charlotte, NC
I studied abroad in Melbourne, Australia during college and day dream from my desk at least once a week about the Whitsunday Islands
I wear a lot of black and grey, like a lot
I dont drink coffee
My all -time favorite desserts are oatmeal cookies (no raisins) and berry cobbler with ice cream
I talk to my mom every day, most likely multiple times a day
I can never have enough nail polish
I hate mayonnaise, olives and mushrooms
I sadly love Lifetime movies (especially True Movie Thursdays)
My favorite TV show is The Good Wife
My favorite restaurant is Mellow Mushroom
I play in Excel all day, everyday (except the weekends)
And as Im typing these, all thoughts circle back to food...welcome to my life!
Ok now to these bars. I just bought an individual squares brownie pan and couldnt wait to use it. These peanut butter cup carmelitas are made with an oat crust base, topped with a gooey peanut butter caramel made with sweet condensed milk and crunchy peanut butter and then sprinkled with oat topping, peanut butter cups and chocolate chips. Served warm and slightly melty... it doesnt get much better! Also, this recipe is simple to double if you want to make a 9x13 pan instead of an 8x8.
Peanut Butter Cup Carmelitas
makes 8x8 pan
1/2 butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c. old fashioned or quick cooking oats (I used old fashioned)
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
4 peanut butter cups, chopped
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips (I used minis)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray or line with parchment paper an 8x8 baking pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together melted butter, brown sugar, baking soda, oatmeal, flour and salt until its crumbly. Set 1 cup of this mixture aside. Pour remaining mixture in the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown.
In a separate small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk. Once the crust is done baking, evenly pour and spread this peanut butter/condensed milk mixture over the top of the warm crust. Evenly sprinkle the reserved 1 cup of crumbly oat mixture you set aside and sprinkle chopped candy and chocolate chips on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until it doesnt jiggle in the middle.
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