Baking again

     I don't tend to bake much over the holidays, since everyone else is baking, there is no shortage of sweets, and it's generally a chaotic time of the year anyway. The past couple years, I've found it's much easier to wait until February or so, and do baking then - people are usually in the winter blahs and quite thrilled to get some sweetness and excitement of new things to try. This year was no exception, and I got to try some interesting new recipes.

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (Vegan)

Mash together:

   2 ripe bananas

   1/2 cup shredded carrots

   1/2 cup applesauce

   2 tsp vanilla

Add:

   2 cups oats (I prefer old-fashioned, you could probably use instant)

   1/2 cup dried pineapple, torn to smallish bits

   1/2 cup raisins

   1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

   1/2 tsp salt

It will make a very wet, non-cookie-dough-like mass in the bowl. I doubt myself every time I make it, but trust that it will work out. Drop onto a greased pan, bake for 12-15 minutes at 350° until solid but not dry. Let cool, store in the fridge. 

Chocolate Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream:

   1 cup butter (real butter, no skimping and using lard or margarine)

   5/8 cup or scant 3/4 cup sugar

   5/8 cup or scant 3/4 cup brown sugar

   4 eggs

   1/2 cup cocoa powder (dark is best, milk will do)

Add:

   3 1/2 cups flour (start with 3, then add as needed to get sticky dough)

   1 tsp salt

   2 tsp baking powder

   1/4 tsp espresso powder

Stir in:

   1 cup chocolate chips

   generous 1/2 cup dried cherries

Dough should be sticky, not easily rolled into balls. Drop onto pan, bake 10-12 minutes at 350° until firm but not dry.    

I did not get any photos, and they were all gone by the time I thought to do so. I will definitely be making both again, however, so I will come back and update if I remember next time. 

Delicious baking error

    A while back, I was in the process of making cookies and my brain somehow short-circuited. I'd mixed together butter, eggs, sugar, and brown sugar, then confidently grabbed the eggs from the fridge and dropped two more in. Not really sure why, but of course I only realized it after I'd added both, and was standing there, staring at the soupy mix in confusion. Should I toss it? Double the whole recipe? Attempt to scoop out the extra eggs? All of those required significant effort, and I was already tired, so I said to heck with it, it's extra protein, I'll just continue on and see what happens (always a good idea...).

     What happened is I ended up with something more like muffin batter than cookie dough - not as wet as cake batter, but definitely too sticky to roll into cookies. Again, though, I was too invested in it to stop, so I just dumped it all into an 8 x 8 pan and shoved it into the oven to see what would happen.

Rhymes and recipes

     For some reason, the witches' speech from Macbeth was going through my head the other day, and it occurred to me that making a recipe rhyme would probably be very handy back in the days before writing and recipe boxes were common. Without more ado, then, here's a modern recipe in rhyme form:

Trail Mix Cookies

Laughter, love, and lots of kisses,
Time to fill some cookies wishes.
Foil cover a cookie sheet,
Set the over to 350 heat.

Baking Experiments #3

It's that time of the year again, when cookies and sweets and unhealthy snacks (oh my) appear everywhere. In an attempt to steer things in a slightly healthier direction this year, I made the below recipes for work. They all turned out quite well, although be warned that you should keep toothpicks nearby for the chia seeds!

Oatmeal Raisin Chia Seed Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup each brown and white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup raisins

Baking experiments #2

The first round of baking experiments were quite the hit. One co-worker has since adopted the protein rice krispie bars to the point where her husband gets sad if there aren't any in the house. I have to admit, I'm the same way. So delicious and convenient! Through a series of (fortunate) events, I ended up promising another round of experiments to be made on a Wednesday. Having to bake everything on a week night meant fewer recipes, one of which I did not care for at all, but I did end up with this gem:

White Chocolate Strawberry Cookies
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2-ish cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup diced fresh strawberries

Baking experiments

One of the great things about working in a smaller company is that you can make small batches of things, leave them in the lunch room, and get feedback! I did this back before Christmas in 2015, and now that the sugar rush from the holidays has worn off, I figured I'd give it another go.

Naturally, I modified things as I tried them, because I'm not going to pour soupy "dough" into a cookie sheet and hope it turns out well - of course I'm going to fix it! Interestingly, recent experiments with protein powders, healthy recipes, and adding vegan recipes for one of our executives (let's face it, how many holiday treats do vegans get to share in?) means that my methods of "fixing" have changed. In the past, if a recipe was too dry, I'd add milk, but let's be honest, that really only fixes the dough, not the finished product. Adding a tablespoon of applesauce, on the other hand, works wonderfully for both sides of the cooking process.

Anyway, on to the recipes (with my modifications)!

Peanut butter protein bars (vegan)
    1 cup oats
    1 cup rice crispies
    1/4 cup protein powder (I use rice powder)
    1/2 tsp cinnamon
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/2 cup blue agave syrup (probably any sweetener would do)
    1/2 cup peanut butter
    2 tsp vanilla
    2/3 cup chocolate chips
    Mix dry, set aside. Heat peanut butter and agave syrup in microwave for 45 seconds. Stir, then add vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Grease an 8x8 pan, then press the mix into it. Melt chocolate and spread on top. Chill in fridge/freezer. Once hardened, cut into 8-16 pieces. Keep in fridge. 328-164 calories each.

Banana pecan oat cake (vegan)
    2 cups regular oats, processed into a flour
    1/2 cup regular oats (not processed)
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
    1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
    1/16th tsp ground cloves
    2 tbsp sugar
    1 tsp baking powder
    1/2 tsp kosher salt
    2 tbsp vegetable oil
    2 medium very ripe bananas
    1/3 cup applesauce
    1/4 cup almond milk
    1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
    1 ripe banana, cut into chunks
I just used my blender to get the 2 cups of oats into a flour. It was a little rough, but gave the cakes a nice texture. Mix the dry, set aside. Mix everything else except the final banana. Add the dry. Grease muffin tins (or use cups), fill about 2/3 full. Slice the last banana, press the pieces into the tops. Bake at 350 for 14 minutes. Makes 17. These are not overly sweet, which really brings out the banana and spices. 124 calories each.

Coconut lime macadamia cookies

    3/4 cups granulated sugar
    3/4 cup brown sugar
    1/2 cup salted butter, softened
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 large egg
    3/4 cup shredded coconut
    2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
    1 tablespoon grated lime rind
    2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon salt

    1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg until fluffy. Add lime juice and rind. Add dry ingredients and macadamia nuts. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes. Makes 39. These smell and taste like you ought to be on the beach, and have a surprising 72 calories each.

Now for the less health-conscious recipes.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
    1 cup butter, softened
    2/3 cup peanut butter
    1 cup sugar
    1 cup packed brown sugar
    2 eggs
    1/3 cup natural applesauce (unsweetened is best)
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    4 cups all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
    2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (about 22 mini-cups, or 2/3 of a  bag)
Mix butters, sugars, egg, applesauce, and vanilla. Add dry. Add chocolate chips and peanut butter cups. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.  Makes 78. These are a lot sweeter than I prefer in my cookies, and a touch drier, although the applesauce helps. 94 calories each.

Marshmallow Caramel Oreo Cookie S'mores Bars
    6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
    32 Oreo Cookies, ground
    2 cups mini marshmallows
    15 caramels, unwrapped and quartered
    4 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mix ground Oreo cookies and melted butter. (This is important:) Line an 8x8 pan with foil, leaving the ends hanging over the sides. Spray with cooking spray. Press cookie mix into foil, bake at 350 for 10 minutes. While hot, sprinkle marshmallows on top of crust, then caramels on top of marshmallows. Put back in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until everything is melty but the marshmallows aren't browning yet. Remove, sprinkler chocolate chips on top. Let cool. Cut into 16 bars. I haven't gotten taste results yet (because holy cow way too sugary for me), but when I was slicing it, it became apparent that the melty toppings hadn't bonded with the crumbly Oreo crust at all. Maybe okay over ice cream, but it didn't seem worth the whopping 205 calories each.

And there we go! I will definitely be making the oat cakes and coconut lime macadamia cookies again. I'll wait to try to protein bars when I bring them in to work tomorrow, but they did smell good. Let me know if there's a recipe you'd like me to try out. This was quite fun!