I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the combination of chocolate and cherries, so naturally I had to try this recipe for Black Forest Oatmeal Drops: chewy oatmeal cookies studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips and dried cherries! Yum! They make a perfect after-school snack or wintertime treat. Let me warn you now, though…it’s hard to stop at eating just one…!

Black Forest Oatmeal Drops
-recipe from Land O Lakes

Whether you make these as drop cookies or the bar variation, they are a perfect cookie to give as a holiday gift.
Makes 5 dozen cookies

1 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Land O Lakes® All-Natural Eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups real semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup (5 ounces) dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking soda and salt. Beat until well mixed. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and cherries.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Stir together powdered sugar and Kirsch in small bowl. Gradually stir in enough water for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Variation:
Black Forest Oatmeal Bars: Spread dough evenly into ungreased 15×10-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Prepare drizzle as directed above; drizzle over bars. Cut into bars. 48 bars.

Tags: chocolate and cherries, chocolate chip cookies, dried cherries, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, old-fashioned oats, rolled oats

I made these chocolatey pancakes the other day for my youngest’s birthday breakfast. They’re fun, not too sweet, not too chocolatey (is there such a thing?). I cut down on the sugar (using 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup) and served them with some easy-to-make Raspberry-Strawberry Syrup instead of the chocolate sauce. The sweet-tart syrup was perfect with them. This would be a great Valentine’s Day breakfast or treat for anyone who loves chocolate! Enjoy! 

Chocolate Griddle Cakes
-recipe from Gourmet Magazine| January 2004

We recommend serving these griddle cakes with orange slices on the side. Makes 4 dessert or brunch servings.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

For sauce:
1 cup heavy cream
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

For griddle cakes:
1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 whole large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Unsalted butter for greasing griddle

Make sauce: Bring cream to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan, then pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, gently whisking until smooth. Keep warm or at room temperature.

Make griddle cakes: Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, then whisk in eggs, yolk, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until combined well.

Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over moderately low heat and lightly coat with butter.

Working in batches of 2 or 3, pour 1/4 cup batter per cake onto hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear on surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip cakes with a large spatula and cook until tops spring back when pressed gently, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to griddle between batches.

Serve cakes in stacks, topped with chocolate sauce (or berry syrup).

2 twists to try from dashrecipes.com:
-For a Breakfast Treat – cut the rich flavor of the cakes with slices of oranges, strawberries, or raspberries.
-For a Kid’s Party – top with your favorite ice cream flavors.

Tags: chocolate griddle cakes, Gourmet Magazine, griddle cakes, pancakes, Valentine's breakfast

I made these delicious citrusy, berry-studded muffins last week for a gathering. They were easy to make, moist and a perfect way to highlight summer’s freshest berries. These muffins are best the day they’re made…but are still tasty the second day.

I used blueberries and raspberries, and lemon zest and orange zest for both the streusel and the muffin batter. The citrus combination filled my kitchen with a wonderful, summery fragrance. I didn’t use nuts in the streusel and there was still more than enough topping for the muffins. The recipe calls for fresh berries but you could use frozen (they will just take longer to bake). Enjoy!

Berry Best Muffins
-recipe from Simply Classic: A New Collection of Recipes to Celebrate the Northwest by The Junior League of Seattle

Makes 12 muffins.

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest, grated
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Muffins
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest, grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup berries (a mixture of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries)

Preheat oven to 350° degrees.

For Streusel Topping:  mix brown sugar, flour and lemon zest together in a bowl.  Stir in nuts and butter.  Mix together until butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly.  Set aside.

For Muffins:  combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center.  Add milk, butter and egg to the well and mix until smooth.  Fold in the berries.

Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling each only 2/3 full.  Top with 1 tablespoon of struesel topping.  Do not overfill the muffin cups or topping will run over into pan.  Bake on middle rack in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Place on a rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Tags: blackberries, blueberries, Breakfast, lemon zest, Muffins, quick bread, raspberries, Simply Classic by the Junior League of Seattle

I love fried eggs, scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs…just about any kind of eggs. I saw this recipe for One-Eyed Jacks in one of my Foster’s Market cookbooks and thought it would be a fun way to eat eggs and toast. They’re great for breakfast and as a snack.

Depending on heat setting and what your pan is made of, the bread may take longer to brown in the skillet. I let the first side get lightly browned before cracking the egg in the hole (for a runny yolk).

If making the One-Eye Jacks for a crowd, you’ll definitely want to use an electric griddle. My BroilKing electric griddle is perfect for cooking stuff like this when a frying pan will only let you make one or two at a time (pancakes, grilled cheese, etc.).

I spread the bread round (the part you cut out to make the “eye”) with butter and fried that, too, and used it to dip into the egg yolk while eating it. The parsley garnish isn’t necessary but does add color to the plate. Enjoy!

One-Eye Jacks
-recipe from Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes From Foster’s Market by Sara Foster

These are made one at a time and served hot out of the pan to each guest; just multiply as needed. Fry the cutout circles in the skillet with butter to dip in the egg yolk, or toast and serve with butter and jam. Serves 1.

1 slice bread (such as brioche, challah, whole-wheat, or whole-grain)
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, or more as needed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large egg
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives, or basil

Use a cookie or biscuit cutter (or the rim of a glass) to cut a 2- to 2 1/2-inch round from the center of the bread slice.

Melt the butter and olive oil together in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place the bread in the skillet and turn it over to coat each side. Cook the bread for about 1 minute on one side, until it is light golden brown. Crack the egg so that it falls into the hole in the center. Fry the egg in the bread for 1 minute longer. Flip the egg and bread and fry the other side for 1 minute or longer, depending on how done you want the egg. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the fresh herbs, and serve immediately.

Note: If the pan is dry when you flip the bread and egg, add a little more butter (about 1 teaspoon) to the pan.

Tags: Breakfast, eggs and toast, fried egg, kid food, one-eyed Jack, snack

One of my weaknesses is a good, chewy chocolate chip cookie. It’s like my kryptonite. I’m not proud of it, but I’m pretty much defenseless around them, which is why I don’t make chocolate chip cookies very often. Recently, though, I was thumbing through the Grand Central Baking Book (from the popular Grand Central Bakery located in Portland and Seattle ) and saw the recipe for their delicious Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. “Oh yeah,” I thought, “I’m totally making these!” And, boy, do these chewy, chocolate-studded treats rock!

I’ve used a combo of semisweet and milk chocolate chips or all semi-sweet chocolate chips. Use what you have and/or like. My personal favorite is Guittard brand chocolate chips (creamy, smooth and absolutely delicious!).

My oven is goofy so I always have to play with the baking time a bit. Just watch for the cookies to have golden edges…the inside will still look a bit underdone. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes then pour a cold glass of milk and devour!

What’s your food kryptonite?

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
-recipe from The Grand Central Baking Book by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 cup (7 ounces) packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups (9 ounces) rolled oats (old-fashioned oats)
1 cup (6 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup (6 ounces) milk chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Measure the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. (Put the dry ingredients through a fine-mesh sieve if the flour or baking soda is clumpy.)

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until lighter in color and fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl several times during the process.

While the mixer is running, crack the eggs into a liquid measuring cup and add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low, then slowly pour in the eggs, letting them fall in one at a time incorporating the first egg completely before adding the next. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once during the process.

Gradually add the dry ingredients (in 2 to 3 additions) with the mixer on low speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once, to fully incorporate the butter and sugar. Combine the oats and chocolate in the same bowl used for the dry ingredients, then add them to the dough with the mixer on low speed, mixing just until everything is well distributed. Often it’s easier to finish mixing by hand using a stiff rubber spatula.

Scoop the dough into balls the size of ping-pong balls (about 1.5 ounces). Arrange the dough balls on the prepared pans, 6 per pan, then press into 1/2-inch-thick disks.

Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. The edges of the cookies should be golden brown, while the centers will appear blond and slightly underdone. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets.

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Tags: Baking, chocolate chips, cookies, desserts, Grand Central Bakery, Grand Central Baking Book, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, rolled oats

Looking for a good banana muffin that tastes great and is healthy, too? Give this recipe a whirl. My kids loved them…so did I! The struesel topping elevates them from plain ol’ banana muffin to something special.

I didn’t have plain yogurt for the recipe so I used 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup buttermilk. The muffins make a great breakfast treat or after-school snack. Enjoy!

Banana Oatbran Muffins
-adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe

Moist, tender, and banana-y, these muffins represent comfort food at its best.

Batter
1/2 cup yogurt (I used 1/4 cup buttermilk & 1/4 cup sour cream)
1 large egg
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed banana; 2 to 3 large bananas
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup oat bran
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping
¼ cup brown sugar
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon soft butter

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a standard muffin tin, or line with papers and grease the papers. 
 
Combine the yogurt, egg, oil, mashed banana, sugar, and oat bran in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside for 10 minutes. 
 
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg. 
 
Work the topping ingredients together until the mixture is crumbly. 
 
Whisk the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost full; the muffins won’t rise much. 
 
Sprinkle muffins with the topping. 
 
Bake the muffins for 20 to 24 minutes, until the muffins are set and browned. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and enjoy warm.
 
 

Tags: banana muffins, Breakfast, brown sugar, nutmeg, oatbran, rolled oats

When it comes to cookies, most people fall into one of two catagories: crunchy or chewy. I tend to favor chewy cookies. This recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies from The Grand Central Baking Book bakes up a cookie that is buttery, peanutty and somewhere in between crunchy and chewy. I surprised my kids the other day and had a batch waiting for them when they got home from school. I was the coolest mom ever…until it was time for them to do homework.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a peanut butter cookie so I’m not the best judge as far as this cookie’s peanutiness (is that a word?). While they may not be as peanutty as some I’ve had, I preferred the texture to most peanut butter cookies I’ve tried. I recently gave some to a friend who said she doesn’t normally like peanut butter cookies. After trying a bite, she said she went on to eat two cookies. I guess that’s a pretty good sign! 

Grand Central Bakery Peanut Butter Cookies
-recipe from The Grand Central Baking Book by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson

This cookie is exactly what you’d expect from a classic peanut butter cookie: nutty, sweet, and soft in the middle, complete with emblematic fork crisscross on top. Unlike some peanut butter cookie recipes, this one is equally successful and delicious whether you use natural peanut butter or an everyday brand name. Be sure to stir natural peanut butter thoroughly before measuring it to distribute the oil. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (2 teaspoons if you use unsalted peanut butter)
1 cup (8 ounces, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 cup (7 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (9.5 ounces) peanut butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Prepare to bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the dry ingredients: Measure the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. (Put the dry ingredients through a fine-mesh sieve if the flour or baking soda is clumpy.)

Cream the butter, sugar and peanut butter: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until mixture is lighter in color and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and cream for another minute. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl several times during the process.

Incorporate the eggs and vanilla: While the mixer is running, crack the eggs into a liquid measuring cup and add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low, then slowly pour in the eggs, letting them fall one at a time and incorporating the first egg completely before adding the next. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once during the process.

Add the dry ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients (in 2 to 3 additions) with the mixer on low speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once, to fully incorporate the butter and sugar.

Shape the cookies: Scoop the dough into balls the size of pingpong balls (about 1.5 ounces). Arrange the dough balls on the prepared pans, 6 per pan. Lightly dust them with granulated sugar before pressing with a fork to make a crisscross pattern, and then press the cookies into ½-inch-thick disks.

Bake: Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. The tops of the fork marks and the edges of the cookies should be brown and crisp and the middle should be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets.

Tags: Grand Central Bakery, peanut butter cookies, The Grand Central Baking Book

If you’ve got lots of candy canes and you’re wondering what to do with them, here’s a few ideas I found at MarthaStewart.com. 

The Candy Cane Can
-tips from Martha Stewart Everyday Food and MarthaStewart.com 

More than 1.8 billion of these holiday hooks are made each year. Luckily, candy canes are tasty additions to lots of seasonal treats.

Hot-Cocoa Stirrer: Mix things up in a classic winter drink: Add a candy-cane “spoon.” It melts in the liquid for extra flavor.

Fudge Topper: Make Homemade Holiday Fudge an even sweeter gift with crushed peppermint. This is a great way to use leftover candy canes — simply put them in a zip-top plastic bag and then pound with a kitchen mallet.

Minty Bark: A holiday favorite, Minty Bark gets a cool crunch with peppermints. Blend crushed candy canes into melted white chocolate. Little elves can help break the bark into pieces and pack it in tins for gifts.

Candy-Cane-Chip Ice Cream: Kids love ice cream any time of the year. For a December-style treat, stir crushed peppermints into softened vanilla ice cream and freeze until firm. Serve with more candy on top.

Peppermint Sauce: Stir together equal parts cream and crushed candy canes over medium heat until smooth, then immediately whisk in some white chocolate until melted. Drizzle on brownies for a festive dessert.

Tags: candy cane hot cocoa, candy cane ice cream, candy canes, Christmas, holidays, minty bark, peppermint sauce

Here’s a fun project I made with my kids not too long ago. It’s easy, fun and kids love eating the Rudolph cookies once they’re made. I used Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies since I’m not aware of any other peanut-shaped cookie on the market.

The hardest part of making the cookies was inserting the “antlers” into the filling between the cookies. You first need to separate the two halves of the cookies then stick the pretzel pieces into the peanut butter filling, sandwiching the cookies back together once the antlers are in place. Sometimes the peanut butter cookie halves break during this step so be careful when sandwiching the antlers between the cookie halves. Next time I’ll try adding a little dot of melted chocolate to help keep the antlers in place.

For cementing the eyes and nose to the cookies, I used melted chocolate chips instead of buying the candy coating. I had to microwave the chocolate a few times to keep it melted but other than that it worked fine. Enjoy!

Rudolph Cookies
-recipe from Southern Living Magazine

 4 (1-ounce) chocolate candy coating squares
96 pretzel sticks
1 (16-ounce) package peanut butter sandwich cookies
64 candy-covered green, blue, or brown chocolate pieces
32 red candy-coated chocolate pieces or red cinnamon candies

Microwave chocolate candy coating in a small shallow glass dish at HIGH 3 minutes, stirring once.

Place 2 pretzel sticks in peanut butter filling of each sandwich cookie, forming large antlers. Break remaining pretzel sticks in half, and place 1 half pretzel stick next to each longer pretzel stick, forming smaller antlers.

Dip 1 side of green chocolate pieces in melted candy coating, and place on cookies for the eyes. Dip 1 side of red chocolate pieces in candy coating, and place on cookies for the noses. Yield:  32 cookies

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Nabisco brand Nutter Butter peanut butter sandwich cookies.

Southern Living, DECEMBER 1999

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Tags: Christmas, holiday, kids, Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies, peanut butter sandwich cookies, reindeer cookies, Rudolph

One of my kids recently requested (verbatim) chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles for his birthday treat. After doing a quick recipe search, I decided to make him a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. The very moist, very chocolatey and very delicious cake was a hit with the Birthday Boy! Is there anything better than that?

I chose to make my own frosting so I can’t vouch for that part of the recipe. I can, however, vouch for the cake! In fact, I’m having a piece right now as I’m writing this post…Mmmmmm. 

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
-recipe from Hershey’s.com

Makes 12 to 15 servings.

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 container (16 oz.) dairy sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FUDGE FROSTING(recipe follows)
 
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 3 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Frost with FUDGE FROSTING.

FUDGE FROSTING

Makes about 1 cup frosting.

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa; cook, stirring constantly, just until mixture begins to boil. Pour mixture into medium bowl; cool completely. Add powdered sugar alternately with milk to cocoa mixture, beating to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla.

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Tags: birthday cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate sour cream cake, sour cream