Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars

We decided to bake this afternoon, to pass some time. Sam and I are often looking for things to keep us busy when Charlie naps in the afternoons. Today, I let him pick out a cookie to make from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. This is what he picked and Ive made them before, so I knew they would be good. They get a nice crunchy crust.

1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (about 10 ounces)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
a dash of ground cloves

Make the crust by mixing flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until coarse crumbs form. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture for later use. Press into the bottom of a 9x9 brownie pan. To make the filling, put the apples into a sauce pan with the water, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil and cover and simmer for 8 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Remove from heat and pour over the prepared crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Saltine Toffees

Wow I cant believe I haven't posted since Nov 19! Ive just been so busy. I have several pics taken, and I just need to write out the blog entry and get them posted! Here is a quick one that is so good! These are called Saltine Toffees. I actually got this recipe off a message board I frequent, called The Nest. This recipe was going around a few months back and I bookmarked it. I have no idea who posted the original recipe, so if its yours, let me know and I will edit my entry!

Saltine Toffees

1 package of saltine crackers
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
chopped nuts of your choice (I used almonds) about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or pieces

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place crackers onto baking sheet. On Medium low heat, melt butter and brown sugar. Dont stir it until its all melted. Then stir to combine and keep stirring until its bubbly and carmelized, about 3 minutes. Spoon the buttery sugar goo all over the crackers, then top with chopped nuts. Bake in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, then take out and immediatly sprinkle chocolate chips over all the crackers. Let cool, then store in air tight containers.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Id been promising Sam that we'd make some cookies for a few days. Finally I bought some chocolate chips and we were set. We made old fashioned chocolate chip cookies. I used the recipe that Ive always used since I was a kid...the original chocolate chip recipe, first made by Ruth Wakefield at her Toll House Inn, starting in 1930 back in Massachusetts. Its amazing to me that this popular cookie, which Id say is the most all-American cookie, was just invented in the last 100 years. If you'd like to know more about the history of Toll House chocolate chip cookies, you can click here. These are the best and easiest cookies to make from scratch. They really are better when you make them yourself. I think its the love that goes into them that makes them taste so good, along with fresh flour, butter and other ingredients. I know that now days, there are all the refrigerated cookie doughs you can buy, that make cookie making a snap. Sure they make your home smell good when baking and they serve the purpose of providing home baked cookies, but they just aren't quite as good as cookies made fresh from scratch.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto un-greased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Snickerdoodles

When cooking with small children, its always best to have all the ingredients ready ahead of time. When Sam knows that we are going to bake together, he gets excited and hounds me to help the entire time Im trying to get stuff set up for him! Today we were bored, so I let him pick out some cookies in a cookbook for us to bake together. After about 3 picks, we finally found one that I happened to have all the ingredients on hand.

So we are going through this process, getting everything mixed up and I get the dough chilled down and the oven heated up. Then I realized I only had maybe 1/2 tsp of cinnamon at the bottom of the jar. I couldnt just pick up and leave to go to the store because Charlie was still napping, so I decided to use pumpkin pie spice instead. They turned out great! Didnt miss the cinnamon at all! I think the pumpkin pie spice has a great combo of spices.

From Baking by Carol Clements

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
5 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)

With an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue until fluffy. Beat in eggs, then the milk.

Sift the flour and baking soda over the butter mixture and stir to blend. Stir in the nuts. Refridgerate for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease 2 baking sheets (I used parchment paper).

For the coating, mix the cinnamon with the sugar. Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls, then roll into the cinnamon sugar, coating all sides.

Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets and flatten slightly. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Makes 30 cookies.

PB&J Cookies

From Everyday with Rachael Ray April 2006
I just had to try this recipe since I love peanut butter cookies and PB & J sandwiches. What a great combo! These turned out sooo good. I followed the instructions exactly and they came out chewey, but crispy on the bottom. Perfect!

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp strawberry jelly (I used raspberry because its what I had)

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp confectioners sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, blend 3/4 cup of the peanut butter with the butter on medium speed. Add the white sugar, then the brown sugar. Continue to mix until well blended. About 5 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Using a Tablespoon, drop the dough 2 inches apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Using the back of your thumb, press a small indentation into each cookie. Spoon about 1/2 tsp jelly into each cookie. Bake until lightly golden, about 12 minutes. In a small bowl, beat together the remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter and the confectioners sugar. Whisk in the milk, alittle at a time, until the frosting reaches a good consistancy for piping. Using a ziploc baggie with the corner cut off, pipe the frosting onto each cookie.