May 13: Apple Crumb Bars

Apple Crumb Bars

Ingredients:
Base:
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) all-purpose flour
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4.5 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling:
2-3 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced or chopped
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9-inch square metal pan with nonstick foil or just spray the pan with flour-added baking spray.
2. Make the base: In a bowl or food processor, combine the brown sugar, oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in or process the butter until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Reserve about 3/4 cup for the topping; pat the remaining into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.
3. Make the filling: Toss the apples with 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice and arrange in a fairly even layer across the crust. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.
4. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and water and stir well. Cook over medium heat, whisking or stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to boil and thicken. It will go from cloudy to translucent. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, butter, and remaining teaspoon of lemon juice. Pour over the apples. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top, then sprinkle the pecans over the crumbs.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before slicing. For a cleaner cut, chill before slicing, then serve at room temperature.

Crumb ingredients

Filling ingredients (minus the water)

For the top layer

Bottom layer

Apples with lemon juice

Added the cinnamon

Added the vanilla and lemon juice

Filling

Crumb topping

Half with pecans, half without (before)

After

Thoughts: I never use freshly squeezed lemon juice. I always use the jar. I used probably an extra 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon so it would cover the apples completely. The bar was very mushy. This could've been from cutting the bars when they were still warm. The taste was just ok...

March 11: Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups minus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup dried apple chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and place a rack in the center. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together in a bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in the oats, wheat germ, walnuts, and apple chips.
4. Shape the dough into 32 balls a little over 1 inch in diameter. Arrange about 2 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets, and press down slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies appear set. Let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry ingredients

Addition of vanilla, lemon zest and egg

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of oats, wheat germ and walnuts

Thoughts: Apple chips by themselves are pretty gross. However the taste is masked in the cookie. It tastes more like a spice cookie. This first batch pictured came out a little darker than I would like at 10 minutes bake time. So in subsequent batches, I baked them for 9 minutes and was much happier. By the way, wheat germ is expensive for the 1 tablespoon that was needed ($4.19!).

February 19: Crispy Mint Cookies

Crispy Mint Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant)
36 chocolate mint candies, such as Andes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick foil.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the oil and both sugars until well mixed. Beat in the egg and vanilla. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, add the flour mixture and stir until it's absorbed. Stir in the cereal and oats.
4. Scoop up teaspoonfuls of dough, shape into balls, and wrap each ball of dough around a mint, covering it as best you can without using too much dough. In the end you should get about 36 cookies. Arrange about 2 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned all over. Let cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Addition of sugars and oil

Addition of egg and vanilla

Addition of flour mixure

Addition of rice krispies and oats

Thoughts: When I added the oil in, I was positive something was wrong because the color didn't look right, however, it was early so it could've been my eyes. I broke the Andes Candies in half because it was too difficult trying to wrap the dough around the whole thing. It was challenging enough to wrap it around half. I baked them for exactly 10 minutes which seemed to be perfect. In the future I would use more rice krispies because they weren't very crispy. They were good though.

This Week's Concoctions Ending 2/4

Here is the highlight of an item that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie"

These are Ecstasy Bars. It was my co-worker's birthday and in recent years, she picks out her own recipe. She loves oats and chocolate and this recipe satisfies both. The whole thing gets covered in chocolate bars and it melts over the whole thing.

January 7: One-Bowl Cranberry Oat Cookies

One-Bowl Cranberry Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup 2% or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) white whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
2. In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, microwave the butter on high for 30 seconds, or until melted. Coat a tablespoon with some of the melted butter, then use it to measure 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Add the maple syrup to the mixing bowl, followed by the sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, and orange zest. Stir well with a mixing spoon, and then stir in the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the flour and stir until incorporated. Stir in the oats, pecans, and cranberries.
3. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are browned, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Addition of maple syrup that sunk right to the bottom

Addition of egg, orange zest, vanilla and sugar

Addition of salt, baking soda, and salt

Addition of flour

Addition of oats, cranberries, and pecans

Thoughts: We are currently in the middle of a snowstorm so I realized that I only had almonds, not pecans. I also never have pure maple syrup so I always use pancake syrup. I baked these for about 11 minutes and a couple of them still looked a little undercooked. They tasted a little too nutty for me and Patrick tasted something he didn't like about them but couldn't identify the taste.

November 1: Sesame, White Chip, and Oat Cookies

Sesame, White Chip, and Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) white whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 tablespoons (6 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted and cooled
1 cup white chocolate chips or white chips
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1/3 cup sweetened flaked, or sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Beat in the brown sugar and continue beating for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and beat in the eggs and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the cooled toasted sesame seeds, white chips, oats, and coconut, if using.
4. Scoop up rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and shape into 3/4-inch balls. Arrange about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets and press down the tops slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry Ingredients

Addition of vanilla and eggs

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of sesame seeds

Addition of white chocolate and oats

Addition of coconut (optional)

Thoughts: I'm just going to throw out there that sesame seeds are expensive. I used a Spice Islands jar of sesame seeds that yielded about 2/3 cup and it cost $6. Sadly I feel that the sesame seeds was the taste of the cookie that we didn't like. The recipe calls for baking them for 11-13 minutes so I did that for the first batch (11 minutes) but then only 10 minutes for the next and I think they came out pretty much the same.