March 27: Sour Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Sour Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (11.25 oz) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 pound dried sour cherries or cherry-flavored cranberries

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream; scrape the sides of the bowl. Stir in the orange and lemon zest.
3. Stir the flour mixture and oats into the creamed mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in the cherries. Cover and chill for 2 hours up to overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
5. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of chilled dough about 2 1/2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until the cookies appear browned around the edges and set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry Ingredients

Addition of eggs

Addition of sour cream and vanilla

Addition of lemon and orange zest

Addition of oats

Addition of dry ingredients

Addition of craisins

Thoughts: Another pretty straightforward cookie although I hate recipes that use zest...only because I'm not crazy about grating the orange and lemon. I couldn't find dried sour cherries so I found Ocean Spray cherry flavored cranberries. I made one slight substitution in that I used light sour cream instead of regular because I had it on hand already. I baked the first batch at 10 minutes and I thought they came out a little dark so I changed the baking time to 9 minutes and it seemed to make the difference. The last couple cookies came out very runny so I tossed those.

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 18: Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
Base:
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans

Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons (3 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon orange zest
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Addition of vanilla

Addition of orange zest

Addition of egg

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of pumpkin

Addition of toasted pecans

Addition of vanilla and orange zest

Addition of powdered sugar

Thoughts: Bars are so much easier than cookies! That said, I would prefer making cookies over homemade frosting. Powdered sugar is super annoying because it goes everywhere! This recipe was very straightforward and easy except it took forever to beat the sugar and the butter because I didn't let the butter thaw enough from the fridge. It was tasty except I would've preferred to have no nuts in the cake part.