oatmeal chocolate chip cookies cups

I like following a schedule.  I am glued to my iPhone.  Google Calendar is like my right hand.  They even make refrigerators now with screens that have google in them so that you can keep your calendar, write notes, make grocery lists, and make your life infinitely better.  I don't know who makes it, but I will have this in my house.  Someday.

Sometimes routines are good.  Sometimes, you just cannot bake another. chocolate. chip. cookie.

So after my test batch of these oatmeal chocolate chip little fellas, I just couldn't do it.  I was bored.  So I whipped out my cupcake pan, filled them with fun little wrappers, and pressed that dough right in those things.  I wasn't sure they'd turn out well, but I was pleasantly surprised to yield this:

They're gooey, chewy, and the perfect portion.  Plus they're cute.  And that's all I ever want in my baked goods, anyways.  You know I love oatmeal, and these really aren't overly oat-y, but just add a nice chewy texture to an otherwise so-very-regular-it-makes-your-soul-die kind of cookie.

This is actually a recipe that I've been working on for a long time.  I saw shortening in a chocolate chip cookie recipe a while ago, (thanks, Chrissy!) and I was so intrigued.  I must have stared at this post for days before I tried it.  Shortening!  So bad it should be outlawed.  But it makes the softest, chewiest cookies.   My love for all things brown butter has found its match.  But I just can't choose.  Call me Sophie.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

from yours truly

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, unsalted, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for topping
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Cream together butter, shortening, and sugars in large bowl until smooth.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.
3. Stir in vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add flour mixture to butter in three parts, mixing together until just incorporated each time.  Do not overmix.
5. Add oats and chocolate chips and mix to combine.
6. Let dough chill for about an hour (or up to 24) before preheating oven to 350 degrees.
7. Once chilled, line cupcake pans with liners and press about 1 1/2" ball of dough into cupcake mold, or enough to fill the entire cup. (Dough will not rise much.)  Lightly sprinkle tops of cookies with just a bit of kosher salt.
8. Bake for about 12-14 minutes until outer edges are golden brown and inside no longer looks shiny and doughy.

maple oatmeal walnut scones

Grant me a little grievance here with this one, friends. I have to admit that my love of scones came from none other than Starbucks.  Yes, I know, how westernized-consumer-tastic of me.  But do I get extra points for telling you that love was only deepened once I realized that, to my surprise, I had a scone genuis right in my own family?  My Gramma makes some of the best scones I've ever had!  Every now and then my dad would come home with a bag of scones from her, laden with currant scones, cinnamon chip (amazing!), blueberry (my fave, obvi), cherry (oh, wait, that's my fave...) and so many more.  These. things. are. incredible.

So this Thanksgiving when I was home for a week, I made it a point to take my sister and Aidan over to Gramma's for some quality time.  She even had scones at the ready for me when we got there!  She knows her granddaughter well.  So, like a true foodie, I asked my gramma if I could look in her recipe box.  Two hours later, I found myself with three pages of scrap paper filled with as many scribbled recipes as I could cram in.  This recipe was the first one I searched for, and I can assure you, this won't be the last recipe you'll see from Gramma McGregor. 

Like I've said before, I think a scone and a latte would probably be my last meal.  I just love how dense and flavorful they can be, and how well they go with any type of coffee.  Not to mention the infinite possibilities for mix-ins.  So, even though my favorite scone is likely blueberry or cherry (look for some of these soon), I've been itching to use some of the maple syrup that my dad sent me a while ago.  And there you have it: maple oatmeal walnut scones.

I was surprised at how well these turned out for my first batch, considering how I used my Gramma's recipe as a base and modified it from there.  Next time I'll definitely add more walnuts and more maple syrup, since I opted for the more conservative side of measuring for experimentation's sake.  But I love how they crack and rise as they bake, and have a somewhat hard exterior and crumbly inside.  Try these with a latte or even a rich, deep coffee like a Jamaican Blue Mountain from Burman Coffee.  There's really no better breakfast treat!

Maple Oatmeal Walnut Scones

Based on my wonderful Gramma McGregor’s recipe 
 
2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oatmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-tbsp pieces
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk [I used skim, but use buttermilk if you can.]
½ cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup maple syrup

Maple Drizzle:

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large mixing bowl. 
3. Add butter pieces to flour mixture and incorporate until crumbly. Sprinkle sugar on top, not mixing together. 
4. Beat egg and buttermilk in small bowl and pour over flour/sugar mixture. 
5. Carefully mix milk and egg mixture into dry ingredients with a fork, scraping from bottom to top in large swift sweeps. 
6. When dough is about half-mixed, add maple syrup and walnuts. Continue to mix until all flour is incorporated, but no further.
7. Form dough into a rectangular loaf and cut into 8 triangular pieces. Sprinkle sugar on top before baking. Place each triangle on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
8. Once scones have cooled, mix maple syrup, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a small bowl and drizzle over top of scones.

revisiting old friends

Remember this guy?  Yeah, I eat him almost every day.  Well, a version of him every day.  My rationale is that he only constitutes about 350 calories, and the protein and complex carbs that he packs into his pretty self keeps me full until lunch, so why not try perfecting this recipe by modifying it every morning until I get it just right?

First I played around with the sugar content - this was tricky.  For a while I would use 1/2 a teaspoon of brown sugar, and 1/2 a teaspoon of regular refined white sugar.  But one morning as I was searching for more vanilla, I knocked over the box of TruVia that I totally forgot was sitting in my cupboard and thought, if this can work, I've really got something.  So I did.  And I won't go back.  The 0 calorie, all natural sweetener (not to mention no sucralose/aspartame) is the perfect sugar substitute. I also suppose that topping the pancake with my new favorite topping, my Dad's blueberry jam, cancels this out, but honestly?  Holy blueberry goodness - I do love anything blueberry, but this stuff just blows any other pancake topping out of the water. I am not a huge syrup fan [you may notice maple syrup next to the jam...haven't been able to stop myself from having the jam yet, but someday I'll get to it!], but I love unordinary pancake toppings, so I highly suggest going out and getting yourself some blueberry jam, or maybe even some pumpkin butter.  Mmm.

Then I had a far less grand epiphany: maybe I should see what it would be like with an egg white.  It's weird that the recipe doesn't have eggs, right? No. What yielded from this addition was the most rubbery, dense, yet moist pancake I've ever eaten in my life.  I would not serve this to my worst enemy.

After these two contrasting experiments and a wide range of others (the addition of cloves was also one of my prouder moments, and I finally got around to substituting the oil for unsweetened applesauce - good thinking on my part again), I think I've finally got something good to share.  Here is my totally revised recipe for my Whole Wheat Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake:

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancake [for one]
Adapted slightly from Joy the Baker


1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 packets TruVia or PureVia stevia extract sugar
1/3 cup whole gain oats [you can use Quaker, steel cut, whatever...I really like Country Choice Organic Multi Grain Hot Cereal from TJ's]
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sugar.  Sift until well mixed, about three-four times.  
2. Add in oats and walnuts and stir to combine.  
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the milk, vanilla, applesauce, and lemon juice.  Add to dry ingredient mixture and stir to combine with three-four swift strokes (you do not want to over-mix.)
4. Pour batter into griddle or non-stick frying pan, using the back of your spoon to spread the batter across the pan (the batter is quite thick.)
5. Cook on low-medium heat for about four minutes on the first side, and two on the second.
6. Top with sliced bananas, blueberry jam, pumpkin butter, maple syrup, or honey.

Coffee pairing: Depending on your topping, the coffee selection can vary. If you are topping it with pumpkin butter, I'd highly suggest my favorite roast from Einstein (do I need to explain its amazing-ness again?)  Otherwise, another great coffee is the Honduran Marcala blend that you can obtain here.  A great morning coffee that is light, slightly sweet, and has hints of fruit with a slight depth of chocolate that compliments the hearty pancake well.
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I don't stop there, though.  I'd like to leave you with a photo montage of my second attempt at Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They were even better the second time around, and my doubts about the addition of chocolate chips was quickly squashed.  Consider my recipe officially revised.

Perfect cracks, perfect texture, and the nutty, caramel-y flavor that the brown butter adds is a work of art. I'll never go back to my old recipe again!  In case you forgot, here's the recipe:


Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Yours Truly

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups cake flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

2 sticks butter

1 ¼ cup light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

¾ package Gihardelli milk chocolate chips and ½ package regular M&Ms

OR 1 package Gihardelli 60% cacao chips

1. Cut up butter into small chunks and place in saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until completely melted, and continue to stir until butter becomes somewhat clear and brown-ish colored (about 5-8 minutes.)
2. Remove from heat and add to sugar mixture (do not stir or mix together) and allow to come to room temperature – put in fridge for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Once sugar/butter mixture is completely cooled, beat together until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  
5. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture, one cup at a time, until just combined.  
6. Once all ingredients are combined, mix in M&Ms and chocolate chips.
7. Spoon dough into desired size and roll together in hands to ensure uniform size and baking shape. Bake cookies on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for approximately 12 minutes, until holes/cracks appear in middle of cookie and border becomes golden brown.

I die.

Coffee pairing: Mocha Java blend from Caribou Coffee.  This chocolate-y smooth dark roast is one of my all time favorite coffees, and it brews wonderfully at home.  I always try to keep some in the cupboard!

lazy busy saturday

I didn't go to yoga this morning. I laid in bed until 10. I also went to bed at 9:30 last night. Why so lazy, you ask? It's been a crazy week. So, when I finally did drag myself out of bed, I declared today wasn't going to follow my usual Saturday routine - I had already come to terms with not going to yoga, and I didn't want my usual oatmeal for breakfast. I wanted pancakes. Or rather, a pancake. A really, really, delectable, hearty, fulfilling pancake. It couldn't just be any pancake, so I knew just where to look: a fellow foodie who knows and adores her pancakes. Thanks, Joy!

Joy calls hers "The Single Lady Pancake." Why? Because it makes one large, amazingly delectable pancake. Could this have met my needs any more perfectly this morning? The pancake was delicious. I did make a few adjustments, though, in order to not feel entirely worthless for not working out this morning and substituted whole wheat flour for all purpose. I made sure it was still fluffy though by sifting it 3 times with the baking powder and soda, and it still came out wonderfully. The thing that I love about this recipe is that it doesn't use any eggs! And, all of the ingredients are always stocked in your pantry, so needless to say, I still haven't left the house today. Perfection.

See? One. Big. Amazing. Pancake.

I think next time I will substitute the oil for applesauce and see how that works - it was a little dry (probably because of the WW flour), but I still loved it. I don't have any maple syrup in my apartment, but again, I wasn't too upset because it was: a) still delicious; and b) gave me less guilt at the end of the meal.

Mine isn't as pretty as Joy's. And it may have broke when I flipped it.  But it's still worth every bite, I promise.  Oh, and in keeping with the premise of the blog, although this meal would not typically be consumed during the socially-acceptable drinking hours, if one were to consume it for, say, dinner...I'd suggest a lighter sweeter white - one of my favorites is the Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Reisling.  But this time, I was more than happy with a large mug of my own brewed Acacia blend coffee from Caribou Coffee.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Whole Wheat Pancake (for one)

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes one large pancake

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup dried oats (quick cooking or regular)

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup skim milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

banana slices

optional: walnuts, apples, or raisins as mix-ins

1. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sugar.  Add oats.  
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, vanilla, and milk. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine, careful not to overmix.
3. Heat a small frying pan and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the pancake batter (you will have to spread some with the back of a spoon since it is quite thick.) Cook over medium heat until bubbles form and pop on the surface of the pancake.
4. Cook until golden brown - about 3 minutes on the first side and 1 on the second. Remove from pan and onto a plate. Top with banana slices and maple syrup, if you have some. :)