Tag: cookies

Katie’s Party

Ashley Bischoff3 Comments

I went to Katie’s party on Saturday night and I had a good time — it was just what I needed after moving things all day (I helped Leia move in the morning and my new roommate Mike move in the afternoon).

Katie lives in a large house in Highland Park — she doesn’t own the house, but she’s staying there to fulfill some insurance requirements for one of her friends (somone had to stay in the house, apparently).

Each room was decorated in a theme based on a country. For instance, the foryer had a Japanese theme (complete with a giant kimono encased in glass hanging on the wall). That room scared me a bit, but some of the other rooms were more tasteful. As I headed out for the evening, Katie suggested that I blog about the food. Sure, I can accommodate that :).

I first had some mini double-chocolate Oreos. Yeah, both the cookie and the creme-filling were chocolate. Don’t get me wrong — I’m a a chocolate nut, but chocolate-filled Oreos didn’t quite have the same creamy essence as the original vanilla creme. Perhaps if the filling was dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, they might be even better.

There were also some iced sugar cookies. Yeah these were the regular sugar cookies with thick pink icing that you can find at any grocery store. But, they were very tasty (as always). I think I had two of these.

In the freezer were some Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches (the small kind). These were obviously fresh from the creamery, as the cookie was still crisp. I didn’t mind that, though I suppose I’m more used to having ice cream sandwiches with more of a soggy cookie. Fresh ice cream sandwiches have more of a crisp cookie because the cookie is completely dry and crisp when ice cream sandwiches are made (like a graham cracker). But, over time, it absorbs some of the moisture from the ice cream and softens. (I learned all this from Unwrapped on the Food Network.)

This party was well-stocked with snacks. It’s not often that you’re offered iced sugar cookies, and you can’t go wrong with ice cream sandwiches either. It seems that the major snack-categories were all covered. Snackarific.

Recipe: Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ashley Bischoff8 Comments

I recently ran across this recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies on AllRecipes. The reviews were positive, so I decided to try the recipe.

It worked out great—soft and rich, but with a delicious chocolate and pecan accent. I’ve added just a few comments as well:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 roll parchment paper [You aren’t going to eat this, but you’ll need to have some on hand—you can find parchment paper in the same aisle as the wax paper and aluminum foil.]
  • 1 cup (110 grams) of chopped pecans (or chopped walnuts)
  • 2 sticks (227 grams) of butter, softened (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Miyoko’s Vegan Butter, which I found at Target.)
  • 1 cup (198 grams) packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup (99 grams) white sugar
  • 2 eggs (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, which I found at Target.)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups (178 grams) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons Diamond Kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
  • 3 cups (295 grams) quick-cooking oats [These may be labeled as “quick-cooking” oats or 1-minute “instant” oats.]
  • 6 oz (170 g) dark chocolate from 70%+ bars (alternately: 6 oz / 170 g of chocolate chips)
  • Optional: Maldon sea salt, for sprinkling atop the cookies after they come out of the oven (You can find Maldon sea salt at Kroger and Safeway, among other stores.)

Directions—Toasting the Nuts:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).

  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the chopped nuts in a single layer. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 5–6 minutes.

  3. Take out the nuts and set them aside to cool. (You can pick up the parchment paper by the sides to form a U-shape to make it easier to transfer the nuts to a small bowl.)

Directions—Baking the Cookies:

  1. Lower the oven temperature to 325° F (162° C).

  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.

  3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended.

  4. Roughly chop the dark chocolate bars. It’s fine (and even preferable) if not all the chopped pieces are the same size—aim to have most of the pieces no larger than around ½ to ¾ inch (1 to 2 cm) on any given side.

  5. Mix in the quick oats, pecans, and chocolate chips.

  6. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven.

    (They should puff up ever so slightly when they bake; if you take them out of the oven and they’re completely flat, they haven’t baked quite long enough.)

  7. Optional but recommended: Immediately after taking the cookie sheets out of the oven, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sea salt.

  8. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.