What's Cooking - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal cookie recipes range so widely from the thin and crispy to the thick and cakey and it seems impossible to make/bake cookies that meet every single Oatmeal Cookie expectation. My co-workers wife made these cookies for us one holiday and was kind enough to share the recipe with me. The cookies are not too thin and not too thick, but extremely soft in the middle and slightly crispy on the outside, which makes for a great Oatmeal cookie (In my opinion). This weekend I was in another one of my baking moods and decided to whip up a batch.   Another great recipe worth trying out.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away.  I chilled my dough for about 30 minutes before baking.  Per the receipe, it makes the cookies a little thicker.

 Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in).  Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Summa Summa Summa Time

O Happy Day!  Summertime is here and I'm LOVING IT!  The weather here in Cali has taken a dramatic turn from last week and the weather this week has been absolutely beautiful!  No more June Gloom baby!  This summer I plan on experiencing nature in a way I have never experienced it before.  I plan on taking lots of trips around the city just exploring natures beauty and capturing it in photos.  I've lived in this city my entire life and I've never taken advantage of all the beauty it has to offer, or maybe I've just never really stopped and taken the time to notice it. Next time your out and about take a minute and look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the grass and look at the stars. The beauty of nature will definitely put a smile on your face.  It puts a smile on mine each and every day! 

While rolling down PCH my BFF noticed the below dopeness on the wall and we immediately pulled over, jumped out, and got a mini photo session poppin (ha ha)! I never leave home without my baby!  My CANON that is!  Gotta Love It!

Red Velvet Cuppies

Ooooo Myyy Gooosh!!!   I had a blast this past weekend with my family and friends.  My aunt came down from Arizona (yay tee~tee) and we all gathered at my other aunts for the 4th.  The menu consisted of BBQ ribs, chicken, links, burgers, chicken sliders, baked beans, potato salad, mac n cheese, greens, yams, and hot water corn bread.  And yours truly provided the dessert!  I baked Red Velvet Cuppies courtesy of Marty's Bakery!  ha ha!  I've tasted many a red velvet cupcakes in my time and these were by far the BEST I've Ever Had!  I received nothing but rave reviews from my family and friends:)))))))  Ya gotta try this recipe out!  Super moist and absolutely delicious!!!  After dessert and 1, 2, 3 maybe 4 drinks later, we broke out the Karaoke Machine and it was on and poppin!  There is nothing better than spending time with those you love. 

Recipe from allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Makes: 28-30

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, softened 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup milk 1 (1 ounce) bottle McCormick® Red Food Color 2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 2 tablespoons sour cream 2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract 1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat.

Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.

Frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul ~ Moshe Dayan