Monthly Archives: December 2011

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

I love cookies and if I had to pick a favorite, I’d have to say it’s peanut butter. But, each and every time I eat an oatmeal cookie, I’m reminded just how much I love them as well. My mom loved oatmeal cookies and made them often (without raisins) so I can’t help but think of my childhood with each bite. These Oatmeal Toffee Cookies aren’t my mom’s old fashioned oatmeal cookies though. These contain little toffee bits and are just as good as any oatmeal cookie you might like. Want to make some easy drop cookies for a cookie swap or to leave for Santa? I bet there won’t be a crumb left.

The ingredients:

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat sugar and butter together with a mixer.

Add vanilla and egg.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix.

Stir in the toffee bits.

Drop dough by spoonful onto a baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes at 350°F.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Things have been hectic lately so I haven’t been able to update my blog as much as I wanted to – sorry! But, I hope to make it up to you this week with days and days of cookies! The first cookie I’m spotlighting this week is the cute, melt-in-your-mouth treats, Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. Whoopie pies used to be something that people bought more often than made themselves but now they are becoming slightly trendy and there are even whoopie pie pans on store shelves. I made these red velvet cuties last year at Christmas and used a whoopie pie pan. I hated the way they looked. That pan is now in the bottom of a drawer and is doubtful to see the light of day again. Maybe I just didn’t do it right but they turned out like flat little cupcakes with a mushroom top – not at all what you want a whoopie pie to look like. This time, I used a small cookie dough scoop and a regular baking sheet and they turned out perfect. These are like pillows of red velvet cake and festive for the holidays!

The whoopie pie ingredients:

Mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, beat together butter and brown sugar.

Beat in egg and vanilla.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately until thoroughly combined.

Here’s the good part – pour in an entire bottle of red food coloring and mix…carefully!

Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes in a 375ºF oven.

The filling ingredients:

Better together softenend butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Fold in marshmallow creme.

I used a storage bag with a corner snipped off to easily and cleanly top one side of the whoopie pies with the filling.

Keep this in the refrigerator until ready to serve for up to four days.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

1/3-less fat cream cheese

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

Italian Meatballs with Smoky Tomato Sauce

I’m not really a big meat-eating person but I do love a turkey burger or turkey meatballs sometimes. These Italian Meatballs with Smoky Tomato Sauce not only have ground turkey but they also have turkey sausage to add a little flavor. Mixed with egg, garlic, and parmesan cheese, these meatballs can be made quickly and include one of my favorite spices – smoked paprika! Personally, I would have preferred if there was a little more sausage in the mix but overall, I thought these meatballs were very tasty. The tomato sauce also has smoked paprika and was a hearty, albeit garlicky, sauce. I cut this recipe in half because I wasn’t looking to feed an army here and I still didn’t put in as much garlic as the recipe calls for. These meatballs would make great appetizers for your next get-together – or maybe a nice topping to some whole wheat pasta!