Lemon-Pecan Cranberry Squares

Lemon-Pecan Cranberry Squares

Hi everybody, 

I'm taking a break from my sourdough baking to do another recipe.  Pucker-up y'all because this recipe is all about the lemon.  Lemon in the crust, lemon in the filling, and lemon in the glaze! And the best part about this is I'm using Meyer Lemons! Here's what I did...

LEMON-PECAN CRANBERRY SQUARES slightly adapted Southern Living 1989 Annual Recipes

 Ingredients:

1st. layer:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashion oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, 
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2nd. layer:
1 cup flaked coconut
2 teaspoon lemon rind 
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
Glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar (not shown)
Juice of 1 lemon  (since it a Meyer Lemons , I only use 1/2 of lemon)

Combine flour, brown sugar, oatmeal and 1 teaspoon lemon rind in a mixing bowl.

Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. 
Press firmly and evenly into an ungreased 13- x 9- x 2 inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle coconut over baked layer; set aside.
Combine condensed milk and remaining 2 teaspoons lemon rind; drizzle evenly over coconut. 

Sprinkle pecans and cranberries/craisins on top, pressing down slightly.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and glaze. For the glaze; blend well and spread over cooled cookies Cut into squares. Yield: 3 1/2 dozen.

The Taste: I love the taste of lemony buttery oatmeal cookies, and these are really delicious with the craisins and coconut for a nice festive look. This is one of my favorite combination, so it is definitely a REPEAT!

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:
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What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots  
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The Better Baker Weekend Potluck  
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living 
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Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice Sunday
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Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms 

Lemon-Streusel Oatmeal Muffins: Breakfast Is Served

Lemon-Streusel Oatmeal Muffins: Breakfast Is Served 

 Oatmeal Love Part 2: Oatmeal Muffins

Hi everybody :)

It that time again, "Welcome to another Breakfast Is Served Sunday".  I hope you all enjoyed and had a safe holiday.   If you're just tuning  in to my post every Sunday I post a Breakfast Is Served.  Last week breakfast, Jammin' Oatmeal,  was one of the ways I love to eat my oatmeal. 

Continuing my love for the oats, today post is all about the oatmeal, part 2: Oatmeal muffins.  Let's get it started...

Oatmeal Muffins adapted Southern Living 1982 Annual Recipes

Ingredients

   1 cup quick-cooking oats, uncooked
   1 cup buttermilk
   1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
   1 egg, slightly beaten
   1 3/4 all-purpose flour
   1 teaspoon baking powder
   1 teaspoon baking soda
   1 teaspoon salt
   1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I used nutmeg, freshly grated)
   1/4 teaspoon ground mace (I used allspice)
   1/2 cup vegetable oil
   1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
   1/2 cup raisins

Combine oats and buttermilk in a large bowl;  let stand 1 hour. 
Add brown sugar and egg: mix well.


Combine next 7 ingredients. 

 Stir into oat mixture. Stir in oil. grated lemon rind, and raisins.

Spoon into greased muffin pans, filling one-half full. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen. (I used jumbo muffin pans; see detail below)


Tip: Add a little water to muffin tins if you don't have enough batter to fill them, to keep them from burning.

Note: Wrap any leftovers in foil and freeze. To reheat, thaw to room temperature and bake in unopened foil at 350° for 15 minutes or until hot.

 

















What I Did and/or Think:
The changes I made are in Italic and Purple. 

This recipe was designed to make regular-sized muffins, but I like my muffins BIG : )  So I baked these in my jumbo muffin pan at 400 degree for 10 minutes, reduced oven temperature to 350 and baked 15 - 18 more minutes. I made 7 Jumbo muffins.

To up the lemon flavor I added a Lemon-Streusel Topping and Lemon Glaze to the muffins; recipe below.

The Taste: DELICIOUS!!!  Soft tender oatmeal muffin with bits of raisins and lemon flavor combined. I love the flavor, taste, and smell of these muffins. They are definitely worthy of REPEATING!
 
For the Lemon-Streusel Topping:  Optional
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup parked brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup chopped pecans 
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Mix flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, salt, nuts, sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Toss in nuts and
zest. You can cut this recipe in half if you like, because some will be leftover after sprinkling (just let the salt stay as is). 

Lemon Glaze: Optional
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
1/4 cup Powder sugar
1 teaspoon Butter

ENJOY! Come again... 

Linked to:

BYOB @ girlichef: BYOB - Bake Your Own Bread
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Everyday Moms Meals  
Think Pink Sunday @ Flamingo Toes Get Your Party On
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Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party @ Addicted Recipes
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Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen 
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday!
Carole's Chatter: Muffin & Cupcake Links Food Friday

Carrot Cake Cookies

Carrot Cake Cookies

Hi everybody :)

I did a double-take when I first saw these cookies. I knew I would be making them very soon.  It starts with my favorite obsession; CARROT CAKE!  It's made with a cake mix, plus you don't even have to wait for the butter to softened because you melt it! Super easy, huh? 

Then, I saw the recipe on the back of the cake box. It too look super delicious, with another one of my favorites; Oatmeal! I decided, I gotta do, what I gotta do...I combined the two!

So let's get it started... 

Carrot Cake Cookies adapted from Inside BruCrew & Duncan Hines Classic Decadent Box

Ingredients

 

1 carrot cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Classic Carrot Decadent)
1 teaspoon cinnamon1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup Kraft caramel bits
1 cup oatmeal (I used 1/2 cup roll & 1/2 cup quick) not shown
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Raisin & Carrots, reconstituted (from the box)
1/2  cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Reconstitute the raisins and carrots as directed on the box, if using Duncan Hines Classic Decadent. 

  In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, oatmeal, cinnamon, white chips, caramel bits, sit aside.  

   Add the raisins and carrots to the cake mixture along with the walnuts.

   In a small bowl, mix the  butter, eggs, vanilla.  Add to cake mixture.  

   Stir by hand until combined or a stand mixer on low speed, mixture will be stiff.  

 Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Form dough into 1- 1 1/2 inch balls, place  on baking sheet, and flatten with damp hands.

 Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes. Let cool on pan 2-3 minutes. Gently remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely. Store in air tight container. Use a metal spatula to remove the cookies from the baking sheet. The caramel will start to stick to the pan if you leave it cool too much.  (I used parchment paper)

What I Think:
I think the combination of the two recipes were GREAT. Thick and Chewy. Definitely Another REPEAT!

For  Tropical Carrot Cake Cookies:
Omitted the caramel bits, and add about 2 tablespoons each, chopped dried Pineapple (reconstituted) & Coconut to the Raisin & Carrots mixture and proceed as directed.

And following the carrot cake tradition, I drizzle a Cream Cheese Glaze on top of the cookies, optional. 

For the Cream Cheese Glaze recipe found here.

 














ENJOY! Come again....

Linked to: 
Melt In Your Mouth Monday # 90 @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms 
The Girl Creative: Just Something I whipped Up  
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks
Mop Up Mondays - I Should be Mopping the Floor    
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday! 
An original Belle: Make It Yourself Monday
2012 Cookie Exchange: The Tumbleweed Contessa 
Crazy Sweet Tuesday Crazy for Crust

Banana Oatmeal Cookies: 4 Ways

Banana Oatmeal Cookies: 4 Ways

Hi everybody : )

A few weeks ago, I won this lovely Quaker Oatmeal Gift package from Baker Street. It had these Banana Nut Bread Bars chock–full of almonds that was sooooo good I was craving more. So when I saw these cookies on Pinterest, I was hoping I can recreate those delicious bars.

Then I decided to try out some different flavors... so here we go.

From Baking Bites
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, very soft
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup mashed banana (1 small/medium)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in egg and banana, followed by the vanilla extract. Gradually, on low speed or by hand, add in the flour mixture. Stir in the oats (either whole rolled oats or “quick cooking”) and chocolate chips.

 
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 11-14 minutes at 350F, until set and lightly browned.
Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.

What I Did:
I doubled this recipe, divided the dough into 4 parts and added  1/4 cup of the add-ins as follow: 
1/4 cup almonds - 1st. part
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips - 2nd. part
1/4 cup butterscotch chip - 3rd. part
1/4 cup mixed walnut, coconut, and craisins - 4th. part


I used my medium OXO Good Grips Cookie Scoop, pressed them down a little and baked them for about 14 minutes. Tip: Wet hands with water before pressing; dough is sticky. I also sprinkled extra almond on top of the almond ones before baking.

What I Think:
These were DELICIOUS!! I'm soooo glad I tried this recipe, so there will be a repeat! You can really taste the banana in these. I'm going BANANAS over these cookies!!! BTW, the cookies tasted BETTER than the Quaker Oatmeal Banana Bread Bars... sorry, Quaker...I still love you :)

ENJOY! Come again....

Linked to: 
Sweet Tooth Friday @ Alli-n-Son
Friday's Favorites
This Week Cravings: Mom's Crazy Cooking 

Granola

Granola 

Hi everybody :)

Granola is one of my favorite snack foods. I've seen many granola recipes flying around on Pinterest lately. I found this one in Flour cookbook. I decided to use it because it has the ingredients of my favorite Oatmeal Cookies: oat, coconut, walnuts, cinnamon, and dried cranberries or craisins.

I changed a few things about the recipe. I omitted the sesame seeds because I didn't have any, so I added a few more sunflower seeds. The sunflower seeds I used were honey roasted so I added them after cooking. I used coconut oil instead of canola oil because it's healthier and tastes good. And for the secret ingredient: ..... drum roll....YOGURT RAISINS! I LOVE THEM!!

My favorite way to eat granola is with vanilla yogurt and fruits.


  

MOM'S GRANOLA  adapted from Flour
2 1/2 cups (270 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
1 1/2cups (200 grams) wheat germ
1/2 cup (60 grams) sweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons sesame seeds (I omitted this, added a few more sunflower seeds)
1/3 cup (40 grams) sunflower seeds (I used honey-roasted sunflower seeds, so added them after cooking)
1/2 cup (50 grams) chopped walnuts
1/2 cup (50 grams) sliced almonds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt (omitted because of the salt on the sunflower seeds)
3/4 cup (150 grams) canola oil (I used coconut oil, & store granola in the refrigerator)
3/4 cup (255 grams) honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80 grams) dried cranberries
I also added  2  8 oz. bags yogurt raisins

MAKES ABOUT 10 CUPS

■ Position a a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

■ In a large bowl combine the oats, wheat germ, coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, and salt and mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.

■ Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread in an even layer. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir the granola with a spatula or wooden spoon several times during baking to ensure even browning. Let cool completely, then add the cranberries and mix to distribute them evenly.

■ The granola can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

What I Think:
If I do this recipe again, I'm going to lower the temperature to 325 degrees and bake it for about 30 minutes instead. The taste of the granola was okay, but I do think they bake too long. I set my timer for 45 minutes and took them out five minutes earlier. To salvage it, I had to redo the coconut by itself :(  I also would decrease the wheat germ to 1/2 cup and increase the oatmeal to 3 1/2 cups. Because of the coconut oil and the yogurt raisins, I stored this in the refrigerator and freezer.

ENJOY! Come again....

Chewy Quaker Oatmeal Bars Copy-cat

Chewy Quaker Oatmeal Bars Copy-Cat 

Hi everybody :)

I wanted to post this yesterday, but the weather has been really bad here :(

I always loved Quaker Oatmeal Bars. I've been wanting to make this bar since the day I pinned it from Katie. Katie has a very popular blog . Her recipes are always healthy and nutritious. So if  you're looking for the prefect copy-cat, THIS IS IT!!

I double the recipe below (except the add ins) and put it all in a 10 by 15 inch pan, because I wanted bigger bars. I also followed the no-bake option. This was unbelievably delicious. I'm definitely making this again :)

Quaker-Style Chewy Bars (with bake or no bake opt.) adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup rice crispies
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp oat flour (recipe instructions below for an easy substitution)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 tbsp coconut oil or veg oil
1/2 cup agave or honey
2-4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tbsp applesauce (banana would probably work as well, or pumpkin!)
 Add Ins:
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped craisins
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped or sliced almond
1/4 cup chopped pecans

To make oat flour:  Simply grind rolled oats in a food processor to make oat flour. Be sure to measure the correct amount of flour for the recipe after grinding, not before.

For Bake:  preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all dry ingredients and mix very well. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Stir wet into dry and use another sheet of parchment (or wax) paper to squish evenly-coated mixture into a parchment-lined  9×13 pan. Squish very, very hard, with a can or something heavy.  Cook 18 minutes, then squish very hard again. Cool in the fridge for at least ten minutes before cutting into bars.

For No-Bake: Combine all dry ingredients and mix very well.In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Stir wet into dry and use another sheet of parchment (or wax) paper to squish evenly-coated mixture into a parchment-lined  9×13 pan. Squish very, very hard, with a can or something heavy. Refrigerate until firm.
Bars are firmer if you use coconut oil. 

These bars can be stored at room temp, but if you use coconut oil; they’re best kept in the fridge. Or they can even be frozen. The bars thaw very well!

ENJOY! Come again....