Monday, August 20, 2018

Strawberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

When I found this recipe I was intrigued by the freeze dried strawberries.  So the next time I went to the store I found a bag of them and put them in the pantry.  I found them at Walmart in the produce section.  There's a small shelf with nuts and dried fruits.  I get why they used the freeze-dried strawberries because fresh ones add a lot of moisture to a dough. The flavor isn't as strong either as fresh strawberries.

Don't these look good?
Basic cookie dough recipe.
Start with 3/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
Mix well.
1 egg
Another egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt.  Mix well.
3 cups old fashioned oats. Mix well.
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup freeze dried strawberries.  I should have broken them up a little more.
This is what the package looked like.  I used the whole package in the recipe.
Forgot the picture of the dough scooped out.  To bake place in a preheated 350 oven.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  I also froze some of the dough for later.

Strawberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Cherry Melt in Your Mouth Cookies

It's cherry season and boy are they good this year.  The cherry recipes are coming out of the woodwork and I want to try all of them.  I have not tried a bad one yet.  The beauty of this one is that I did a test on it and it passed!  More about that in a little bit.  I actually have made this recipe twice.  I just thought the cookies would be better with a little chocolate.  Think Jerry Garcia ice cream.  And guess what they were.  So you can make them with or without chocolate.

These cookies are with the chocolate. 
This is a basic cookie recipe.  You could probably swap out some other fruit for the cherries and it would be fine.
Soften one stick of butter.  Beat well
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.  I forgot to take a picture of 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix well.
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup pitted, diced cherries.  If you have a cherry pitter it comes in handy.  Pit the cherries and then chop them. You don't want the pieces too big or too small, just right.
A few left over cherries for the cook. I mean after you have pitted them they can't go to waste.
Mix the cherries into the batter.  These cherries must not have had as much juice because the second batch I made turned a little purple which is fine too.
Scoop out on to a baking pan lined with parchment.  Place in a preheated 350 oven.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Now I made my cookies smaller than the recipe calls for so watch them around the 15 minute mark to make sure they are not over baked.
You see these two cookies?  I placed them in the freezer to see how the fruit would freeze.  I wanted to make some for the freezer since cherry season will be gone soon.  Well the freeze test worked. So there is now a batch of cookies in the freezer for later.
Then I thought they would be better with chocolate.  I wanted the chunky pieces of chocolate but couldn't find them, I actually had some in the pantry and didn't realize it. So I added dark chocolate chips. They were really good.

Cherry Melt in Your Mouth Cookies Recipe

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup pitted diced cherries

If you like add 1-2 cups chocolate chips/chunks
Bake 18-20 minutes in a preheated 350 oven.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Pioneer Woman Fresh Cherry Cobbler

The fresh cherries this year have been wonderful.  So big and juicy.  And with cherry season there have been lots of new recipes using fresh cherries.  This is just the first of a couple of recipes I have tried this season. 

The extra sugar on top could probably be left off next time. 
Very simple recipe.  Pitting the cherries takes the most time.  If you are going to use a lot of fresh cherries you might want to get a cherry pitter.  I have had mine for a couple of years and it works great.
Butter a 12 inch cast iron skillet
Melt 4 Tablespoons butter
Add 1 cup sugar to the butter.
Add 1 cup milk
1 cup self rising flour.  Make note of the self rising flour instead of plain.
Mix well.
Pour in the buttered skillet.
Place the pitted cherries around in the skillet.
Sprinkle the top with 1/4 cup sugar.  I think next time I might toss the cherries in the 1/4 cup sugar instead of sprinkling it on top.
It is ready for the preheated 350 oven.  Bake for 50 minutes.
After 5o minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle 2 teaspoons sugar on top.
Place back in the oven for 10 minutes.  I don't think the sugar did anything on top.  I thought it might be a little crusty but it didn't.
After the extra 10 minutes.  Now it is ready to eat.
Serve with ice cream while it is still warm.

Pioneer Woman Fresh Cherry Cobbler Recipe

4 Tablespoons melted butter
extra butter to butter the skillet
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup sugar for either the top or to toss the cherries in
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup milk
2 cups pitted cherries
Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350.