I hopped across the Atlantic again this week. My younger sister gave birth to her first child on the 14th. That was followed closely by me buying transatlantic ticket to meet my nephew and help out a bit. When I spoke to my sister on the phone shortly after she had given birth, she met my call with “you have to make me cookies”. Drugs, are a wonderful thing.
After a bit of probing, we established that it was oatmeal raisin cookies that both my sister and her husband were craving. Of all the cookies in the world they could ask for, they picked one that I had never actually made myself. I went on a hunt to try to find what I thought would be the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie recipe to celebrate the birth of my nephew.
After all that searching guess what oatmeal raisin cookie I finally ended up making? The oatmeal raisin cookie recipe on the back of the Quaker Oats box! You know what though? It was a pretty outstanding cookie recipe. I guess they really do know their oats!
The best thing out them is that since they include oatmeal, you can make a fairly convincing argument that they are acceptable as a breakfast food. At least that is what I am telling myself!
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups Oats, uncooked
1 cup raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4
2. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
4. Add combined flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
5. Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.
Makes: 4 dozen cookies
Hurrah! I can make shortbread! If I managed to follow a shortbread recipe and make some tasty shortbread cookies without any bid disasters then so can you! I have had my eye on this Cranberry Shortbread on Recipezaar for the past couple years but I never had the confidence in my baking skills to try it out. This year though, I decided to give it a shot.
I am glad I did because it turns out that this cranberry shortbread recipe really wasn’t that difficult at all. I have made a good number of recipes posted by the king of Recipezaar, Sydney Mike, so I should have known better than to be a bit frightened by the recipe.
Cranberry shortbread recipe
The only part of the cranberry shortbread recipe that I needed to get my head around, was getting the dough the right texture to roll out without it sticking too much. To get to my comfort zone, I had to add a little bit more butter but the shortbread recipe still turned out really well. After all, is a slightly more buttery taste in a shortbread going to get all that many complaints? I think not!
What I really enjoyed about this shortbread recipe was the way the sharpness of the dried cranberries worked so well with the rich shortbread. I am sure this would be a good recipe for all times of the year. However, this play in seasonal flavours makes it a particularly good addition to your Christmas cookie tray.
As I have said, I am not all that much of a baker. So, when Christmas baking season comes around, I am not afraid to reach for recipes that others have perfected. In fact, I think that is part of the fun of holiday baking. It is great to try out the recipes that other people love to bake. For the next few Weekend Carnivore updates, I am going to share the love and show some great Christmas baking recipes that I have learned from other people that share their recipes online.
Kahlua chocolate chunk cookie recipe
Who doesn’t love a good Christmas cookie? They don’t have to be just for the kiddies either! This Christmas cookie recipe for Kahlua chocolate chunk cookies, is one which I have been making for the past few years. I got the recipe from the lovely Kittencal over at Recipezaar. Part of what I love about her The Big Kahlua Vanilla Cookies recipe is that it is so versatile.
In the original cookie recipe, she uses white chocolate. Through the years, both through necessity and through experimentation I have tried it with all sorts of different types of chocolate but keeping the base of the cookie the same. In the end, I have settled on using a combination of milk chocolate and white chocolate. Instead of chips, I get really good chocolate bars and use a knife to make chocolate chunks.
They are a luxurious tasting Christmas cookie that has just a hint of extra richness from the Kahlua. Which means you can take something comforting and familiar and jazz it up to be something extra special for the Christmas period. A real treat just at the time of the year you want it most!
