Oatmeal Crispies with Chocolate Chips

I found this recipe in the The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook and it looked simple enough. Plus I love cookies made with shortening vs butter. Yes, I said it. Shoot me later. The fact is cookies like these made with shortening have an amazing texture and flavor that you just can't get with butter. So crispy and nutty. Trust me.

The original recipe added nuts to the cookie dough. As I wanted a school-friendly anti-nut snack, I opted for chocolate chips instead.

This recipe makes 2 large rolls of cookie dough which you roll up into wax paper and refrigerate. 2 things with this recipe to be aware of if following the book: 1. It didn't state how long to let dough sit in the fridge. If you take it out too early and try to slice it you will be left with a crumbly mess. I recommend sticking it in your freezer for a good 1/2 hr before attempting slicing. Truth be told, I would skip the rolling into a log step altogether because it isn't worth it unless you are freezing the dough for a later date. Instead I recommend just shaping a tablespoon of dough into a ball, placing it on a cookie sheet and then pressing it down to about 1/2 inch thickness. Trying to cut the roll, cold or not, is a mess - period.

2nd: The recipe says to take the cookies off the cookie sheet right away after baking. If I had tried that I would have ended up with cookie shards. They would have completely fallen apart. So I let them sit for 5 minutes on the sheet then transferred them to a cooling rack.

These cookies are excellent. They are crispy, crunchy, sweet with brown sugar and pure golden heaven.

LET'S GET STARTED



As mentioned, this makes a lot of cookie dough. The recipe states 24 cookies


Ready to be baked


Baked - all golden brown and beautiful!
These do spread out a bit when baking
so leave 2 inch spaced between cookies

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

1 cup shortening
1 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups rolled oats (slow cooking, old-fashioned - NOT quick or instant)
1 cups chocolate chips

MAKE IT

LINE 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper
IN LARGE BOWL, combine shortening and sugars. BEAT slow speed with electric mixer to combine then MED speed 2-3 minutes
IN MEDIUM BOWL, slightly whisk eggs and vanilla
ADD EGG mixture to sugar/shortening mixture and beat to combine
ADD FLOUR, salt, baking soda to wet ingredients and stir with wooden spoon til combined
STIR in oats and chocolate chips
DIVIDE DOUGH IN HALF and place each 1/2 on a sheet of waxed paper
FORM a roll 1 1/2 inches in diameter and wrap tightly with waxed paper
REPEAT with remaining dough
ALLOW dough to sit in freezer for at least 1/2 hr
WHEN READY TO BAKE, preheat oven to 350F
SLICE dough into 1/2 inch thick cookie and place on cookie sheets leaving 2 inch gap between cookies
BAKE 10-12 minutes until light golden brown
LET COOKIES REST on cookie sheets 5 minutes before moving them with a spatula to cooling rack.
ALLOW to cool completely.

SCRUMPTIOUS WITH A GLASS OF MILK and GREAT AS ICE CREAM SANDWICHES!

Pastry Queen's Jonnie's Breakfast Granola

I decided to make granola. Not because I am a die-hard cereal fan or love the taste of granola (though, don't get me wrong, I do) but because I recently bought the Pastry Queen's cookbook and this recipe caught my attention.

It was refreshing to see a granola recipe in a baking cookbook and I was up for the challenge. In the end, the challenge was non-existent. This is a very easy recipe and the results are taste-bud delightful. I have no doubt this will now become a breakfast staple in our home.

This is a wonderful cookbook and I highly recommend you pick up a copy. The recipes are both savory and sweet. I cannot wait to try her Apple-Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Scones next !

Now back to the granola: As the recipe in her book states, any dried fruit works; the choice is up to you. She prefers cherries and apricots but at times adds dried figs too. All sounds great to me ! After tasting my first spoonful thoughts of dried pineapple came to mind and will be an addition to my next batch.


The recipe calls for almonds. I substituted pecan pieces. And for the dried fruit I opted for dried, sweetened cherries. The original recipe also makes a boat load of granola so I halved the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I also found I needed to add a tad more bake time than recommended. For me, 23 minutes vs 20 minutes was the ticket to a golden, perfect granola.

Do not add the dried cherries, or any dried fruit,
until after the baked granola has cooled completely.

LET'S GET STARTED !

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

1/3 cup flavorless vegetable oil (canola or safflower work well)
1/4 honey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/4 shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup dried sweetened cherries

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
IN LARGE SAUCEPAN, combine oil, honey, sugar and vanilla.
OVER MEDIUM HEAT, keep stirring until sugar dissolves, approx. 3 minutes
IN LARGE BOWL, combine all other ingredients EXCEPT dried cherries (or any dried fruit you prefer to use)
POUR sugar mixture over dried ingredients and stir well until combined
POUR onto 12 X 17 " cookie sheet. SPREAD out evening with back of a wooden spoon
BAKE 20 MINUTES, stirring occasionally
ALLOW to cool completely before adding dried fruit
AS the granola cools it will dry out and give you the crunch you want in a good granola. Break up any larger clumps with your fingers.
STORE in air-tight container

FANTASTIC with milk, yogurt or just on its own as a snack!

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Crunch Bars

These little bars have a crunchy sweet oatmeal crust and are filled with dark chocolate, walnuts and Dulce de Leche. They are "super easy" to make and your family will love them.

Where did this idea come from? You can thank my fridge and pantry cupboards. I had a bottle of Dulce de Leche left over from a recent recipe. I also had some glorious dark chocolate chunks that were aching to be eaten. I cannot seem to walk by these in the grocery store without buying at least 2 bags at a time.

Lastly, I have had a new bag of oats staring at me in the cereal cupboard for weeks now. These are not quick-cook oats and please, don't use quick-cook in this recipe as it won't have the same desired texture.

I had originally intended to make date bars today but when I saw the possibilities with the ingredients above I just couldn't resist !

Now on with the show !!

You begin with a 9" X 13" baking pan lined with aluminum foil which must overlap the sides slightly. You will use the overlap as handles to remove the cooled bars for cutting.
Spray the lined pan with cooking spray before adding in the bottom crust.

You will need 3 key ingredients for the bar filler: chocolate, dulce de leche and walnuts.
A "threesome" made in heaven

Here is the baked crust awaiting its filling

Spread the Dulce de Leche on top of the crust and add 250g of chopped dark chocolate

Then add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts sprinkled on top

And finish it off with the remaining crust crumble.
These bars are now ready for the oven and the final baking process !

Baked, cut into bars and downright delicious !!

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

CRUST

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, grated

FILLING

250g chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chunks
1 450g jar of Dulce de Leche
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 9"x13" with aluminum foil so it overlaps on all sides.
SPRAY sides and bottom with cooking spray
IN LARGE BOWL, combine all ingredients
BLEND with your hands until the crust starts to clump together
PAT 1/2 of crust mixture into pan
BAKE 20 minutes
ALLOW to cool on rack for 20 minutes

SPREAD Dulce de Leche over cooled crust
SPRINKLE chopped chocolate over Dulce de Leche
SPRINKLE chopped walnuts over chocolate
YES, THE LAST STEP!! COVER filling with remaining crust.
PRESS top crust down gently
BAKE 35 minutes
ALLOW to cool 1 hr before lifting out of pan by aluminum sides
CUT into bars

Serve warm with ice cream for a special dessert treat