Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Dried Cherries

Valentine's Day is coming and that means it's time for me to decide exactly what type of sweet treat I'll be giving to Jason as part of his gift. I haven't quite made up my mind (and certainly wouldn't spoil it here before the big day!) but thought I would share a wonderful cookie recipe I made last weekend in case others out there are looking for similar inspiration.

While oatmeal cookies in and of themselves may not seem all that exciting, you can spice them up with a variety of add-ins. From the very traditional raisins to chocolate chips to nuts, oatmeal cookies can be a very versatile cookie indeed. As I mentioned on my last post, I volunteered to bring something sweet to a friend's house last weekend to enjoy while watching the Super Bowl (yay Giants!). I had been thinking about oatmeal cookies for weeks and decided to go in that direction. Rather than the traditional oatmeal raisin cookie I've made in the past, I decided to throw in chocolate chips and some dried cherries-- a combination that is delicious and special enough for your Valentine.

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Dried Cherries
Adapted generously from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients: 
1 stick of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup dried cherries, chopped (next time I might add in a few more)
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.   Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add the regular and brown sugars, salt and vanilla and beat until well mixed. Add eggs, one at a time.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed. Once incorporated, add the rest of the flour mixture.
4. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and dried cherries until everything is well-mixed.
5. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet and then move to a cooling rack. Cook completely.

Christmas Cookies

It's hard to believe we are less than a week away from Christmas at this point! It's even harder for me to believe that 2011 is in spitting distance as well....where did this year go?!

With the exception of the day we put up our tree I haven't had much holiday spirit this year. Work has been busy and there have been a lot of other things that have caused me to feel somewhat overwhelmed. As a result I was late getting my Christmas cards out and just today finished the last of the Christmas shopping and gift wrapping. In order to try and foster some additional holiday cheer I decided to do one of my favorite things this time of year-- make Christmas cookies.

When I was growing up my mom made a number of different cookies and treats around the holidays, but the ones that stick out in my mind the most are her Thumbprint Cookies. Nothing says "Christmas" to me like these buttery cookies coated in nuts and topped with a dollop of sweetness. My mom always filled them with red and green icing but I've made them my own by switching out some of the icing for raspberry jam. However you choose to eat them, I hope they will help make your holiday season merry and bright!

Thumbprint Cookies
Adapted from my mom

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, divided
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg white, unbeaten
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 TBL butter, melted
1/2 TBL milk
food coloring
Seedless raspberry jam (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line one or more rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and granulated sugar together. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix until soft dough has formed.
3. Shape into one inch balls. Dip each ball into the egg white and roll in the chopped nuts. Place on prepared baking sheets and "dent" the center with your thumb or back of a small spoon.
4. Bake 5 minutes and dent again. Bake another 12-15 minutes until the edges are just starting to turn brown. Gently transfer cookies (on parchment paper) to wire racks to cool.
5. While the cookies cool, mix powdered sugar, melted butter and milk together until smooth. Add food coloring of your choice to achieved desired color (you could also divide the icing into different bowls and tint with different colors).
6. Once cookies are cool, use a small spoon to fill the center with icing and/or raspberry jam.

An Easy Autumn Menu

Our friends Matt and Stephanie came over for dinner last night and since I knew I’d be doing a good deal of cooking this week (with Thanksgiving and all), I was determined to come up with a meal that would be both easy and delicious. I ended up with just that thanks to a soup and salad menu and a jazzed up pre-made dessert.

Soup and salad combinations are great because they are both pretty easy to prepare (which is great when you want to actually spend time with your guests while they are over) and feel like fall to me. I ended up with my favorite curry carrot and squash soup and a tasty salad of arugula, fennel and apple.

But dessert was the real start of the meal, in my opinion. Friday night we drove over to our favorite local spot for ice cream (frozen custard, actually)—The Dairy Godmother in Alexandria—to pick up a couple pints just for this occasion.  DG is unique in that it offers three flavors of frozen custard—chocolate, vanilla, and whatever the flavor of the day is. The flavor of the day varies and can be anything from mint chocolate chip to snickerdoodle or tiramisu. In addition to custard, DG always has a variety of interesting sorbets too (one time I had sangria sorbet).  We ended up bring home sweet potato pecan custard and cranberry tangerine coriander sorbet. To go with it I made Barefoot Countessa’s Ultimate Ginger Cookies and the combination was fantastic! I love these cookies because they incorporate chopped crystallized ginger making the ginger goodness pop on multiple levels.

All in all we had a great evening full of good, simple food and fun with friends. The perfect way to kick off the holiday season!

Ginger Cookies
Adapated from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 egg
½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
Granulated sugar, for rolling cookies

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper (or grease them if you don’t have parchment).
2.In a large bowl, mix first six ingredients (through salt) together and set aside.
3.In the bowl of an electric mixer, add brown sugar, oil, and molasses. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add egg and beat for 1 minute. Scrape sides down with a rubber spatula and then beat on low for another minute.
4.With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Then mix on medium for 1-2 minutes or until the dough is well combined and it is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.
5.Pour some sugar into a shallow bowl or plate. Scoop dough and roll into one inch balls with your hands. Roll dough in sugar and place on baking sheets. Before putting them in the oven, lightly flatten the cookies with the back of a spatula or your fingers.
6.Bake for 11-13 minutes until the cookies are crackled on the outside but still soft on the inside. Cool for a minute or two on the baking sheets and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Serve by themselves or with your favorite ice cream