Thick & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The ingredients that I usually bake with are the ones that are the most popular with my boyfriend, the one who eats the majority of my baked goods: toffee, chocolate, & candy. I rarely bake desserts that contain the ingredients that he hates: oatmeal, coconut, & raisins, (He also hates eating any and every vegetable, so don't even get me started on that) primarily because they'll never disappear. I know what you're thinking... no coconut = no Samoas/Caramel Delights Girl Scout Cookies! How can you live?! I don't know how he does it because I don't think you've lived until you've eaten one of those cookies. They're pure heaven in a box. Okay now I'm just getting a bit carried away just thinking about them, so back to my story...

Luckily for me, my mom requested a "healthier" cookie when I came home last weekend and I had the chance to bake something out of the norm for me. She requested something with oatmeal, and left the rest to me. Oatmeal raisin cookies it was! I used golden raisins instead of purple raisins and will never go back. They make the cookie much more moist and flavorful. You may not notice a difference, but I do! This cookie also didn't spread much, so i'd recommend flattening them out and shaping them a bit prior to baking. This recipe is adapted from the Quaker Oats Oatmeal Raisin recipe found on the lid of their box. It makes a heartier and chewier cookie than the original. I put walnuts in half the batch and left the other half as is. The verdict? They're both equally tasty. My mom loved them and they disappeared within 2-3 days.

I'm at my 97th post right now, and 3 more makes 100! Stay tuned for the 100th post because I'll be having my very first giveaway! :)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2-3/4 cup golden raisins (depending on your taste)
  
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins (& nuts if using them); mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Mint Oreo Truffles

Have I mentioned how much I adore Bakerella? She comes up with the cutest ideas paired with the simplest recipes. They can make anyone seem like a pro baker! This is the second recipe that I've made from her website; the first were her cupcake pops that were a huge hit as well!

Now, a little story to the background of this picture. I was driving with my boyfriend to his niece's bday party (yes, this is finally the last of what I baked for that event & no, I was NOT the one driving.. I wouldn't encourage taking pictures while driving, that's dangerous) carrying my long and beloved cupcake carrier filled with goodies. This cupcake carrier is great because it can comfortably hold 24 frosted cupcakes with stability and perfection, or turn into 4 layers of support when you need to stack cookies/brownies/bars. On the way there, I realized that I had taken pictures of every other baked goods to blog about except for my oreo truffles! Total bust! Luckily, I had my point and shoot camera with me (I carry that everywhere I go since it's so lightweight and you never know when you're gonna need to take a picture) to save the day!

As my boyfriend is driving, merging on freeways, stopping at lights, and making turns, I manage to line up some of the truffles onto my cupcake carrier and take a picture for my blog. The truffles were sliding all over the place after each shot, but I did somehow get a legitimate picture. Too bad I couldn't take a picture of how it looked inside, that would've made a HUGE mess inside the car. At the end of the five minutes of my truffle photoshoot/chaos, my boyfriend goes, "You're gonna write about this [how chaotic it was for me to take the pictures] on your blog, huh?" Heck yes, I am.

These truffles were extremely delicious. Moist on the inside, and perfect to bring along. These were, by far, the biggest hit at the party... probably because there were a lot of mint chocolate lovers. I melted Wilton dark chocolate candy melts and Wilton blue candy melts for the coating.

1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos - Cool Mint Flavor - (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
chocolate bark or candy coating

1. Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin.
2. Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely.
3. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
4. Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.
5. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
6. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

So I finally had time to go to the two story Crate & Barrel that opened by my house, and absolutely fell in love. I walked through the entire store twice just to make sure that I didn't miss anything. I cannot wait until the day comes that I am able to decorate my own house. I have a secret love for interior decorating and even decorated my friend's entire house last year! He let me choose everything, including the wall moldings, paint color, flooring, kitchen counters/cabinets, and furniture. I get such a kick from matching patterns and color palettes to see what materials blend the best. One of my guilty pleasures is home improvement magazines. I have a subscription to Better Home & Gardens and have no problem admitting that it's my favorite magazine. My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy for it, but who will be the one laughing when it's time to decorate a house/entertain guests/clean/cook and find fun ideas and tips? Not me.

Anyways, back to Crate & Barrel, there are so many useless kitchen gadgets that I want! I managed to hold back with the poor college student budget that I have and just walk out with a pastry dough scraper. It's always been on my list of things to get (along with a kitchen scale and a pastry blender) and now I finally have it. I'm starting my kitchen gadget collection early, so that when I have my own kitchen, it'll be well equipped with all my baking needs.

Who doesn't love snickerdoodles? I think that these are always a definite crowd pleaser, no matter what the audience. Kids, Teens, Grown-ups.. they all love them. I brought these to the birthday party mentioned in my last post and they were the first to disappear. This is the one cookie that I bake when I am absolutely clueless on what to bring to a party or social gathering. I bake this the most out of all my baked goods, and people never get tired of it. As a matter of fact, they just keep asking for it! In my opinion, any snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tartar is NOT a snickerdoodle! That is what makes the cookie, so don't omit it! As I've figured, it's a lot cheaper to buy cream of tartar online rather than in the stores. You can always buy it in bulk and store the rest in a air-sealed can/bag for later.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Walnut Cookies

I baked a bunch for my boyfriend's niece's birthday party on Sunday, and these were one of the treats that I brought. They were delightful and turned out perfect! The adults loved them more than the kids, though (probably because of the walnuts). I think the combination of toffee and anything always turn out good, so you can't go wrong with this recipe. These cookies are thick, chewy, and sturdy. I imagine that they'd be perfect for shipping across the states to someone, for they stack up well upon one another and can handle a lot of moving without breaking.

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee bits
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, toffee bits and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
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Now, my boyfriend's niece had a princess birthday party and absolutely LOVES all the Disney princesses. She was turning 3 this year, and I decided to do something fun and creative for her. I made her her own mini princess purse! At first, I bought a plain mini canvas tote and sketched some of the princesses on it. Hah, whoever knew that a baker was capable of other things than just baking, right?

This is how one side looked like after sketching, all free hand!
And a little bit of paint later...(Yes, I used an eyeliner brush. I find that they make the best paintbrushes and I don't wear make up, so why not?)

Voila! Finished product of both sides. She loved it! I also got her a huge Disney princess puzzle kit thing.

For the paint, I used a bit of acrylic paint mixed with textile medium, which is really the greatest thing ever invented. That is also the only brand that I use, Ceramcoat. I've experimented with a lot of acrylic paints and always come back to that one. Anyways, medium textile turns any acrylic paint into fabric paint. It also saves you money because fabric paint is a lot more expensive to buy than acrylic paint.

If you want to buy a canvas tote bag, you can find one HERE.

Valentine's Day Part Two: Malted Milk Cake & Frosting

My boyfriend & I are some of the biggest fans of whoppers that you'll find out there. Most people I know don't like the malt taste, but I adore it! I can eat a box of whoppers all by myself. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. It's a malt cake (I could barely taste it) with a chocolate malted frosting. Now, although I couldn't taste the malt in the cake, the frosting definitely made up for it. It was DELICIOUS! My boyfriend says that the frosting just tastes like chocolate frosting, but what does he know.. :) He doesn't even like sweets!

I split the batter into a 9x13 pan and an 8x8 pan so that I would have a thinner layer to be able to stack upon one another and it worked out perfectly. I used cookie cutters to cut out the heart shape-- TIP: Press the cookie cutter into your cake, LEAVE IT IN THERE, and then use a spatula to slide underneath the shape and cookie cutter. Lift gently, and then press out the cake onto parchment paper. Works like a charm! Don't bother cutting the shape in the pan, removing the cookie cutter, and then trying to get it out. You'll ruin the cake for sure!

1 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
5 egg whites
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup malted powder
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk malt powder into milk. Add flour and milk mixture alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks. Cool completely.

Chocolate Malted Frosting
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
6 T milk
1 cup malted powder
1 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Mix milk and malted powder in electric mixer. Add cocoa and vanilla. Mix until a well blended (as in non-lumpy) paste. Add butter and shortening and cream. Add sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes.

For the writing on top, I used a candy decorating pen bought from Williams Sonoma, but you can find it HERE or HERE. They're really easy to work with and make life so much simpler. No messy clean up! I probably should have tried piping out a bit before though before writing directly on the cake. Oh well!

OH! and just for kicks, this is what some of the Valentine's Day cards that I sent out to people look like:
Everything made by hand! Homemade is the way to go. :) The heart is an example of what my cricut machine that I got for Christmas can do. What the heck is a cricut machine anyway? Check out my previous post about it.
You can buy the smaller version or go all out and get the bigger version.

Valentine's Day M&M Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day! I made a little box of goods for my boyfriend (which I still have yet to give him, so hopefully he doesn't see this before then) filled with cookies and miniature heart cakes. How cute are these M&M's? I love that M&M's come in different colors for every holiday season. It makes themed baking so easy! I had a busy baking day today; I baked 4 different types of cookies (3 dozen of each), a cake, brownies, AND truffles! So I'm a bit exhausted and a bit sleep deprived. I had midterms this past week and had about 15 hours of sleep total for those 5 nights. Eeeek! But I was so relieved to be done with tests and finally have time to bake again, so I went a bit overboard. Oh well! Everything turned out cute, that's all that matters.

These cookies are ok. There's something a bit off about them, but I haven't quite bit my finger on it. I prefer the Nestle Tollhouse recipe over this one, along with my ultimate favorite CCC recipe. It seems that even though I've found my favorite CCC recipe, I can't but help and try new ones. Why? I have no idea. Well, enjoy!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup valentine's m&m's

directions
1. Adjust an oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.
3. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Mix in the chips until incorporated.
4. Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into even balls and lay them on the baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Stud the dough with the m&m's.
5. Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, about 16 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Oh yeah! I managed to do a little blog-makeover the other day that seriously took me FOREVER redoing my gadgets and what not. What do you think?

See's Candies Valentine's Day Chocolate

Look what I received in the mail the other day! A beautiful assortment of milk and dark chocolates from See's Candies...

I can feel Valentine's Day creeping up just around the corner.. Eek! Only 7 days left until Valentine's Day! I'm not gonna lie-- I'm a fan of this holiday. Sorry to the ones that aren't a fan, but all the pink/red and hearts popping up in stores bring me such joy. I love all the heart shaped desserts, the cheesy cards, and the beautiful flowers. Desserts, as you may have guessed, are at the top of my list. I think that Valentine's Day brings out the cutest desserts that you find all year. I love scrapbooking cards for this holiday, too. Let me know if you would like a Valentines Day card sent directly to you! I love sending and recieving snail mail. Leave a comment here or send me an email at kim@lovintheoven.com with your mailing address and I'd be more than happy to send you a homemade card. Who knows, maybe a homemade card will make your Valentine's Day this year THAT much better. :)

I was contacted by See's Candies last week to sample and review some of their chocolates, and they sent me a pound's worth of chocolate! Lucky me! I was so excited to open the package (who am I kidding, I always love opening packages), and was delighted when I saw the bright red, heart-shaped box. I wasn't expecting something so cute! After I finally got over the cuteness and opened the box, I soon found out that the contents were just as appealing.

I slowly tried one, two, three pieces and loved all of them. Like Tom Hanks says in Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." Usually with assortment boxes, I take a bite of each one (because I have no idea what's inside of them) and throw out the ones I don't like. In this case, I haven't thrown out a single chocolate. This assortment had many with caramel, my favorite! The one pictures above is a milk chocolate with a caramel center. I am also a huge fan of the molasses chips from See's-- they're especially addicting. If you haven't gotten a gift for you significant other yet this Valentine's Day, I'd totally go for the Valentine's Day heart shaped chocolate gift boxes from See's! The presentation, quality, and idea is impressive and it will be sure to leave an imprint in your lover's heart. :) Oops, there goes the cheesiness again. Sorry, I just can't help it! I mean, who can ever turn away chocolate? It's always sure to please.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These were made in celebration of my dad's birthday two days ago-- Happy Birthday Dad! I originally baked a brown sugar cupcake, but those didn't turn out so great for me... probably because I didn't have brown sugar on hand and made my own by creating a mixture of white sugar & molasses. So after disposing a batch of failure cupcakes into the trash can, I decided just to go with a simple french vanilla based cupcake instead.

I was planning to put cookie dough in the middle of the cupcake, but in order to do that, you have to use well-frozen cookie dough so that it doesn't cook all the way while baking inside the cake batter. Since I didn't have time to freeze the cookie dough, I just left my cupcakes the way they were and focused on the frosting. The next time that I attempt these (there will definitely be a next time, if not a third and a fourth), I'll make sure to have enough time to freeze the cookie dough in advance. Cookie dough inside the cupcake would have been a welcomed addition! The frosting itself was very rich and decadent. It's EXTREMELY sweet before mixing in the eggless cookie dough. I couldn't stop eating the eggless cookie dough batter that you mix into the frosting. It's so addicting! PLUS, it's okay for you to eat because it's eggless! Double points.

Have I mentioned how much I hate piping frosting? I swear I'm terrible at it and always make the biggest mess while doing so. I envy the talented pipers out there! This frosting was a bit frustrating because the mini chocolate chips would get stuck in the tip, causing my frosting to go all over the place. I'd have to use a toothpick to unjam my tip every now and then. I wouldn't waste time piping frosting onto cupcakes if they weren't so gosh darn cute. Curse the cuteness (but not really because we all know how everyone's a sucker for a good lookin' cupcake)!

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

(Recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop. Makes about 12 cupcakes)

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
3. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds after each.
5. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
6. Measure out milk and vanilla together.
7. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.
8. Add about one third the milk/vanilla mixture and beat until combined.
9. Repeat above, alternating flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.
10. Place previously prepared frozen cookie dough ball (mine were fairly big) into cup liners, then fill about half to three-quarters full of cupcake batter.
11. Bake for 20-22 minutes until golden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. (Testing by using a toothpick would be insufficient because of the gooey cookie dough in the center).

Cookie Dough Frosting

(Recipe from The Cupcake Review. Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes.)

• 1-3/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Eggless cookie dough (recipe below)

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, salt, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
2. Add milk and continue mixing until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary. With the mixer running, slowly add remaining 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, mix until well combined.
3. At this point you can mix in the eggless cookie dough. Mix in enough cookie dough to suit your taste. Any cookie dough leftover you can gladly eat! There are no eggs in it so it is safe. Yum!

Eggless Cookie Dough

(Recipe from How To Eat A Cupcake)

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

1. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add water and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and salt and stir to combine. Stir in mini chocolate chips (optional).
   
2. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
   

Guittard's Polka Dot Cookies

Superbowl schmooperbowl. Football never really interested me, but how could I pass up the event of getting together and eating buffalo wings, 7 layer dip, and some barbeque? I couldn't! Everyone knows that I'm a sucker for guacamole. I was at Cost Plus Word Market yesterday, one of my new found favorite stores, and came across Guittard's mint chocolate chips! I've been looking for mint chocolate chips for quite some time now, and was ecstatic to come across them. I immediately bought a bag and made the recipe on the back to bring with me to a superbowl party today.

These cookies were soft, chewy, and mint/chocolatey. To be completely honest, I'm not really a fan of these mint chips after trying them and baking with them; I'd much prefer working with a bag of Andes mint. I do like that this recipe uses the same method of making the chocolate cookie as my favorite Andes mint cookies do, though. These cookies were good, but not GREAT, despite what the boys at the superbowl party said (they raved how they were better than Girl Scout thin mints). In my opinion, I'd take a thin mint over this cookie anyday. Mmmmm.. girl scout cookies.. Too bad they only sell 'em a couple months of the year AND they've downsized all their boxes. Worst ever.

2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (do not sift)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups (12 oz) Guittard Green Mint Chips

Preheat oven to 350F

In top of double boiler over low heat, melt semi-sweet chips and butter, stirring constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light. Blend in melted chocolate, then dry ingredients. Stir in green mint chips and chill for 10-15 minutes or until stiff. Drop by well-round teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes, cookies will be soft in centers but will harden as they cool.

Microwave instructions: Heat semisweet chips in a small bowl at medium power (50% or level 5) for 2-3 minutes, stirring well after each minute until smooth.