Peanut butter oatmeal cookies
Hello! I’m so sorry for taking such a long break in between posts. It has been a little crazy around our house. Just before school started our home was hit by lightening!
It burned out our oven, sprinkler system and pool pump. I didn’t realize how much I love to bake until that privilege was taken away from me and to have to hand water our lawn, there was no way we could keep up with it for the rest of the summer. Luckily my husband is good at fixing things, (one of the things I love about him). He was able to get the sprinklers working in a few days but the oven took 6 very long weeks! After a few weeks we started to buy store bought brownies and cookies, but were sad to find they just don’t taste as good as homemade.
Also, I have been eating store bought bread for the past 6 weeks and I just hate it. Store bought bread feels to me like I am eating air…or a non-food. It just doesn’t leave me feeling full and satisfied like homemade wheat bread does.
Luckily this week I was able to start baking again! Right away I made 5 loaves of bread and these cookies featured below. They are SO yummy. The cookies are soft, chewy, and they hold a very nice shape. They are salty, and sweet and pretty good for you. They have lots of oatmeal, peanut butter (I use peanut butter with no hydrogenated oils…if you don’t know why watch this clip and no flour. On Tuesday I baked all the cookies and froze half of them in large zip top bags. We just pulled out the frozen cookies this morning because we are going through them so quickly. We love them and the kids have a lot of friends over after school this week. These cookies are perfect for an after school snack. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (flourless)
Yield: about 6½ dozen
1½ cup peanut butter (I prefer Adam’s Natural brand)
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon corn syrup
4½ cups quick-cooking oats
¾ cup (6 ounces)semisweet chocolate chips
In a large mixing bowl, cream the peanut butter, butter, and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in baking soda, vanilla, and corn syrup. Stir in oats, and chocolate chips. Dough will be sticky.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350ºF for 11 minutes or until lightly browned. (For best results, only bake 1 sheet at a time on the middle rack.)
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to wire racks. Freeze cookies up to 3 months. You can also freeze extra cookie dough by rolling it into a log and wrapping in plastic wrap. Label dough “350ºF for 11 minutes” and freeze. Defrost for 10 seconds in the microwave on HIGH. Shape dough just as directed above, then bake and serve.
Neat, it’s Greek!
Posted by Jenny Stanger in Bread and Breakfast, Desserts, Healthy Snacks, Recipes Monday, 4 July 2011 17:39 7 Comments
I am addicted to Greek yogurt. It is so thick and creamy and similar to custard. Greek yogurt has double the protein, is lower in calories and sodium then traditional yogurt and is filled with probiotics, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and B12. Now that I’ve tasted the good stuff, I can’t eat Yoplait and Dannon yogurt anymore. Traditional brands (even the lite versions) taste more like a cup of melted ice cream to me then yogurt. It is packed with so much sugar (often over 30 grams of sugar per serving.)
Family Reunion Meals Made Easy
We just had a wonderful family reunion with my in-laws in Ashton, Idaho. It involved staying in a massive cabin with 17 adults and 17 kids, a hike to a nearby waterfall (Mesa Falls), and trip to the gorgeous sand dunes in Saint Anthony. We also ate a lot of good food and played a lot of deep belly laughing games. To make sure no one person was stuck in the kitchen the entire time, we organized it so each family teamed up with one other to make dinner on one of the nights. Breakfast and lunch was set out by the reunion hosts.
Our first night in Ashton we had a hot dog bar with 3-4 different signs instructing you how to make your hot dog special. Very cute idea!
Spicy Summer Salsa
Posted by Jenny Stanger in Chicken, Recipes, Vegetarian Wednesday, 15 June 2011 14:38 No Comments
Summer is here and at my house we’ve been enjoying a lot of fresh salsa. This salsa recipe is adapted from my Sister-in-law Sues’ Super Salsa. Say that five times fast! This salsa is a great addition to so many meals.
