JBug's Kitchen Antics

All The Good Stuff Cookies

I'm taking the liberty of calling these cookies how I see 'em because along with the fact they're Big Guy's new favorites, experience (a lot of it)  has shown one can throw almost everything but the kitchen sink into them and they'll be stupendous. 

Along with the usual butter/sugar/egg/oatmeal combination, these puppies have 3 cups of other good stuff - any combination, all of it up to your imagination, such as white chocolate chips, dark chocolate, semi-sweet, butterscotch, peanut butter flavored or cinnamon chips...you name it ... nuts like salted whole cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts, dried fruit such as cranberries, raisins, strawberries, sour cherries, blueberries, chopped up dried apricots, peaches or even dried pineapple or coconut, candies like M & M's, malt balls and the like and I've even thrown in trail mix - you know the kind with whole almonds, raisins, coconut, chocolate chips and dried pineapple chunks.

Chilled for a minimum of one hour before baking, I scoop the dough into whoopie pie pans because they make a darned perfect cookie, but use regular cookie sheets if you must. Just be sure to give them room to expand and let 'em cool completely before removing them from the pan otherwise the cookies will crumble (ah darn huh).

Believe me, the 15 or so minutes it takes to cool 'em will be the longest 15 minutes of your life. Just sayin'. 

Anyway, they might not look picture book pretty but holy cow, they sure do taste mighty fine. Give 'em a try and be sure to let me know about your special combination of good stuff. 

All The Good Stuff Cookies from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Noble Pig

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark, but light is OK too)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup oatmeal (I used old fashioned but quick is OK too)

3 cups of good stuff * see Note below

Cooking Spray

 

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer whip butter, granulated and brown sugar together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl down from time to time to incorporate ingredients. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla, beating well to incorporate. On low speed, add flour and mix just until combined. Fold in oatmeal and all the good stuff. Cover dough and chill for a minimum 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray pans with cooking spray. Using a quarter cup scoop, roll dough into balls and place onto sheet pan or into whoopee pie pans. Bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown but still slightly soft to the touch in the center. Cool completely before removing from pans. Makes 24 to 26 cookies.

Note:  Three cups of any combination of white chocolate chips, dark chocolate, semi-sweet, butterscotch, peanut butter flavored or cinnamon chips...you name it ... nuts like salted whole cashews, walnuts, almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts, dried fruit such as cranberries, raisins, strawberries, sour cherries, blueberries, chopped up dried apricots, peaches or even dried pineapple or coconut, candies like M & M's, malt balls (leave whole) and the like and I've even thrown in trail mix - you know the kind with whole almonds, raisins, coconut, chocolate chips and dried pineapple chunks. 

 

Apple Bars with Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Now fess up. Bet you were wondering when I was going to post a sweet treat for the week now weren't you. 

We've been busy the last couple of days installing all those cedar shakes I stained last fall. The good news is we're almost done. The bad news is by almost done I mean we're almost done installing all the shakes I had stained. There's still 3 sides of the house left to do and I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever get finished. Are you laughing yet?

Anyway since we're expending all this energy I figured the least I could do was make something decadent to have with our afternoon tea break. I combined 2 recipes - the crust from my favorite lemon bar recipe and the filling for a shredded apple pie to come up with these rather fabulous moist and yummy cinnamon flavored apple bars. Hey, I could have made an apple pie but I only had 2 apples AND I didn't feel like fiddling with pastry making. Just being honest here.

I don't know about you but I need ice cream with any apple goodness so I put my thinking cap on and checked the refrigerator to see what was in it. I had a carton of sour cream with a pending expiration date and a few other almost empty containers of yogurt and half and half. I put 'em all together, threw in dark brown sugar and a little booze to keep it all from freezing hard as cement and this ultra creamy, rich, slightly tart but sweet scoop of totally decadent bliss was the result.

The dark brown sugar gives the ice cream a fabulous caramel like flavor and the creamy texture's the other side of perfect, if there is such a thing. 

Brown Sugar Sour Cream Ice Cream from JBug’s Kitchen Antics

16 ounces sour cream

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons spiced rum or bourbon

Whip all ingredients together except for the liquor for 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate a minimum of 3 hours. Remove from refrigerator and stir in rum. Freeze in ice cream maker per manufacturer’s directions for 20 minutes or until the consistency of soft serve. Scoop into a container with a tight fitting lid and freeze until firm. Makes about 1 quart.

 Apple Bars

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup hard unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

 Spray a 9 x 9 inch square pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients until crumbled. Press into pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup soft butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 medium granny smith apples, peeled and shredded

In a medium bowl combine sugar, flour and cinnamon until well mixed. Add butter and vanilla and whip until mixture is light and fluffy. Fold in shredded apples. Spread mixture over baked crust and return to the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Cool to room temperature before cutting. 

 

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

I've made a lot of whoopie pies in my day. You name the kind, it's been cooling in JBug's kitchen at some point.

Whoopie pies were the end of year reward for one of Big Guy's classes when they turned in their final essay aka take home exam. It started out as a lark when his class numbers were small but it wasn't such a lark at the end when he had over 75 students in the class. At least I only had to make 75 plus extras. He had to mark the essays. 

Not wanting to lose the knack of making the things never mind I've two of these fancy pans to make the job easier along with the fact I needed something semi-wholesome to put into Big Guy's lunch, a carrot cake version seemed like a good idea. I found the recipe here and I'm writing it for you below because I did make a few changes - enough to warrant a re-write. 

Tasting of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice, I pepped up the pecans by toasting them first because the flavor is really intensified to say nothing of the extra crunch. The result's pretty darned incredible, especially the maple cream cheese filling. It is absolutely amazing. 

In case you're wondering whether I'd make any changes on the next go round - I have to be honest and say I'd leave out the coconut. It isn't that I don't like the stuff but just that I wasn't crazy about it in the "pies". Some well drained crushed pineapple would have been much more to my taste. Oh, and be sure to watch the cooking time because there can't be anything more sacrilegious than dry carrot cake. Just sayin'. 

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies (from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from bettycrocker.com and Baked Bree)

Cooking spray

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1-1/2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Spray pans with cooking spray and set aside. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time and scrape bowl down in between. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat only until combined. Fold in carrots, coconut and nuts and mix only until combined. Using a 2 ounce scoop, drop batter into pans or onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Dip your fingers into cold water and flatten batter slightly in pans. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until just cooked. Do not over bake. Cool for 5 minutes, and then remove to wire racks and cool completely. To finish, place 2 tablespoons of maple cream filling in between 2 cookies to make a sandwich. Wrap and store in refrigerator or freeze.  Makes 12 pies.

Maple Cream Filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons good quality maple syrup (I used B grade from Trader Joe’s)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat together salt and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add maple syrup and vanilla and beat well. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  

A year ago - Turkey Chili with Cranberries and Chipotle

 

Two years ago - Sunday Gravy

Butter and Salt Jammers

 What do muffins, cupcakes and cookies have in common? Are you stumped? They're all made in the same kind of pan. I tell you no lie.  

 

Imagine my surprise when I saw these fabulous cookies on one of my favorite blog sites "Dinner With Julie". Thanks to her, I gave these beauties a try. Never mind that she's a trusted source, but the kicker is these "Beurr et Sel Jammers" are created by Dorie Greenspan herself and I happen to adore that woman and admire her kitchen talents.

Now, picture little balls of shortbread dough pushed into the bottom of muffin tins, topped with jam and finished with a buttery salty streusel. Baked until golden, the only difficult part about making the darn things is the wait until they're barely lukewarm so you can take 'em out of the pan. I solved that little issue though. I made mine in silicone muffin forms (I can't in all conscience as a Canadian call them a pan or a tin because they're not)...and when they came out of the oven, I shoved them in the freezer for 10 minutes so they cooled PDQ and they popped out quick and easy like nobody's business.  I mean why wait?

The rich and tender little morsels of buttery bliss keep beautifully in an airtight tin, given they hang around long enough. Personally, I think they rival Dorie's Apple Cake (here) for her very best ever, though you can take that with a grain of salt because I'm still working on making "all" of her other creations. I'm going to be at it for a while. Just sayin'. 

Incidentally, I did what Julie suggested and instead of rolling the dough out and cutting it to fit the cups, I dropped a little morsel into the bottom of the pan and pressed it in with a floured glass. I put them in the freezer to firm up, then finished 'em with jam and streusel before they hit the oven. 

If you haven't made these cookies yet, you absolutely have to give them a try. They're amazing!

Beurre et Sel Jammers from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Dorie Greenspan via Dinner with Julie)

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl of electric mixer, beat butter, sugars and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour and stir just to combine. Form one inch balls and press into bottom of muffin tins. Freeze for 10 minutes or until very firm.

Streusel:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extra

5 tablespoons hard butter, cubed

Combine flour, sugar, salt and vanilla. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Set aside.

To finish cookies:

Chunky jam (I used raspberry)

Preheat oven to 350. Remove muffins tins from freezer and using a teaspoon, drop a small spoonful of jam into the center of each cookie. Surround the jam with streusel crumbs leaving jam uncovered. Bake for 20 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Cool in pans then remove from pan.  Makes about 2 dozen.

A year ago - Baked Gnocchi with Italian Sausage and Bechamel

A year ago - Sun Dried Tomato Pesto on Halibut

Two year's ago -  Fettucini Alfredo with Crab

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Tiz' the season of the great pumpkin and while most of us think of it in terms of pie, like any other member of the squash/gourd family, it can be used in sweet or savory dishes. We'll be show casing squash this week as a recurring theme so I thought we'd start the enjoyment with something familiar and our sweet treat of the week.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars with a Gingersnap Crust

Inspired by a Rachael Ray recipe, I took the liberty of changing it up a bit by using crushed gingersnaps as the base instead of chocolate wafer crumbs. For some strange reason, chocolate wafer cookies are a little hard to find these days and I didn't want to go the Oreo route because the leftovers are too tempting. No matter though, because the spices in the cookie are synonymous with pumpkin anyway.  I added more spice to the cream cheese, sugar and egg combination too along with a wee dram of bourbon...please don't be telling Big Guy I'm using his Knob Creek to cook with or he'll be locking the liquor cabinet on me. I figured he wouldn't miss 2 teaspoons of the stuff unless he's marked the bottle. Yikes...I'd better check.

Anyway, there's lots of versions of pumpkin chocolate cheesecake bars out there and while most of them place the chocolate layer next to the crust, this particular version has the chocolate combined with a portion of the cheesecake filling and swirled into the top. 

I think they're pretty good, if I do say so...incredibly rich, creamy and oh so slightly decadent. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Rachael Ray)

1 cup gingersnap crumbs (approximately 10 cookies)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

--------------------------------------------------------------------

2 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Dash ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons bourbon or vanilla

4 ounces dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment and set aside.

Combine cookie crumbs, sugar and butter in a small bowl and mix well. Pat into bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile pulse cream cheese in a food processor until smooth. Add sugar and pumpkin puree and mix until very smooth. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and salt and pulse to combine then add eggs and bourbon or vanilla. Combine. Remove 1 cup of cheesecake mixture into a small bowl and combine with melted chocolate. Pour remainder of cheesecake mixture onto cooled crumb crust and top with spoonful’s of the chocolate mixture. Swirl with a knife to combine.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until set but slightly soft in the center. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing. Cut, wiping knife between each use. 

A year ago - Sweet Potato, Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas 

Two year's ago -  Coq au Vin

Corn Chowder and Peach Crumb Bars

My friend Lea at La Casa De Nanan whipped up a batch of corn chowder the other day that made me drool. It was also a reminder that we haven't had it in a while so I previewed the soup recipes on this blog and pulled one from way back. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say it had the appropriate amounts of bacon, celery, onion, and corn in a rich creamy broth that cried for a garnish of hot sauce. 

Here's a few examples of "corny" soups we've enjoyed from JBug's Kitchen during the past 3 years. As you can see, we've had a few and last night's effort was a version of the Corn and Cheese Chowder from way back in 2009 but without the cheese. 

Salm 'n Clam 'n Corn    Southwestern with Sausage   Chile Chicken & Corn

     

Summer - Clam & Corn    Roasted Corn Chowder   Corn & Cheese Chowder

     

Now, on to the sweet treat of the week. I came home from a quick trip to the market last week with a bag of 4 very large peaches. While they weren't on the list, they were so big, beautiful, luscious AND inexpensive, I just had to have 'em. I had originally planned to make a raspberry peach pie or Peach Diddle Diddle Dumplings, but just didn't get around to it.

Yesterday I came across this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker and thought why not. Kind of a peach version of Apple Pie Bars, it seemed like a great way to use my peaches that were quickly going south. I basically followed the recipe as written, except I substituted light brown sugar for granulated and cut back a bit since I didn't want a really sweet dessert. I also added more vanilla and cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg to the mix. 

The result - delicious for sure. I mean how can one go wrong with a tender shortbread style crust on the bottom, yummy peach filling inside and more delicious buttery crumbs on top? Well, you can't but I think they couda' been better. 

When you're whipping up these beauties, don't cut back on the sugar, don't be stingy with the salt and for heaven's sake, don't skimp on the peaches. I had the requisite 5 cups called for but I think there coulda' been more, along with maybe a splash of bourbon or two. A few pecans in the crumb mix on top wouldn't be a bad idea either and maybe I could have thrown in the package of raspberries I have in the freezer, or used orange juice instead of lemon and added some rind.  

Course saying all of that, it could be that I'm justifying adding peaches to this week's grocery list so I can make the darn thing all over again.  What do you think? My version of the recipe is below - but please hit the link above and go directly to the source for the original.

Peach Crumb Bars (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from browneyedbaker.com)

Filling:

5 to 6 cups peeled and sliced peaches (4 -5 large)

Juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

In a large bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. Add sliced peaches and lemon juice and toss gently to coat.

Crumble:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup cold unsalted butter, diced

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly but not too fine. Beat together egg and vanilla and add to crumb mixture. Toss to incorporate. Mixture will be very dry.  Press half the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread peach filling on top and finish with remaining crumbs. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden. Cool to room temperature before cutting. 

A year ago - Pinot Braised Duck Legs with Pears and Onions

Two year's ago - Fried Catfish with Hushpuppies

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Ree calls these beauties "Knock You Naked Brownies" and I can certainly see why. They are absolutely kick ass good. Super simple too! Hit the link for her version but if you'll give me a second, I'll tell you about mine.

Now I'm not above using a cake mix or ten when the spirit moves me and happen to have a couple in the cupboard waiting for a moment when I'm feeling lazy and having a sweet treat craving. Lucky for us I came across this recipe during my search for "chocolate cake mix" and "caramel". Isn't the internet wonderful?

Simply a dark chocolate cake mix combined with melted butter and evaporated milk, I had both the former and none of the latter so I used half and half instead of the canned milk. Neither did I have a single solitary caramel on site but then again, I'm not sure I have the required patience to remove the wrappers from 60 of the darn things anyway so idea person that I am I substituted Hershey's Caramel Sauce instead. By the way, I only had a half cup of pecans so threw in a handful of hazelnuts as well and oh I didn't have any chocolate chips or powdered sugar either. 

But you know what? It mattered not because I know for a fact these chewy chocolate caramel brownies are so darned delicious, they'll kick your ass...and how do I know that you may ask. I put 2 of them in Big Guy's lunch box and he kicked mine when he got home last night. No way could he pass up those brownies. 

Incidentally, as you can see from the picture, I served them on top of a pool of caramel syrup just for a little somethin' somethin' and they'd be even more amazing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. 

Chewy Chocolate Caramel Brownies (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Pioneerwoman.com)

1 package (18.5) ounce Dark Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury Devil’s Food)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/3 cup half and half

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/2 a 14 oz. jar Hershey’s Caramel Topping

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch square pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine cake mix, pecans, hazelnuts, half and half and butter. Stir together well. Mixture will be very stiff. Divide mixture in two and press half into the bottom of the pan, building up sides slightly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly on a wire rack.

Pour Hershey’s caramel topping over baked crust. Using hands, crumble remaining dough evenly onto caramel sauce and return pan to the oven. Bake for additional 25 to 30 minutes. Place pan on wire rack to cool, then cover and refrigerate for several hours before cutting into squares. To serve, drop a small amount of caramel sauce onto plate and swirl gently. Place brownie on top and enjoy!

A year ago - Bacon and Onion Quiche

Two year's ago - Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Meatballs on Salad 

Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Every once in a while don't you crave a crisp satisfying crunchie cookie? These little lemon flavored shortbread cookies are just the ticket.

Buttery, lemony and crisp with an added punch from raspberry jam, they are simplicity at its best, without the usual adornment of coconut or nuts often found in a thumbprint cookie.The other great thing about them is there's no need to refrigerate the dough before forming them so if you're into instant gratification like I am, they're the perfect choice.

Just so you know, I made my cookies a little more "man sized" so I used a melon baller to make the indentation with the added bonus that it holds a lot more jam than my thumbprint would have. Oh and while I said there was no need to refrigerate the dough, I must admit that after I formed the cookies and made the impressions, I did put the baking sheets into the freezer while the oven preheats. That little exercise kept the cookies from spreading out - not that they would have but just in case. With all that butter, you never know do ya'?

Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies (Adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter (room temperature)

2/3 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silpat and set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 additions and mix just until the dough holds together. Do not over mix!

Form dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet leaving at least an inch between each cookie. Using a melon baller or your finger, slowly press an indentation into each cookie. At this point, place cookie sheets into freezer and chill for minimum 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Pull chilled cookies from freezer and fill indentations with raspberry preserves. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cookies are firm and lightly browned on the bottom. Remove to wire racks to cool.  Makes 2 dozen larger cookies. If making smaller cookies, adjust baking time accordingly. Download Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

 A year ago - An Assortment of Appetizers made with Won Ton Wrappers

Crocker and Hines

I'd like to correct a myth that's been circulating about what goes on here in JBug's Kitchen. It's time to fess up. Prepare yourselves people - this is a big one.

Not everything that comes out of this kitchen is home made. Betty and Duncan come to our house for a visit every once in a while and I'm not afraid to admit it. As a blogger I've been known to excuse myself and beg forgiveness from the blogging gods, whoever they may be, for using pre-packaged mixes and other convenience foods but darn it all JBug's Kitchen is all about every day cookin'. I happen to have it on good authority that 99.9 percent of my readers have a bottle of Heinz somewhere on their property - so there!

I had a chocolate cake mix in my baking cupboard that's been calling my name ever since the last time I made a lovely little concoction we call Sex in a Pan. Now, that one's gonna' get me some weird traffic isn't it? Craving a treat and lacking time to fuss, I whipped up a batch of Fudge Crinkles from bettycrocker.com website that took less than 20 minutes from start to finish. I even changed up the recipe a tad and added some chocolate chips to the mix for a double burst of antioxidants.

The resulting cookies are delicious - crunchy on the outside and chewy inside...kinda' like brownies dressed up in cookie drag with a powdered sugar hat. We enjoyed them very much, particularly the leftovers direct from the freezer - yes, I said we, not just me.

Fudge Crinkles (adapted from bettycrocker.com)

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Supermoist Triple Chocolate Fudge)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Combine cake mix, chocolate chips, oil, eggs and vanilla and mix with a spoon until it all comes together. Using a 2 ounce cookie scoop, form dough into balls and drop into powdered sugar. Place onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart and bake for 12 to 14 minutes until just set. Be careful not to overbake. Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar if desired and store in an air tight container. Makes 2 dozen cookies. Note – freeze any leftovers almost immediately as they tend to go stale very quickly.

Since I've confessed to using ...gasp...cake mixes, you may want to check out a few other good things that have resulted, like a magical Rhubarb Cake made from a yellow cake mix that's like a rhubarb custard pie but in cake form (below left). How about a quick and easy Pumpkin Pie Cake that's guaranteed to please (photo below right).

Cranapple Oatmeal Cookies

Picture this if you will. It's midnight. The big guy's in New Orleans walking Bourbon Street and I'm home running around in the back yard trying to save a baby rabbit from the likes of Georgie the huntress and her sidekick Max. It's dark, very very dark and this so called "hero" is night blind as a bat. Shoulda' been a video...talk about a race to the finish!

Fortunately Max responds (eventually) to the word cookie when all else fails and it's a good thing too that I had these Cranapple Oatmeal Cookies on hand...for me. He had his favorite soft concoction courtesy of Blue Dog Bakery. Heaven forbid either of us should eat alone after expending so much energy.

One could say these are "healthy" cookies loaded with fresh apples, dried cranberries, walnuts and oatmeal but alas one would be wrong, particularly when one eats a bunch of 'em; however, they are definitely worth making for their soft chewy interior and crunchy exterior. Just be sure to eat them immediately or store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer because they get really really soft when they sit overnight. Just sayin'.

If you're wondering what happened to the rabbit, Georgie pounced, I caught her, grabbed the rabbit, checked for injuries, cuddled it, gave it some water and walked the neighborhood trying to find the perfect place to set him free. There's just one thing I couldn't quite come to grips with - his life spared, what was gonna' happen to the little gaffer now? Hardly slept a wink worrying about it.

Cranapple Oatmeal Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup chopped apple without peel

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside. Beat together shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth and creamy. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in apple, cranberries and walnuts. Using a 2 ounce cookie scoop, arrange dough 3 inches apart on parchment covered cookie sheets. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until browned around the edges and solid in the middle. Cool on wire racks. Best eaten immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer. Makes 2-1/2 dozen medium sized cookies. Download Cranapple Oatmeal Cookies

 

Snickerdoodles

I'm home alone for dinner the next two nights and we've enough leftovers in the refrigerator to feed a whole flock so I'm not going to be doing a lot of "dinner" cooking for a couple of days. Rest assured, it doesn't mean I'm taking time off. Heaven forbid!

Over the holidays we had the pleasure of the company of one of our regular visitors who comes to see us all the way from Oregon. The big guy's hunting partner, John, pops in a couple of times every year and consequently I tend to go a little overboard as far as kitchen duty goes. He doesn't mind a bit. He happens to be a huge Snickerdoodle fan so while he was here last time I whipped up a batch to make him happy happy.

Now I hate qualifying things as the "BEST"...I mean, who says my particular best is better than your best, but I really have to say this Sunset Magazine snickerdoodle recipe is better than any I've ever made before. There, I avoided saying best..aren't I somethin'? Tender and crisp with just the right amount of cinnamon, these sublime sugar cookies literally melt in your mouth. They're ready in a flash and don't require chilling first in order to hold their shape before they hit the oven either which is a real bonus as far as I'm concerned because I'm kinda' into instant gratification. John went nutso over them. I'll be making him another batch in the very near future because he'll be back for the "guy's only" annual Javalina hunt the first part of February.

There is some method in my madness you know! I figure if I make the guys a bunch of yummy treats, they'll be too busy eating to bother shooting those ugly little wild fur ball pigs that stink to high heaven and have a mean looking face but are otherwise cute and adorable. Do you like my logic? Between you and me, it's worked pretty well for the past 8 years! LOL

Snickerdoodles (adapted from Sunset Magazine) Download Snickerdoodles

4-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

 

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar in a small bowl. Whisk to lighten and set aside. In another small bowl combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer, combine butter, vegetable oil, and powdered sugar and beat until very smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl from time to time as required. Carefully add dry ingredients to butter/egg mixture and mix only until well combined.

Using a 2 ounce cookie scoop, form into balls and roll each in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 3 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer carefully to racks to cool. Store up to 5 days in a airtight container. Makes approximately 5 dozen.  

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The big guy took me out for a date last night to Rosati's for pizza with just the right amount of cheese, fabulous sauce, incredible Italian sausage and a crust -oh the crust -paper thin flakey and it stays crisp up till the very last bite. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, there wasn't any dinner cooking in J'Bugs Kitchen; however, I did make a batch of cookies yesterday afternoon that managed to stay intact except for one iddy biddy little tester.

School's out on the best oatmeal raisin cookie. I mean how do you qualify what is "best" anyway?  Some people like them crisp and other's like them chewy. Personally, my fave's are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside - kinda' like these little goodies from Smitten Kitchen. I just happened upon these because I love trying new recipes - in case you didn't notice. My usual oatmeal cookie recipe is from Purity Cookbook, the old original Purity from way back when and it's got a lot more sugar in it than this one (which means a crisper cookie), so I figured what's the harm in trying a new version in my search for the holy cookie grail.
 
I'm pretty darn happy that I did. Perfectly soft, yummy and chewy inside with a crisp outer edge with lots of oats and raisins, these little orbs have just a hint of cinnamon shining through. They dispute the old saying "if it's too good to be true, it is", because these are...too good! Best of all, I learned something new. They need to be chilled before baking so you can drop the dough onto cookie sheets, freeze 'em then tranfer the little dough balls into a zip bag and cook up what you need when you need it. Brilliant idea.

You know what this means don't you? Chewy oatmeal cookies for breakfast aren't beyond the realm of possibility and for sure I'm going to tuck the hint away for when we're trying to sell this house. I mean, what smells better than fresh cookies from the oven? I know for a fact it's worked before. 

By the way, I changed not one thing so off you go to Smitten Kitchen for the recipe - oh and tell 'em I sent ya, OK?

 

Blackberry Pie Bars

Last night's dinner was another form of leftovers - hey remember the day when there didn't used to be any?  We had quite a bit of hanger steak leftover from Sunday which is not a bad thing, so I whipped up a couple of beef, caramelized onion, mushroom, Swiss and barbecue sauce panini sandwiches to fill the void.

Believe you me they were some delicious, but since there's no recipe to report, I figured I'd best tell you about the other little temptations that rounded out the meal.

Thanks to joythebaker.com, I came across these little beauties last week and absolutely had to give 'em a try. Of course there's no way in good conscience I could make the whole recipe for just two of us, never mind that 6 cups of blackberries at the price they're going for here in hell would take this bar cookie into the "liquid gold" price range - so I changed up the recipe a bit, cut it in half and added vanilla instead of lemon.

The result - a tender, crispy buttery crust with a creamy cheesecake custard like topping studded with maroon colored gems. Now that's what perception can do for you - my Eastern Oregon cowboy calls blackberries "weeds" and I call 'em gems. Anyway, this bar cookie or "square" as we Canucks call them, is very much like the Kuchen I've bragged about in the past and since imitation is the most sincere form of flattery - I can't think of a single thing wrong with that. Give one or both of them a try and you'll see what I mean. Download Blackberry Pie Bars

Blackberry Pie Bars

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

2 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 – 16 ounce package frozen blackberries

Remove blackberries from freezer and place on a sheet pan that has been lined with paper towels to thaw.  Spray a 9 x 12 pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

In food processor combine flour, sugar, salt, butter and vanilla. Pulse until mixture forms fine crumbs. Remove half of the crumbs and set aside. Pour remaining half onto bottom of prepared pan and spread evenly. Press crumbs firmly into place. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Beat together eggs, sugar, sour cream, cream, salt and vanilla. Spread on top of cooled crust. Sprinkle evenly with defrosted blackberries, then sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cool to room temperature before cutting.

I need a vacation

There was this great television ad playing when I left Calgary 10 years ago. It's likely buried in the old advertising graveyard now, but I still "sing" it at the top of my lungs from time to time - if you can call my caterwalling "singing" that is. It goes "I need a vacation...gotta' get away" and that's how I'm feeling. Our regular routine's been a touch "irregular" for the last several weeks, so last night my lovely man picked up sushi on the way home from work and we had a date...with each other...over sushi...no reservations...no interruptions...no cooking...no dishes. Just a vast sea of sushi, a boat sized martini and us. It was lovely.

You know the only thing is - fish breath from sushi can be a killer, so these little beauties are a great solution to have hiding in the freezer for just such an occasion.

Loaded with cranberries, dark chocolate chips, walnuts and orange flavor, they go great with a cuppa' tea before bedtime or in school lunches or packs for the great white hunter and his sidekick, John. Made with a combination of butter and shortening (butter for flavor and shortening for a chewier cookie), they're also quite adaptable in the flavor department.

Make 'em with white chocolate chips too or a mixture of the two if you'd like a little more somethin' somethin.You can even replace the cranberries with dried blueberries - you'll just have to call 'em something else, and if you use 'em exchange the orange zest for lemon, OK? Mark my words though - the orange flavor with chocolate and cranberry's a match made in heaven. Download Chocolate Chip Cranberry Nut Cookies

Oh, and please no comments about "moderation". We're on vacation after all!

Old Fashioned Date Filled Oatmeal Cookies

These rainy Tucson days are great for a lot of things, other than cleaning the spines on the cactus. Maybe I should have washed all the windows earlier than last week and we'd have had this rain arrive sooner! One thing's for certain - that new range is certainly getting a work out because the cool weather makes for perfect baking days.

These old fashioned cookies really bring back a lot of memories. Growing up, they were one of my favorites and Mother used to make them all the time to hide in our school lunches. They start out crisp, but as they age, they get soft and gooey and just darn wonderful. I love the things. This particular recipe's adapted from my old Purity Cookbook - you can tell its popularity by the stains on the pages. Have you got one or two of those kinds of cookbooks too? Download Old Fashioned Date Filled Oatmeal Cookies

I cooked the dates along with some water, a touch of sugar (they don't need much), and some orange zest, then set it aside to make the cookies. A comparatively small amount of flour is combined with a lot of brown sugar and a massive amount of oatmeal to make these wonderful things, with oil and water added as the liquid ingredients. The cookies are then rolled out very thinly, cut into circles and baked until golden brown and crisp - about 5 to 7 minutes. Oh just a note - unlike pastry, this cookie dough does not suffer from being overworked, so don't be afraid to roll and re-roll your scraps. Once cooled they're sandwiched together with the date filling and dusted with a little powdered sugar. When you're making them quite honestly you think you'll never get to the end of the bowl, but the recipe only makes 3 dozen of the filled sweeties, so don't worry that you're going to have too many.

I know for a fact the great white hunter and his side kick won't be complaining one bit when they take these on the road at the end of the month. We have just one small, teeny weeny problem though. The blasted things are languishing in the freezer right above that deep dark chocolate cake that's still calling my name. Trouble - just plain trouble!