Kitchen Conundrum

Almost Healthy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

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Today I made Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. I really like to make desserts that give an illusion of being healthy, that way we don’t feel so bad when we eat them. The oatmeal adds a chewy center to these buttery, chocolaty cookies and makes a great accompaniment to a cold glass of milk either as an afternoon snack or midnight raid. You can also add ½ cup of chopped nuts or raisins if that is your preference.

 

Ingredients

1 Cup Butter or Margarine (2 Sticks), softened

1 Cup White Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Rolled Oats

1 ½ Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Method

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Either grease baking sheets or line with a silicone mat*.

In the large bowl of your mixer add butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Cream together until light and well blended.

Gradually add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the oats and chocolate chips with a large spoon or spatula.

Using a tablespoon of dough, roll by hand to form small balls. Place balls on baking sheets spaced two inches apart to avoid baking together.

Bake 8-12 minutes until light brown around the edges, leaving the middles slightly undercooked for soft, chewy cookies. For a crisper cookie, bake 10-15 minutes until cookie is golden brown throughout.

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.  To maintain softness, place into a large zip lock bag while still slightly warm. For crisp cookies wait until fully cooled.

*We use Silpat/Fiberlux-C silicone mats because it makes clean up a breeze and the cookies never stick. They are easy to clean and store. We like these brands because they seem to be thicker and more durable than other brands. We also use half sheet pans than can be bought at any restaurant supply store or online. They are well made, heavy duty and the silicone mats fit perfectly in them.
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Enjoy with a cold glass of milk!  Here is a printable recipe card.

With Milk

Lazy Sunday French Toast Recipe

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DSC_4332The perfect and easy recipe for left over challah bread or any rich egg bread is Lazy Sunday French Toast.  Start it Saturday night because it needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight, thus leaving your Sunday morning for lazing around instead of laboring over making breakfast. You can use this recipe as a base and make it with many additions, such as chocolate chips, nuts, cinnamon, ginger or fresh fruit. It really just depends on your tastes.

 

Ingredients

1 Cup Maple Syrup

1 Medium Loaf Challah, sliced 1 1/2 inch thick

4 Eggs

1 Cup Half & Half

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

2 Teaspoons Bourbon*

Pinch of Salt

Powered Sugar for Garnish

* You can omit or replace the bourbon with rum, orange-flavored brandy liqueur, or orange juice.

Method

In a 9×13″ baking pan pour the maple syrup to cover the bottom evenly. Arrange the sliced challah or other bread into the bottom of the pan in one layer squeezing them slightly to make them fit. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half & half, vanilla, bourbon, and salt.  Pour over the bread. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight, or a minimum of eight hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove pan from refridgerator and uncover. Place in oven and bake for 35-40 until golden brown.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve while hot.

Then go, enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

 

Sweet Egg Challah Recipe

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There are as many Challah recipes as there are stars. Ones that have been passed down from generation to generation. Ones that have been hand written in the beautiful script from years long gone on worn recipe cards. Ones that have no recipe but are made weekly by memory. Unfortunately, our family does not have recipe like those.  I have painstakingly made hundreds of recipes over the years, tasted countless challahs, some good, some inedible. I have changed recipes adding a bit more this and a lot less that. Last year, I finally had created a recipe that was consistently good. Not too eggy, sweet, but not overly so, a bit heavy and more like cake. It has become my family’s favorite and I try to make it every week. I think this will be our recipe that gets passed down. My family does not like raisins, so we never put them into our challah. But you may certainly add raisins, dried apples or whatever fruits you may like. Chocolate chips are always a welcome addition. If there should be any leftover pieces, it makes great French Toast.

 

Ingredients

Activate The Yeast

1 Teaspoon Granulated Sugar

1 1/2 Cups of  Warm Water

2 Packages of Instant Yeast

Dough

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

5 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Salt

1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/3 Cup Honey

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil + 1 Tablespoon to oil the rising bowl

3 Whole Eggs

3 Egg Yolks

Egg Wash

1 Egg Yolk + 1 Teaspoon Granulated Sugar + 1 Teaspoon Water Mixed in a Small Bowl.

Method:

In a small bowl, activate the yeast by adding 1 teaspoon sugar to 1 1/2 cups warm water.  Stir the yeast into the water with a fork. Set aside to bubble and grow.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add 2 cups of whole wheat flour and 5 cups of all purpose flour. (You may also do this without a mixer and blend by hand and knead by hand.)

Add salt, sugar, honey and oil.

A trick to get every last drop of honey is to use the same measuring cup for the oil and add the oil first and don’t wash it in between.

Add eggs and egg yolks.

Save the egg whites! You can also freeze them for later uses. Meringues, omelets, etc.

Add the activated yeast. It should have bubbled and grown.

Turn on the mixer and let it knead the dough until the sides of the bowl are clean of dough.

Take the dough out of the mixer and give it a few kneads by hand to shape it into a nice ball.

Add a tablespoon of oil into a large bowl. Place the ball of dough into the bowl and roll it around to coat with the oil.

Cover with a clean, damp towel and place in a warm spot to rise for an hour. After one hour, punch it down and let it rise again for another hour.

At this point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Punch the dough down and divide into two halves.

Divide each half into three equal parts.

Roll each part into a long, thick strand of dough. Make a braid with the three parts squishing the dough together at one end and tucking both ends under when you are done.

Repeat with other halve of dough to form 2 loaves. Place in a greased pan.

Use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom.

Remove from pan to a cooling rack and cool for a few minutes before slicing. If you can help yourself.