Whining and Dining

The Best Oatmeal Choc. Chip Cookies Ever

Bobbie, I don't know who you are. But I really want to know ya. Your oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are the BEST ever. I mean, the very BEST. So good, that I bought a gigantic motherload of Quaker Oats on my last Costco trip.

I give the amazing recipe for Bobbie's Oatmeal Cookies a la Allrecipes.com that is our family's very favorite:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup raisins (optional - I usually  omit) 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional - I usually  omit)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2.	In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats, chocolate chips, raisins, and pecans, one ingredient at a time. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Try This: Trader Joe's Candy Cane O's in Your Holiday Dessert

It's that time of year to splurge, so here's another couple of desserts to throw your way during the holiday season. These desserts use Trader Joe's Candy Cane O's (their oreos with crushed candy canes in the center filling) as their base. (Thanks to my friend, Molly, I discovered these absolutely addictive minty Oreos). All of these desserts are sure to please the pickiest of little eaters. Nothing says holiday dessert like chocolate + peppermint!!

1) Easy Peppermint Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

2) Oreo Truffles

3) Oreo Tartufos - Follow this recipe except for the raspberry sauce unless you like raspberries and mint together.

If the above prove to be too challenging, grab some vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and crumble the Candy Cane O's on top!

Christmas in a Cookie

Throwing a holiday party? Entertaining family this weekend? 'Tis the season to break out the white and red, and bake some festive, white chocolate cranberry cookies. Your cookies will be the most stylish ones at the party.

According to my husband, these white chocolate cranberry cookies are "Christmas in a cookie." He practically begs me to make them come December. I caved into the pressure two nights ago when he would not stop bugging me.

You might be thinking....white chocolate is a bit too sweet for me. I know, because that's what I said before I made them the first time. I promise that the sweetness of the white chocolate nicely compliments the tartness of the dried cranberries.

Thanks to our friends at Allrecipes.com for this one. Click here for the goods.

The Devil Made Her Do It

Oh Martha, you sure know how to throw a Halloween party. For those of you who didn't watch Martha today, she spent half the show dressed as a Greek goddess amidst golden pumpkins and then magically turned into a scary witch for the remainder of the show. She even told her audience to either wear a costume with white & gold or black. Leave it to Martha to have a color-coordinated audience. Ha!

Well, in her evil witchiness, she demonstrated how to bake the most decadent Devil's Food cake (pictured left). Intensely chocolate and oh-so-sinful, this cake didn't look that hard to make. She incorporated one ingredient that virtually guarantees a moist cake - sour cream. (Folks, anytime you see sour cream or pudding in the recipe, you'll achieve bakery quality texture).

If you're feeling a little naughty this Halloween, click here for the recipe. Just don't blame me for your sinfulness. Blame the devil.

Carrot Cake Season

That's right. It's carrot cake season. My husband turned another year older last week, and that means that I do the semi-annual baking of the carrot cake (I make it again in the spring for our daughter's b-day). I don't really want to brag, but this is no average carrot cake..... it just may be the best you ever have. This recipe is that good. It's so near and dear to my heart (I practically secured a marriage proposal with this cake), so I hope that baking it brings you and your family much joy.

Recipe from "Just A Matter of Time." Serves 10 - 12.

Cake

2 cups, plus 1 Tbsp. flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

3 cups grated, peeled carrots

Mix dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan or two greased 8" round pans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Frost, when cool, with cream cheese frosting (see below). Garnish with pecan halves or pieces, if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar (I add almost a lb. first and then add additional sugar by taste)

1 tsp. vanilla

Blend cream cheese and butter well. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add vanilla and blend well.

This time I made cupcakes, and they were amazing in this format!

Caramel Apples

To celebrate the beginning of October, we gonna take the plunge into sticky, delicious caramel. Apples, you know you love it! This is a great treat for older kids, and they'll have a blast helping you make them.

For the little guys, maybe apple slices to dip in a bowl of caramel sauce.

Click here to check out the recipe on Yahoo Food.

Guess I need a popsicle mold

Well, I guess if I am going make the lollies this weekend, I'll need a popsicle mold.  Motivation is really, really low as the weather is quite frightful today. However, I don't want to stop you from making them. Here's what AlphaMom.com has to say about the right popsicle mold to buy. God forbid you buy the wrong one!

Bring Back Summer Lollies

Oooooh, don't those look yummy.

What's with this fall weather that has blown in suddenly?? Honestly, I'd like just a wee bit more summer. I mean, last time I checked, September is considered a summer month here in SoCal. Right? Maybe that's why I chose to feature these rather delicious looking nectarine and honey yogurt lollies. Also, my yogurt and fruit-obsessed daughter will thoroughly enjoy them. Click here for the recipe.

Summer, please come out again. I promise to make you some lollies. Come on, you know you want some!

Saturday Breakfast Tour: Auntie Em's Kitchen

the land of cupcakes (auntie em's kitchen)
Originally uploaded by optionthis

Oh Auntie Em, Oh Auntie Em, can we stay in your kitchen all day? With your divine sticky buns and amazing coffee (courtesy of our favorite roaster, Intelligensia), we're just not ready to leave. There are so many things to love....the open-faced breakfast sandwich with gruyere, eggs, apple smoked bacon on buttery ciabatta and the spicy sausage cheese grits. And the ooey goey cinnamon rolls. We'd also like to gobble up some mini red velvet and carrot cupcakes (currently at the top of our "best cupcake" list for LA; the mini ones are perfect for kids!!!) with the most heavenly cream cheese frosting we've ever encountered. OK, I guess we'll settle for getting a box of them to go and another coffee in a to go cup. Once again, we've over stayed our welcome, so we'll leave you in peace. XOXO. Until next time......

Auntie Em's Kitchen
4616 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
Sat. & Sun. 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Auntie Em's now has table service. On our last visit, they were much more prepared to take on the early customers. They were really sweet to our little one and promptly got us a high chair for her.

They cook according to season, so their menu changes frequently. It also gets really busy there, so there's a chance they could run out of your favorite item, too.

They also have a lovely little store, which sells specialty foods such as Cowgirl Creamery cheese and gifts. We purchased a brightly-colored vinyl mat to go under our daughter's high chair to help protect our dining room floor.

Fresh Rosemary Cake

For you, Rachel....

Like many Californians, we have a rather large rosemary bush growing in our yard. A little goes a long way with this fragrant plant. That's why I've tried to find other ideas for rosemary use besides your typical roasted potatoes and chicken recipes. So, I found Mario Batali's recipe for rosemary cake. It's actually a really versatile cake.....great dessert with fresh fruit or enjoy with coffee in the morning, too. Most of all, it is easy to make and your house smells amazing.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1.5 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking power

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit. Coat a 10 inch loaf pan with butter, olive oil, or non-stick spray.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, use the whip attachment to beat the eggs for 30 seconds. Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is very foamy and pale in color. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Using a spatula, gently fold the rosemary into the egg mixture..
• In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking power, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through for even color. The cake is done when it is golden brown, springs back when touched, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool briefly in the pan, then tip out onto a cake rack to continue cooling.

NOTE:
This cake is very light in texture and flavor. It is excellent as a dessert, and excellent with coffee or espresso as a snack.

Recipe from Mario Batali's Babbo Cookbook.