Monster Mix Cookies

I have a dirty little secret to share... I waste food. Too much. You see, I often get cravings (and believe me, this happened long before pregnancy) and I need the food NOW. For instance, Doritos. I'll NEED them. So I run out, buy a bag, eat a serving, and then I'm over it. The almost-full package will sit and sit until I find it in the back of the cabinet and throw it out. I've overcome this issue by paying more for smaller packages (which annoys me... but I digress) so that I don't throw as much out. I recently bought small packs of Monster Trail Mix from Target and ate all 6 packs (that were supposed to be for John... oops!) in a matter of days. So the next time I went to Target I bought a tub of this stuff. I kid you not, a tub. And what happened? I lost interest. Ugh. The curse. I'm not one of those people who can push through it and eat stuff that doesn't interest me, no, it just sits.

So with this tub I knew I needed to get crafty. I decided to bake them into some cookies, and ta-da! These little delicious loves were born. I was a big fan of this recipe. They were soft, peanut buttery, and loaded with goodness. I was hesitant to throw whole peanuts in but they worked out great! If you don't have the Monster Mix you can just do a combo of the ingredients, which are listed below.

Source: Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 cup flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups Monster Mix (combo of peanuts, raisins, M&Ms, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips)

Directions:
1- In a large bowl mix together the melted butter and peanut butter until the peanut butter melts in. Add the sugars and mix well.
2- Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well until well incorporated.
3- Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, flour, oats, and stir well. Once well incorporated stir in the Monster Mix.
4- Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
5- Preheat the oven to 375.
6- Scoop rounded tablespoons onto a coated baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool slightly than remove to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

As a child I went to Hebrew school 2 days a week, plus Saturday morning services. Needless to say I spent a lot of time in temple. One of my favorite parts of the Saturday morning service was when it ended (oops!) and they served snacks. Anyone surprised by that? Yeah- me either!

They used to just serve these little teeny tiny brownies and trays of cookies, ShopRite brand I believe (or similar, grocery store brand cookies). One of my favorites was the hard iced oatmeal cookies. I used to love the hard iced sugar cookies, but one day I accidentally grabbed the oatmeal and my love went from there. For some reason the other day I just wanted those cookies! But I figured I'd see if I could make them at home. These were good, and if you ignore the icing, they are a healthier cookie. (Notice I said "HEALTHIER" and not healthy...) They were soft, and not hard like the cookies of childhood, but they were still awesome! Definitely worth making, plus they are a nice break from my typical chocolate chip cookie route.

Source: Cookies adapted from Martha Stewart, icing Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
Cookies:

4 tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce
1 1/2 cup rolled old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Icing:
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp water

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- Combine the melted butter and sugars in a bowl, stirring until well combined. Add in the egg and applesauce, beating well, about 1-2 minutes.
3- Stir in the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
4- Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto lined cookie sheets. Bake until golden, 11-13 minutes. Allow to set on the cookie sheet at least 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
5- Assemble the icing- in a small bowl beat together the sugar, vanilla, and water. If it's too thick add a bit more water, until it's fluid. Using a pastry brush brush the icing onto completely cooled cookies.
6- Allow the icing to harden at room temperature, then store in an airtight container.

White House Granola Bars

Did you ever wonder what President Obama and his crew eat for breakfast? NO!? Well.. honestly, I haven't either. It's just not something that crosses my mind. It would probably be significantly stranger if I did wonder about that, right? However, when these granola bars popped up on my radar as the granola bar recipe that they make in the White House I scanned the ingredients and figured if it's good enough for the President it's good enough for me!

These granola bars were delicious. I have become more and more interested in making my own granola bars. Most of my old favorites are loaded with ingredients that I don't like to eat too often. Not to mention if you do buy the organic or all natural options they are over $5 a box which is nuts when I can make a huge batch using ingredients I have on hand. These were very crunchy and not at all soft. They had a nice texture though- I thoroughly enjoyed the crunch. They don't take the place of my favorite granola bars but they are a very nice alternative. Once they cooled completely and were sliced I wrapped them individually in Press and Seal wrap, then placed them in an air-tight container. It kept them perfectly for almost a week.

Source:  Adapted from Health For The Whole Self

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, olive... you choose)
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons peanut butter
3/4 cup dried fruit (I used Craisins and a raisin blend)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a small baking dish with nonstick spray. (My dish was 6x4 but I know this isn't a typical size, you want something smaller than a standard square baking pan.)
2- Place seeds and oats in a large dry skillet. Heat over medium heat until slightly toasted, about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly.
3- In a saucepan combine the honey, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Heat until hot and well combined, stirring often.
4- In a mixing bowl combine the oat mixture, liquid mixture, fruit, and cinnamon. Stir well.
5- While the mixture is hot pour it into the prepared baking dish and press down with a clean spoon.
6- Bake 25-30 minutes or until brown and set. Transfer the dish to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is the last day to enter my "favorite things" giveaway. The contest ends at MIDNIGHT. So what are you waiting for? Enter here. ( CONTEST ENDED- WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY ON THE BLOG)

Food blogging is a funny little subsection of the world. You make "friends" and you form connections. Ironically, a couple years ago, a blogger I "knew" from blogging contacted me and said she just found out that she worked with my husband. It was so funny and such a small world. After that event Cathy and I would send goodies to one another through John. One of the goodies I received were these cookies. It must have been almost two years ago that I received these cookies but I have never stopped thinking about them. I don't know what took me so long to get around to making them but I'm so glad I did. They are goooooood. I love the added crunch from the oatmeal, and really peanut butter and chocolate are always a winning combination. I am so glad I finally made these because they were delicious and I will absolutely be making them again (and again... and again...)

Source: Cathy's Kitchen Journey

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter 
1/2 cup white sugar 
1/3 cup packed brown sugar 
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy will both work) 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 egg 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup rolled oats 
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.(Flatten the cookies because these don’t spread.)
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Honey Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

I am always amazed at how much my life has changed thanks to cooking. Cooking allows me to feed my husband and I healthy food and a fraction of the costs. I can make my own snacks, my own breads, my own crackers. I can control the ingredients that go into our dishes and know that we are eating healthy, well rounded diets. I used to bake and send all of the stuff in to my husband's work. I no longer do that (much to their dismay...) I now bake less but bake for a purpose. I try to bake healthier items that have more hearty ingredients. I still share with friends and family but I do try to bake less and bake better if you will.

These cookies were excellent. We loved them and everyone who tried them did as well. I added some chocolate chips to the original recipe and subbed another ingredient, but for the most part followed it to a T. These were loaded with healthier ingredients and made you feel good about eating a cookie. They were very soft and fluffy and held up well for over a week and a half! A real must try if you like oatmeal cookies.

Source: Adapted from Ellie Krieger via Food Network Magazine

Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
1/4 cup smooth unsalted almond butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or 3/4 cup all-purpose and 1/2 whole-wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mist 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Beat the butter, canola oil, honey, egg, almond butter and vanilla extract in a large bowl with a mixer until combined.

In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and raisins.

Scoop tablespoonfuls of batter about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes

One of my favorite things to do over the weekend is to make a big, hearty breakfast. When I first started eating more healthy the first thing I thought I'd have to let go of were these tasty weekend breakfasts. However, hearty does not have to equal unhealthy. ANYTHING can be healthy, you just have to find a way to make it better, more wholesome, and with more nutritious ingredients. I decided that an oatmeal pancake would be a good place to start so I googled "whole wheat oatmeal pancakes" and this recipe popped up.

These pancakes were some good stuff. They were hearty and super filling. I ate 2 and was done. Not only was I done but I was full for over 4 hours. I am NEVER full for 4 hours. These were just the perfect healthy pancake- dense and oatty, yet still light and airy like a pancake. They would turn even the biggest whole grain skeptic into a fan. I loved this recipe and will definitely make these again. Next time I'll make and freeze them so I can defrost one for breakfast.



Source: Adapted from Epicurious

Note: Epicurious claims this makes 4 individual pancakes, I got closer to 7 or 8.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons 1% milk, divided
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar


Directions:
Soak oats in 3/4 cup milk for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Stir egg, butter, brown sugar, remaining 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, and oat mixture into dry ingredients until just combined.

Heat a griddle over medium heat until hot and lightly brush with oil. Working in batches, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden-brown, about 1 minute. Flip with a spatula and cook other side, about 1 minute more.

Mini Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

A few months ago I decided I should be eating oatmeal for breakfast. It's healthy, filling, etc. I was sure I needed some of this in my life. So I went and bought a box of the instant flavored packets, figuring it was easy. Well... I'm just not a fan. I had one packet, thought it tasted sweet and wasn't super filling, and now have 9 packets left. Greeaaaatttttt. Then, like an answered prayer, this recipe popped up in my Google reader. I starred it, did a few happy jumps around the living room, and promptly made them.

These muffins are amazing. I had one (or two... but who's counting?) straight from the oven. I could have eaten them all! These were just so good. I am so excited for breakfast tomorrow... I'm almost tempted to go to bed early just so I can wake up and eat these. If you have packets of oatmeal laying around give them a shot.

Source: Carrots 'N' Cake

Ingredients:

5 packets of cinnamon instant oatmeal (or any flavor)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl
Coat a mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray
Pour batter into muffin cups
Bake for 15-20 minutes
Allow to cool and enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I posted on my health blog about how the moral at my school has been low and I thought everyone could use a pick-me-up. I went a little nuts that night and baked hundreds of cookies. One new variety I tried out was oatmeal raisin. It's not my favorite type, at all, but I know it's a pretty popular cookie, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

These cookies came together quickly and baked up nicely. I really enjoyed how they held their shape and didn't flatten out- that's one of my pet peeves with cookies. I like them thick and dense- yummmmm. I really enjoyed the flavor of these cookies, which is saying something since I'm not big on oatmeal raisin. By the way, I made between 200-300 cookies (closer to the 300 range) and they were all gone in under 2 hours, by 10:30 in the morning actually... so do the math, they were good!

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know you are probably raising your eyebrow at the title of my blog post, but I ensure you that these are pretty healthy, all things considered! I love cookies and could seriously eat them daily, never getting sick of them. With that said I needed to find a recipe that made cookies that were not only tasty but also loaded with good for you ingredients. Sure, I am all about indulging now and then, but I like to have dessert daily, so I like my dessert to be somewhat decent for me (somewhat being the key word haha!)

I modified the original to reduce the sugar a bit and cut the butter a lot. I truly don't think these were lacking at all. My husband even loved them! We have been snacking on them for days and I will need to make them again soon because our stock is running low. They are amazing when they are hot from the oven. When they cool they are slightly more dense, but they are still amazing. A real must try.

Source: Heavily adapted from A Dash of Sass

Ingredients:

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup applesauce
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBL milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup uncooked quick rolled oats
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

- Combine the sugars in an electric mixer.

- Cream the sugars with the softened butter.

- Add in the egg, vanilla, applesauce, and milk. Cream until smooth.

- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add slowly to the wet mixture.

- Once smooth, stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

- Using a teaspoon or a small ice cream/cookie scoop, drop rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Makes around 2 dozen (depending on the size of your cookies).

Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips

I eat my breakfast at work daily, usually while I run from the copy room to the office, or while picking up the crayons that have inevitably hit the floor since the prior day. With that said I really prefer portable breakfasts that I can eat while on the go. In an effort to eat less processed foods I am finding that breakfast can be quite challenging since I don't eat too many granola bars anymore. When I found this recipe for baked oatmeal muffins I knew it was perfect. I really liked these. I found they were pretty dense and oatty tasting but the chocolate chips really gave them an exciting kick. If you make these do not expect them to be light and fluffy like muffins- they aren't. They are little baked oatmeal cups of deliciousness. If I make them again I would add a healthy dose of cinnamon to spice them up a bit- but as you know if you have been reading my blog for a period of time I think everything is better with cinnamon. Pair one of these guys with a serving of fruit and you have a delicious breakfast!

Source: Adapted from GreenLiteBites

Ingredients:

3 mashed bananas (the more ripe the better!)
1 cup 1 % milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
3 cups (240g) Old Fashion or Rolled Oats
2 tsps vanilla extract
3 tbsp (42g) mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips together, and let sit while you prepare the muffin pans.

Spray a muffin pan and/or liners with with non-stick spray.

Stir the chocolate chips into the oatmeal batter.

Divide batter into 15 muffin cups. They should be just about filled.

Bake 20-30 minutes, you’ll see the edges just starting to brown and they will be firm to the touch.

The muffins may stick when hot but are removed easily when cooled for a bit.

** 2 points per oatmeal cup

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

For the first time in my life my cabinets are almost bare. It's shocking. My mother was the type to not have one box of spaghetti but six. Not one can of corn but twelve. She always had so much food in the house! Her argument was that you never knew when we would want to have friends over and she always wanted to have enough food for dinner. I don't think I ever had enough friends for six boxes of spaghetti, but that's ok, it comforted her.

I have become my mother. And stocking the pantry is just the beginning of the ways I am my mother. I am trying really hard to stop this because I just don't need to have a lot of extra food laying around. I have been cooking my way through what we have and I am finally at a normal level. One thing that I still have a lot of is oatmeal. I decided to make some cookies and found these. I am glad I did because they are excellent. Mine came out very thin and crispy, not your typical cookie. I think my butter was too soft so they spread a little bit too much. However I don't know if I would want them the regular way- they were just so good like this! I brought them to school and my students ate these up like crazy. Nobody threw it in the garbage which is the highest level of compliment a first grade teacher can ask for! My coworkers who had them also really enjoyed them- a huge winner!

Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar, sugar, and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips.
2. Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Oatmeal Crispies

I have a big container of oatmeal that needs to be used up. I don't like oatmeal but I do love cooking with it. I decided to try out a new oatmeal cookie recipe and these were excellent. They are paper thin and crispy on the edge while still soft in the center. I will say I had my doubts when I saw the batter- it was runny and liquidy. Not your typical cookie batter at all- you certainly won't be tempted to try the batter! Even with the not-so-appealing batter the cookies were delish!

You can see how thin they are in this picture:

Source: All Recipes

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup rolled oats or quick cook oats
3 tablespoons self-rising flour (I used all purpose and they were perfect)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Melt butter over low heat. Pour into bowl and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
Drop on one inch apart by the teaspoonful onto parchment paper. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light golden brown. Let cool on rack.

2 points per cookie

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

Ugh. Sorry about the picture... it's horrible, I know. For some reason all of my pictures of these muffins came out horrible and this was shockingly the best one.

But anyways, these muffins were way to good to not post. I made them for John's breakfast meeting and I loved them. They were so moist yet had a slight dense composition from the oats. I will definitely make them again. I highly suggest using muffin liners though because I had a miserable time getting them out of my pan. I never have trouble, everything usually just pops out. I think something about these muffins texture made them impossible to get out!

Source: All Recipes

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup applesauce
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Combine dry ingredients; add alternately with applesauce to the creamed mixture. Stir in oats and chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

Oatmeal Jumbos

John and I are moving into our new house in 2 weeks (!!) and therefore we really need to use up some of the stuff we have. While we are only moving a few blocks away, the less food we have to move the better. I currently have a lot of baking supplies that have little to nothing left in the package. When I found this recipe for oatmeal cookies loaded with candies I knew it was the perfect recipe to use up all of the half empty bags of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc. Not to mention a great way to use up the last of that giant container of oatmeal I have had lying around! I have had this recipe starred in my google reader for awhile now and figured our Thanksgiving celebration tonight would be a good excuse to make them and use up some of these ingredients. I followed the recipe but decreased the amount of candies in order to make the cookies sturdier. Below is what I actually used. I decided to make the recipe following the directions to make them "jumbo" and that is not an exaggeration! These cookies are BIG! AND tasty! I really enjoyed these cookies and will make them again with different mix ins!

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup M&M’s
3/4 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and butter until blended. Add the brown sugar, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until well mixed. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.
Gently fold in the oatmeal, chocolate chips and candy.

For Jumbo Cookies: Drop dough by 1/4 cup balls onto parchemnt lined baking sheet about 5 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown. Allow to cool on sheet for 10 minutes before tranfering to rack to cool completely.
For average cookies: Drop dough by medium scooper on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes until light brown and just set around edges. Cool on sheet for 10 minutes before transfering to rack to cool completely.

John's Oatmeal Cookies

Let me start off by saying that I will probably be making a lot of oatmeal recipes because I bought a huge jug of it to make baked oatmeal and we don't really eat regular oatmeal. So clearly I need to find stuff to do with this huge container!

I got this recipe at my bridal shower from my mother-in-law. These are called John's Oatmeal Cookies because clearly, John loves them! He was so excited when I said I was going to make these today. They came out great! Not as good as Ronnie's though... hers are always so identical in size and round. Mine were a little bit more all over the place. Actually... a lot more all over the place! I will have to talk to my mother-in-law and get some pointers because mine kept breaking apart in the oven. Oh well- they are SO delicious! I am going to take all of the broken up pieces and use them as granola in my yogurt so it is not a total loss- it's actually a delicious mistake!

Now onto the cookies. This is a very simple recipe and it took little to no time to make them. After burning dinner (ooops...) and needing to go get subs last minutes I decided to redeem myself and make John's favorite cookies! Enjoy them!

Ingredients:
10 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (I used vanilla)
3 cups oatmeal

Directions:
Lightly butter a cookie sheet and preheat over to 325.
Beat together butter, sugar, egg, and extract.
Mix oatmeal into the butter mixture until the dough holds together.
Form into balls and press with fork (I failed at this step... this is where the cookies all fell apart!)
Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes or so)

Baked Oatmeal

As I mentioned in my last post this is the second recipe I made for John's breakfast meeting. One of my fellow teachers made this recipe for a breakfast last fall and it was quite the hit. I don't eat oatmeal so I didn't try it but I saw a lot of people really enjoyed it. This recipe came from here. I did try it and felt it was pretty good! I'm not a fan of oatmeal so it's hard to say, but it looked good and smelt really good.

Ingredients:
3 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted margarine
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (omitted)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I added this to the original recipe)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.
Mix all ingredients together and pour into 13 x 9 inch buttered pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. ( I really disagree with this cook time. I took it out of the oven after 25 minutes, let it cool, and sliced it. It was not cooked. The bottom was mushy. I looked online at similar recipes and they all called for 40 minutes. So, I put the slices on a cookie tray and put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes. MUCH better... so if you make this, definitely keep it in the oven for at least 35 minutes or until it reaches your desired consistency)