You know what I do find relaxing? Baking. After going to the gym 5 days in a row, I felt like I was able to justify baking cookies, so I mixed up the Pillsbury funfetti cookie mix I received for Christmas - which was done much more easily with my brand new hand mixer (also a Christmas present). This was especially nice because my arms were already tired from the gym, so I really didn't need the extra workout for my right arm. I thought we did a good job of spacing the cookie-eating out over a couple of days, too, so we didn't gorge ourselves too much. We should probably reinstate the "no baked goods unless we have someone to share it with" rule, but as we don't know many people in our new town, I have no idea when I would get to bake again...and it's just so fun! If only I had self-cleaning mixing bowls and baking pans, too...
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Puzzles, Pillsbury and Pictures
I'm not a jigsaw puzzle person. Amazingly enough, I felt like doing a puzzle earlier tonight so I pulled the one I hadn't done yet out of the closet to put it together. It actually entertained me for about 2 hours...and then I couldn't handle it anymore. It didn't help that one of the side pieces is missing. Don't you hate that? It was a brand new puzzle out of the box and there was one side piece missing. Grrr. Anyway, 500 pieces is too much for me...I should stick to the puzzles with bigger and fewer pieces.
You know what I do find relaxing? Baking. After going to the gym 5 days in a row, I felt like I was able to justify baking cookies, so I mixed up the Pillsbury funfetti cookie mix I received for Christmas - which was done much more easily with my brand new hand mixer (also a Christmas present). This was especially nice because my arms were already tired from the gym, so I really didn't need the extra workout for my right arm. I thought we did a good job of spacing the cookie-eating out over a couple of days, too, so we didn't gorge ourselves too much. We should probably reinstate the "no baked goods unless we have someone to share it with" rule, but as we don't know many people in our new town, I have no idea when I would get to bake again...and it's just so fun! If only I had self-cleaning mixing bowls and baking pans, too...
I must say, now that our apartment is 95% complete (all we have left is hanging a couple pictures in the bedroom, although we did put some up in the living and dining room), I feel very accomplished. Within a week, we made more progress than we did in Bremerton (we never got around to hanging our pictures up). It's amazing how a little extra space and a better laid-out floor plan can help. It's kind of fun to move into a new place and reorganize everything again...although I'd like to hold off on moving again for at least a year or two if possible =)
You know what I do find relaxing? Baking. After going to the gym 5 days in a row, I felt like I was able to justify baking cookies, so I mixed up the Pillsbury funfetti cookie mix I received for Christmas - which was done much more easily with my brand new hand mixer (also a Christmas present). This was especially nice because my arms were already tired from the gym, so I really didn't need the extra workout for my right arm. I thought we did a good job of spacing the cookie-eating out over a couple of days, too, so we didn't gorge ourselves too much. We should probably reinstate the "no baked goods unless we have someone to share it with" rule, but as we don't know many people in our new town, I have no idea when I would get to bake again...and it's just so fun! If only I had self-cleaning mixing bowls and baking pans, too...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
I did it. Last night I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I’d been intending to make them for weeks, but every time I thought about getting around to it there would be a problem (such as having no butter or eggs). There were still a few...challenges, but the cookies still taste really good which is all that really matters in the end, right?
I used the following recipe (from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook):
MAKES about 20 large cookies
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes plus cooling time
Quick-cooking rolled oats can be substituted for the old-fashioned oats here; however, they will have a little less flavor.
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups raisins
1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beating the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the oats and raisins until just incorporated.
4. Working with ¼ cup of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2½ inches apart. Flatten the cookies slightly using your palm. Bake until the tops of the cookies are lightly golden but the centers are still soft and puffy, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.
5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
The first annoyance I faced was that I don’t have an electric mixer. That’s not much of a problem, though...I just used a spoon and my arm. On a side note, if anyone does feel like buying me an electric mixer, I would LOVE a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My favorite colors are Blue Willow, Cornflower and Onyx Black, in case you were wondering.
It wasn’t until I started mixing in the oats and raisins that I realized I didn’t quite have enough. I was about ½ cup short of oats and 1 cup short of raisins. I didn’t feel like going out to the store again, and it didn’t seem important enough to ask Matt to go, so I left them out. I think that’s what led to my largest difficultly: rolling the dough into balls. I found the dough a little too sticky to roll into balls, which I think would have been easier had there been more oats and raisins in the dough. So I just started dropping them onto the cookie sheet and flattening them out with my finger.
And yes, I put them directly on the cookie sheet – I never think to buy parchment paper until I’m putting cookies onto the cookie sheet. Maybe I should add parchment paper to our shopping list for the next time we go to the store...
Anyway, the cookies still came out tasting fabulous. Both Matt and I enjoyed this recipe, despite my issues with the oats and raisins.
I used the following recipe (from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook):
MAKES about 20 large cookies
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes plus cooling time
Quick-cooking rolled oats can be substituted for the old-fashioned oats here; however, they will have a little less flavor.
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups raisins
1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beating the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the oats and raisins until just incorporated.
4. Working with ¼ cup of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2½ inches apart. Flatten the cookies slightly using your palm. Bake until the tops of the cookies are lightly golden but the centers are still soft and puffy, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.
5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
The first annoyance I faced was that I don’t have an electric mixer. That’s not much of a problem, though...I just used a spoon and my arm. On a side note, if anyone does feel like buying me an electric mixer, I would LOVE a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My favorite colors are Blue Willow, Cornflower and Onyx Black, in case you were wondering.
It wasn’t until I started mixing in the oats and raisins that I realized I didn’t quite have enough. I was about ½ cup short of oats and 1 cup short of raisins. I didn’t feel like going out to the store again, and it didn’t seem important enough to ask Matt to go, so I left them out. I think that’s what led to my largest difficultly: rolling the dough into balls. I found the dough a little too sticky to roll into balls, which I think would have been easier had there been more oats and raisins in the dough. So I just started dropping them onto the cookie sheet and flattening them out with my finger.
And yes, I put them directly on the cookie sheet – I never think to buy parchment paper until I’m putting cookies onto the cookie sheet. Maybe I should add parchment paper to our shopping list for the next time we go to the store...
Anyway, the cookies still came out tasting fabulous. Both Matt and I enjoyed this recipe, despite my issues with the oats and raisins.
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