Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Old Fashioned Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies: #CreativeCookieExchange



Drop Cookies is the theme for this months Creative Cookie Exchange.
My favorite type of cookie to make! Drop cookies are always easy and quick to whip up! 




I had quick oats I needed to use up from the pantry, which lead me to try this cookie. The cookie recipe called for ground nutmeg, and since I had a bottle of whole nutmeg I had recently purchased, I figured the recipe couldn't be more perfect!


These cookies turned out delicious! They reminded me of Christmas! The freshly ground nutmeg gave these cookies a delicious aroma. My son quickly popped his head into the kitchen just to ask why I was making Christmas cookies! I'm glad I gave the recipe a shot, now I have another Christmas cookie I can add to our Christmas cookie baskets!

Old Fashioned Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies adapted from: The Comfort of Cooking

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 2/3 cup unbleached flour
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 
  • 3/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg (fresh ground makes all the difference)
  • 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with baking paper and set aside.
  2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and ground nutmeg in a bowl and set aside.
  3. In bowl of a electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the quick oats and beat only until mixed. 
  4. Using a cookie scoop to measure, drop the cookies onto baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Cool cookies on baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 




We are kicking it old school this September with Drop Cookies! Keep reading to see what craggy and chewy masterpieces everyone came up with… You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:

Miami Beach Sour Cream Cake


"This is an outstanding "plain" cake, one of the very best I've ever eaten".  
I agree with Maida!



I had a bit of a struggle deciding which cake to make this month with The Cake Slice Bakers. My first choice was this cake, the recipe called for almond paste in the batter. Almond paste is one of my favorite things to eat! I knew the cake was going to be delicious!



I made my own almond paste, from a recipe I found on The Taste of Home, it was super easy to make!


The batter for this cake was incredibly delicious! The almond paste took this cake to another level! I couldn't stop licking the bowl and spatula! I'm glad no one else was awake to fight me for it, that's always the argument in the kitchen when I'm done with a recipe.


Baking this cake and not being able to have a slice until the next day was just plain torture! The aroma while baking was amazing! Now if I can only find a candle scent to replicate it!
The cake had a delicious almond flavor with a light lemon hint. The crumb was light and had a lovely texture, it was just delicious!
If you love almond paste and love lemon, this is the cake for you. It really is worth the effort!


Miami Beach Sour Cream Cake from Maida Heatter's Cakes

INGREDIENTS
  • About 2/3 cups blanched almonds (to prepare pan)
  • 3 cups twice-sifted cake flour
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 3 1/2 ounces (1/3 cup) almond paste or marzipan
  • 8 ounces (2sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 eggs, seperated
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • Finely grated rind of 1 large lemon
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Butter a 10x4 or 4 1/2 tube pan (like an angel food pan). 
  2. Grind the blanched almonds in a food processor and coat the buttered surface of the cake pan with the ground almonds, set aside.
  3. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter with almond paste or marzipan until soft. Beat in almond extract. Then add sugar and beat until mixed. Add the yolks and beat until mixed. 
  5. On low speed add in 1/2 cup sour cream, then 1/2 of the sifted dry ingredients, the remaining 1/2 cup sour cream, and the remaining sifted dry ingredients, scrape the bowl in between additions, and only beat until incorporated. 
  6. Remove the bowl from mixer and stir in the grated lemon rind.
  7. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. DO NOT OVER BEAT THE EGG WHITES. 
  8. Using a large rubber spatula fold in egg whites into cake batter in three additions. 
  9. Turn the cake batter into the prepared pan, level the top.
  10. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Ovens vary, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAKE UNATTENDED, check your cake frequently the last 20 minutes. When cake is done, a cake tester inserted in the cake will come out clean, and top will spring back, when gently touched. 
  11. Remove cake from oven, cool 20 minutes on cooling rack.
  12. Transfer cooled cake to a cake platter.