Jumbo Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are cookies that I keep in the freezer ready to pop in the oven in case someone comes over. The last time we had some kids come over from church and served these, they were totally devoured.

I have (literally) hundreds of pounds of different kinds of grain in the house ready to mill. Except for the chocolate chips, I always have these ingredients on hand. When I make this recipe I make several batches at a time. I often omit the chocolate chips (the most expensive ingredient) - they are still delicious!

2-1/2 C soft white wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2-1/2 C rolled oats (tastes best if you roll your own oats!)
2 C chocolate chips
1 C unsalted butter, softened
3/4 C sucanat
3/4 C honey
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°, In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

With electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture; beat until combined. Add oats and chocolate chips. Mix until just comibined. If final dough mixture is a bit sticky, add a small amount of flour.

Drop level 1/4 C measures of dough, 1-1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Bake until cookies have spread and are golden brown and soft to the touch, 18-20 minutes. Cook five minutes on baking sheets and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough and bake them later. Place unbaked cookies on baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Transfer to re-sealable plastic bags, label and date; keep up to 6 months.Bake as many as you need, without thawing, 20 - 25 minutes.

From the BreadBeckers Holiday Recipes 2007 cookbook, Page 56

Kitchen Pantry Cookies

Just made some cookies last night that turned out great!

2 bananas, ripe
2 eggs
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C honey
1/2 C pumpkin puree
1 T molasses
1/2 C dry milk
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 C milled oat groats
1/2 C milled kamut or spelt
1 C milled hard wheat (either white or red)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 C sunflower seeds
1/2 C raisins
3/4 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°. Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the eggs, peanut butter, honey, pumpkin and molasses. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and stir until fully moistened. Add the nuts, raisins and chocolate chips.

Drop on greased stone or cookie sheet. Cook for 12 minutes or until slightly browned. If you make larger cookies make sure to flatten them so the inside gets properly cooked.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Note: Substitutions are easily made for this recipe:

• You can substitute another kind of seeds or chopped nuts for the sunflower seeds.
• Use dried cranberries or cherries instead of the raisins.
• Use all wheat if you don't have the other grains.
• If you don't have oat groats, grind rolled oats in the blender to make the oat flour (oat flour helps to make a light cookie and I am convinced that oat flour helps improve the shelf life in my baked goods).
• Substitute agave nectar for the honey.
• If you have peanuts but not peanut butter, grind some up in your blender or food processor. If it isn't blended totally smooth, the final product would appear to have chopped peanuts added - which you can also do.
  
  Please share your substitutions and results!

Spicy Hummus

I really enjoy eating hummus. For those of you who don't know what it is and think it might be something strange, just think of it as a type of bean dip (now that sounds normal, right?)

I make many combinations (usually depends on what I have in the house at any given time). This is a spicy version (but not hot pepper type spicy).

2 C garbanzo beans (chickpeas), canned or prepared dried
2 T cashews, soaked in water overnight
2 T sesame tahini
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/4 C lemon juice
1 t black pepper
1 t coriander
1 t cumin
1 t fennel seed
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t cayenne pepper
3 T water

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until it tastes smooth (it looks smooth before it tastes smooth). If mixture appears to be too thick, add 1 teaspoon water at a time until the desired consistency is obtained.

Spiced Nuts (not sweet)

Here are a couple different recipes I use for spiced nuts. The preparation instructions are the same for both ingredient lists and you can choose to use EITHER the microwave instructions or the oven instructions.

I am allergic to almonds so I usually use pecans or walnuts, but you are free to use whatever whole nuts (or pecan/walnut halves) you wish.

Nuts that would work well include pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, and almonds. The nuts should be stored in an airtight container after they have cooled.

Ingredient list #1:

1/2 C butter
4 C nuts
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t garlic powder

Ingredient list #2:

1/2 C butter
4 C nuts
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t chili powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper

Oven (my preferred method):

Preheat the oven to 300°. If you are unsure of the accuracy of your oven temperature, it is better to err on the side of a lower temperature than a higher temperature. You want the nuts toasted, but not too browned.

In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, melt the butter and stir in the Worcestershire Sauce and then the nuts until well-coated. Bake the nut mixture until it is toasted, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven and sprinkle the mixture evenly with the dry ingredients. Toss until well mixed

Microwave:

In a 2-quart microwave safe dish (make sure it isn't too wide for your microwave), melt the butter and stir in nuts. Mix well and microwave on high for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, and stir well to coat. Microwave for another 30 seconds. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the nuts and stir again.

Note: Because microwaves have different power levels, make sure that you are keeping an eye on the mixture. If your microwave is a high-powered one, you may wish to lower the temp to a lower power setting. You don't want your spiced nuts to be overcooked (or even burned).

After nuts have cooled:

Store in a tightly sealed container. I usually put a folded paper towel in the bottom to absorb any extra butter.