the world according to Gorp (cookies)

School's out. It's been raining. A lot. I haven't spent much time in the kitchen lately - not as much as I normally do. And life has been so busy that I haven't had much time to document the recipes I have created. I will try to be better about this this summer. We've done a little baking, though. Last week I decided to add some Gorp (also known as Trail Mix) to a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies. I purchased an enormous container at the grocery store. It wasn't a fancy brand and the entire container cost me about $10. The mix contained peanuts, m&m like candies, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, raisins and dried pineapple. (I wondered about that last ingredient, but it works well with the rest of the mix!)

I made my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe and added about 3 cups of the trail mix. I had to bake them a little longer than my original recipe requested as they were so chock full. They were delicious and a perfect mid morning or mid afternoon pick me up treat!

Click here for my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe. Leave out the fillers and replace with the trail mix!

Pumpkin Granola

We're back in the kitchen! After a couple of weeks of illnesses with symptoms much like those of N1H1 (was it or wasn't it?) we are all coming along and I stepped back in the kitchen today and it felt great. I woke up this morning with a hankering for granola. Pumpkin granola, to be exact. I thought I had read on Facebook that one of my friends had gone off to Trader Joe's to get some. But I found none there. So I decided I would make my own. I already had the oats at home. I picked up some pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), more Pumpkin Pie Spice, some dried cranberries, raisins and, for the pumpkin touch Pumpkin Butter which is a blend of pumpkin and lemon and honey and maple syrup and spices. I picked up a few ingredients for dinner and made my way home.

This recipe is delicious and could not be any easier to make!

You'll need:

18 oz. of Oats (not the quick cooking kind)

1/2 cup of canola oil

2 cups of pepitas

1 cup of raisins
1 cup of dried cranberries
(optional, semi sweet chocolate chips)

1 tbs of pumpkin pie spice
1 jar of Pumpkin butter

Preheat oven to 275 degrees

In a medium sized bowl add the pumpkin and the oil and mix well, set aside

In a large bowl add all the other ingredients, except for the spices. Toss to mix well.

Pour the pumpkin mixture over the oat mixture and mix well.

Line a brownie pan or jelly roll with wax or parchment paper.

Pour in oat mixture and press firmly into all corners.

Bake for 1 hour. After 1 hour increase the heat to 300 and bake another 20 minutes until nicely golden brown.

Remove pan from the oven onto a cooling rack for 20 - 30 minutes to let the oatmeal harden.

When cool break off into chunks into your large bowl. Sprinkle the Pumpkin Pie Spice, more or less, as your tastes prefer. I love the flavor of the granola. It's pleasantly pumpkin-ny, just a hint, without being too much so.

We love to snack on granola. We eat it with apple sauce, yogurt and ice cream. Eating it plain is good too. For a sweet treat add some chocolate chips to it!

Deep Fried Apple Oatmeal

Ok, so it's not really deep fried. Nor is it as unhealthy as it sounds! But this spur of the moment concoction was as delicious as any deep fried dish should be!


Ingredients:

*Oats, enough for 4 servings, about 2 cups
*Water, 3 1/2 cups plus 4 Tbs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 tbs of brown sugar
3 tbs. butter
2 crisp apples such as Granny Smith or Pink Lady
1 handful of raisins
1 handful of cranberries

* Be sure to follow the cooking directions as listed on your particular oats box.

We had just gotten back from Maine. The kids were hungry. They did not want cereal. Christopher requested oatmeal with apples. I would have to somehow divvy up the one apple to serve four. I rummaged through my Well Stocked Pantry to find the oatmeal and brown sugar. I had one lone apple (that I did not eat on the car ride home.)

I cut up my crunchy and delicious Pink Lady into thin slices. I then Tossed them into my non-stick Calphalon pan with about 2 tbs. of butter, 4 tbs. of brown sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

I let the butter melt then I added the sugar and cinnamon and mixed well. Then I added approximately 4 tbs. of water and tossed in the apples and let them simmer in the sugary, buttery goodness.




In a pan I measured enough water for 4 servings of oatmeal. I used Quaker Oats, NOT the quick cook variety. When the water came to a boil I tossed in the oats, a generous handful of raisins and a generous handful of dried cranberries and let it all cook. I am a stirrer. For fear of sticky oatmeal I stir the pot constantly. After about 7 minutes or so (it does take longer when you double the portion) I added 2 more tbs. of brown sugar into the oats, turned the heat up until the water evaporated.

When the oats were done I removed the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Back to the apples. When they were done --the burnt (caramelized) ones were the best -- I removed them from the pan and set them aside. I then poured the oatmeal in to the sugary buttery deliciousness and mixed it up so that the oatmeal and the sugar mixture were well blended. I placed the apples on top.

This was a HUGE hit and one that will be made on many a school morning! Next time I will be sure to use more apples!

Yogurt Spice Muffins

I was looking for a recipe yesterday in which I could use some of my yogurt and strawberries in a muffin. I have some berries about to turn. I didn't find what I was looking for, instead I found a recipe from Food & Wine. It looked really good. I tweaked a few things to simplify it -- instead of adding nutmeg, and allspice and cloves and cinnamon I used pumpkin pie spice. I love the rich spicy flavor. I opted to cut out the butter (4 tbs) and make these a low fat muffin -- Paula, I see you shuddering over there! And to add texture and fiber I added a cup of oats. And raisins because my kids go nuts over raisins. Other than that, it's the same recipe!

These are not a light and fluffy muffin, but are dense and very filling. They were fabulous fresh out of the oven and the following morning I popped them in the microwave for 12 seconds to warm them a tad.

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour (I used unbleached)
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tbs. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs
1 cup of vanilla (or plain) low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1+ tsp. vanilla extract (I always add extra!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together dry ingredients, set aside
In a large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, yogurt and apple sauce and vanilla. Mix well, gradually add in dry ingredients, mix well until all is combined. Fold in raisins and oats.

Spoon the batter in to prepared muffin cups. (Use liners, because there is no oil in this recipe the muffins will stick!) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until read. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Like an oatmeal raisin cookie for breakfast! As my daughter said after her first bite "I've never had a muffin before, until I had this!"

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups of flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups of applesauce (unsweetened)
2 cups of raisins
2 cups of oats

Directions:

In a mixer cream the butter and brown sugar. When well mixed add eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients, and add to the mixture alternately with the applesauce. Mix well. Stir in raisins and oats.

Pour into lined muffin tins and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until firm to the touch. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.

I can'tstopeatingthisAMAZING Granola!

I like granola, granola bars and oatmeal raisin cookies, especially the thick chewy kind you get in a bakery. My mother had a recipe for it that I liked as a kid. Of course I can never leave well enough alone and decided to doctor it up a little and what resulted was a crunchy, chewy, sweet treat I can not (nor can anyone else around here!) stop eating!

I made this for my breakfast fussy daughter as well as the boys who love cereal. This is fabulous sprinkled over vanilla ice cream or stirred in to some vanilla yogurt. Personally, I think it is perfect plain, all by itself! Although quite high in sugar, (I use honey as well as brown sugar in this variety) this recipe has a lot of wonderful nutrients from the oats, dried fruit and flax seed.

Preheat oven to 275

Ingredients:

26 oz. oats, uncooked, NOT quick cooking

1/3 Cup flax seeds (whole seed)

2/3 Cup sliced almonds -- optional and other nuts may be substituted

1/3 Cup sunflower seeds

1 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spices

1/2 Cup Canola oil

1/2 Cup dark brown sugar

1/2 Cup honey

2 cups of dried fruit such as raisins, dried cranberries... you can mix different fruits

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, add honey, brown sugar, spices and oil and mix really well. (This is great fun for the kids to do and, provided they have washed their hands really well can mix with their bare hands!)

When all is well mixed placed in a parchment lined rimmed cookie sheet or Jelly Roll pan and spread out evenly. (A non-stick cooking spray may be used instead of the parchment paper.)

Bake for 1 hour

Let cool about 20 minutes, then break up and crumble into bite sized pieces, add fruit toss... enjoy right out of the bowl!