A Quick and Easy Dessert

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Blondies
These bars are chewy and loaded with oatmeal and chocolate chunks, and can become quite addicting. I think these bars will make the perfect dessert to take to your upcoming summer barbecues, as they are quick and stress-free to make, cut easily and clean, and stack and transport well.

Makes 24

Ingredients

- 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups oatmeal
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips/chunks (semi-sweet, dark, milk)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time. Add the flour, salt and baking powder and gently stir everything together. Add the oats and chocolate chunks. Use a spatula to evenly spread the dough into the baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until light brown on the edges. Let cool completely. Cut into squares. These bars will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Tomato Soup Weather

Creamy Tomato Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Arugula Salad
Oatmeal Cookies with Macadamia Nuts, Golden Raisins and Chocolate Chips




Creamy Tomato Soup
This is your classic tomato soup – a clean canvas for whatever direction you want your meal to head. Add a chiffanod of basil and a Parmesan crostini for a gourmet Italian flair, or add those little tiny pasta stars for a walk down memory lane, or my favorite, enjoy with a crispy grilled cheese sandwich. If you are making your own vegetable stock, I suggest adding a few whole tomatoes or even a small can of tomato juice to the stock. You can even add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a bit of spice, however I try to keep the spice and herbs to a minimum with my tomato soup or else I feel like I am eating a big bowl of spaghetti sauce. This particular recipe is very basic and as usual, very easy to make.

Serves 6

Ingredients

- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 7 cups crush tomatoes (2 twenty eight ounce cans)
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/3 cup cream
- salt
- fresh ground pepper

In a medium/large heavy bottom saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, stock and fresh thyme. Season with a bit more salt and pepper and bring everything to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let simmer and thicken for 45 minutes.
Remove the thyme sprigs and stir in the cream. Taste for more salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
You can make grilled cheese about a million and one ways – so many cheeses, so many breads and so many great fillings. One combination I particularly love is Gruyere cheese and baby arugula on crusty European style bread. Tomato, mozzarella and basil is a classic combo and one time I made an exceptionally delicious caramelized onions and blue cheese sandwich. It is pretty hard to go wrong when the basic concept here is bread and melted cheese.
To make a grilled cheese sandwich, lightly butter one side of two slices of bread; then place a generous layer of sliced cheese (or other fillings) between the unbuttered sides of the bread. Heat a medium/large size skillet or pan over low/medium heat. Add the sandwich and let cook 3-4 minutes on a rather low heat, allowing the cheese time to melt properly. When the cheese is beginning to melt and the bottom skillet side of the bread is beginning to brown, use a spatula to flip over. Increase the heat when the cheese is beginning to melt and the bread needs a bit more browning. (If you are using a thicker rustic bread, use an empty cup on top of the spatula to press weight down on the sandwich.) Serve and eat immediately.


Oatmeal Cookies with Macadamia Nuts, Golden Raisins and Chocolate Chips
I really like the consistency and flavor of these cookies – they are dense yet light, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The wheat pastry flour is subtle and contrasts well with the butter and the bit of cream. You can certainly substitute all-purpose flour for the wheat pastry flour (and I do not recommend substituting whole wheat flour), and half and half or milk for the cream. I have certainly made my fair share of oatmeal cookies and I can confidently say that this is one of my favorites. The consistency of the actual cookie is quite perfect, which I think has a lot to do with the little bit of cream. The flavor, too, is enhanced by the cream, as well as by the buttery macadamia nuts and the generous amount of chocolate chips. Golden raisins are much more mellow in flavor than traditional Thompson raisins and could certainly be left out in this recipe if you don’t have them on hand.


Makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

- 1 cup wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cream
- 1 1/2 cups old fashion oats
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped
- 1/2 cups golden raisins
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the cream. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gently stir in the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the oats, nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips.
Drop tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto unlined baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown on the edges. (I prefer to slightly under bake these cookies so they or soft. You can bake the cookies until golden for a crispier cookie.) Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 1 minute and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store the cool cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days. This dough will also keep wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking.

Leftover Cranberries

What to do with leftover Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce?
For a tart twist, I swirl and top basic healthy oatmeal muffins with my Thanksgiving Cranberry Relish with Orange Segments.



Oatmeal Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients

- 1/2 banana, mashed
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon agave
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- pinch of salt
- 1 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/3 cup soymilk
- 1 cup cranberry relish (half for garnish on top)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Mash the bananas in a large bowl Add the canola oil, agave and vanilla and mix together well. Add the dry ingredients (oat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt) and gently mix together. Add the soymilk and banana and gently stir until combined. Gently fold 1/2 cup of the cranberry relish into the batter. Save the other half of the relish to top each muffin. Distribute the batter equally into the 12 muffin tins and top each muffin with a teaspoon of the remaining cranberry relish.
Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the muffins are cooked all the way through. Let the muffins cool 1 minute in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.



Cranberry Relish with Orange Segments
This cranberry sauce is tangy and refreshing. Instead of sugar, I use orange juice and agave to sweeten the cranberries. If these cranberries are too sour for your taste you can add a bit more agave.

Ingredients

- 3 oranges
- 16 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1/3 cup agave
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 oranges, skins removed

Zest one of the oranges and measure out 1 teaspoon of zest. Peel the oranges and use a sharp paring knife to cut out the orange segments, slicing between the membranes. Work over a bowl to catch the juice. Set the segments aside. Pour the remaining juice into a 1 cup measuring cup and fill the rest with water (so that you have 1 cup total of liquid).
Combine the cranberries, agave, orange juice/water, orange zest, cinnamon sticks and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and let the cranberries simmer for 15 minutes, or until soft, but not mushy. Remove the cinnamon sticks and stir in the orange segments. Transfer the sauce to a separate container, and refrigerate. Remove the cranberry sauce from the refrigerator 1 hour prior to serving. This sauce will keep wrapped and refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Cookie Jar

A slight twist on a few classics.

Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
Brown Sugar Oatmeal Golden Raisin Cookies
Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly Thumbprints


Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
I have made dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes in search of the perfect one. To me perfection is: a soft and dense cookie (slightly undercooked) in the middle, and a bit chewy on the outer rim, rather than a flat, crisp cookie or a soft, cakey cookie. These chocolate chip cookies are not quite perfect, but are pretty darn close. A final condition for a perfect chocolate chip cookie is that it is loaded with chocolate chips. In this recipe I use milk chocolate chips, and top each cookie with a small pinch of sea salt, which really compliments the sweetness of the milk chocolate. However, this recipe is a great chocolate chip cookie base and certainly semi-sweet or dark chocolate can be substituted for some of the milk chocolate. I like to mix it up and use different types of chocolates, sometimes chunks and sometimes chips. Regardless, there is nothing better than a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven.


Makes 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 17 ounces all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 21 ounces good quality milk chocolate chips or milk chocolate, chopped
- sea salt


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture, and combine together. Gently stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. At this point, the dough can be refrigerate for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Spoon out about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and form into a round ball. Place the ball of dough down onto an ungreased cookie sheet and slightly press the center of the cookie. Repeat this process, placing cookies 1 inch apart from one another. Top each cookie with a pinch of sea salt. Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. (I prefer cookies that are slightly under baked.) When the cookies are done baking the top should start to turn slightly golden, but the cookies should still seem soft and not quite cooked through in the center. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely (or eat warm). Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.


Brown Sugar Oatmeal Golden Raisin Cookies
Crisp, chewy, buttery and loaded with oats. The subtle sweetness of plump golden raisins are really delicious in this cookie, and surprisingly taste very different from their purple cousins.


Make 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups old fashion oats
- 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 3/4 cups golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gently stir in the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the oats and raisins.
Drop tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto unlined baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for 10-13 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown on the edges. (I prefer to slightly under bake these cookies so they or soft. You can bake the cookies until golden for a crispier cookie.) Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 1 minute and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store the cool cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days. This dough will also keep wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking.


Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly Thumbprints
These cookies are similar to, yet better than, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They can also be quite addicting.


Make 40 cookies

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for coating
- 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup grape jelly


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place about 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Stir in the peanut butter. Gently stir in the dry ingredients.
Use your hands to create a tablespoon size ball of dough. Drop the ball of dough into the bowl with the granulated sugar and coat completely. Place the sugared cookie dough onto unlined baking sheets, and repeat this process, placing the cookies approximately 2 inches apart. Gently press your finger in the center of each unbaked cookie to create a small well. Place approximately 1/3 teaspoon of the jelly in each well. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown on the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 1 minute and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store the cool cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 days. This dough will also keep wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking.