Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

As if I wasn't sugared up enough from the baked goods of the past few weeks (yup, plenty of cake, cookies and muffins to go around), here I go with another cookie recipe. But these weren't made out of the blue, they were a special request from my dad. My dad was gracious enough to visit last weekend and help us to take down curtains, fill holes in the walls and just generally disassemble our place since we're moving in 11 days (by hey, who's counting??).

My dad is a pretty mild mannered guy. He doesn't have too many food preferences except for a strong distate for olives and strong liking of stuffed cabbage (ew!). So when he asks, I bake and I'm happy to.

This recipe is the classic Quaker recipe that always stares me in the face when I pop the top off of the oatmeal can when making my daily breakfast. I have to say, it's an excellent recipe requiring little if any adjustments. (The only substitution I made was using all brown sugar instead of both brown and white sugars). The cookie edges are crispy while the middle soft and chewy. These were so good, they could replace my boring bowl of oatmeal any morning of the week.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Adapted from Quaker

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons, softened

1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups oats

1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and mix. Add slowly to the batter and mix. Add oats and raisins, mix well.

Using a tablespoon, scoop dough and roll in wet hands until a ball is formed. Place about an inch and a half apart from each other on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake about 10 minutes lightly golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me until recently that I could DVR all my favorite Food Network shows then watch them at odd times when there is nothing else on TV. I do this with other prolific shows like Law & Order and more or less anything on the Bravo network that I refuse to watch live.

But sadly, our queue fills up quickly with Rachel, Ina and Giada so I'm forced to quickly peruse the shows before NAK deletes them. I try to tell him that you can't just peruse Ina. You must watch and imagine yourself cooking in East Hampton in her perfectly manicured kitchen and home. Jealous.

Speaking of kitchens and homes, the Sassy kitchen will soon be moving! Not too far, really just a few blocks away but we are thrilled nonetheless to be moving to a spacious 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhome with 2 porches. Oh how I can't wait to plant tomatoes and herbs in the back and flowers in the front. But for now, it's back to packing for me since we move in 18 days (not that anyone is counting). Good thing I have a full DVR to keep me entertained.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Adapted from Ina Garten

This is a sweet soup. I don't love sweet soups and I cut down on the sweetness by reducing the amount of apple cider used. I might even cut out an apple the next time or cut down the cider further.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 medium)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice

Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper, sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve hot.

Ginger Chewies

I had high hopes for this past weekend. With a fridge full of chard, broccoli, romaine and other nutritionally-packed greens, I was counting on some savory quiches, perhaps a soup, a pasta dish....anything but another dessert!

I just couldn't help myself though. It was just too beautiful, too warm, too spring-like today to spend the day stooped over the stove stirring a hot pot. And so I broke out my Big Fat Cookie Book (yes, that's what it's called) and turned to the bookmarked page, to the recipe that I've made time and time again and can't get enough of.

There is no more perfect fall dessert than the ginger cookie. No chocolate, no fruit, nothing can compare to the crunchy, spicy but sugary taste of the ginger chew. And I am somewhat in awe of this recipe because it's one of the few that needs no adaptations or adjustments. It is perfect just the way it is.

And you know, the weekend is right around the corner, so I will give my greens another go-around.

Ginger Chewies
from Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans

These cookies are called ginger chewies but you can also make ginger snaps by baking them just a few minutes longer so they become crispy. Or, do what I did and leave one baking sheet in the oven a little longer so you end up with two different cookies.

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
about 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)- optional

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and spices until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.

If using, spread the turbinado sugar into a small bowl. Roll 2 tablespoons of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball, toss the ball in sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart. The dough will be sticky. Using wet hands helps to shape the dough more easily.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 14 minutes. For ginger snaps, leave the cookies in the oven for an addition 3 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Cranberry Muffins

I think I like baking so much because of the perfection, exactness, and organization that is necessary to ensuring that baked goods come out just right. There is probably a bit of OCD lurking inside me (ok, maybe more than a bit!). I know this sounds crazy, but I just love to dip the measuring cup into the flour canister, give it a shake and then carefully level off it with a knife. I can't get enough of it.

But let's say it's 9:00pm on a Sunday evening and you are desperately trying to wrap up the day's cooking so you can watch a movie with your husband but are in need of a sweet breakfast treat for the week...what to make?? Muffins to the rescue! Muffins are so quick to make, and for whatever reason, can withstand a little less precision than cookies and cakes. You can coarsely measure the additions and just dump them into the mixer, knowing that the muffins will still turn out just fine. I adapted my own recipe below from several sources using a combination of fresh cranberries, apples and orange zest. If you prefer, you can sub in pecans or walnuts for the apple. You could probably use dried cranberries as well, soaked in hot water to plump them up a bit.

**Note: this recipe made 14 large muffins and 20 mini muffins. If you have multiple large muffin pans (I only have 1 large and 1 small), this recipe will probably yield about 24 large muffins.

Cranberry Muffins
Adapted from various sources

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (the food processor makes this step easy)
1 1/4 cups sugar divided
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used a combo of white whole wheat and all purpose)
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk (non-fat is fine)
1 Macintosh apple, diced into small pieces
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss cranberries with 1/4 cup of sugar in a bowl.

In a mixing bowl (or using a mixer), combine flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 1 cup of sugar. Add the butter and mix until coarse crumbs form. Add the beaten eggs to the milk, add this mixture to the flour. Mix until just moistened. Gently fold in the apples, orange peel and cranberries. Fill paper-lined muffin cups just about to the top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.