Recipe: Soft Instant Oatmeal Cookies

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There's nothing quite like a freshly baked cookie, warm from the oven.

Some people like them crisp and crunchy, some love a chewy cookie and others prefer a softer cookie.

I was lucky enough to be sent some instant oatmeal packs from Nature's Path, as well as the other cereals, and I knew just what I was going to do with some of them! 

Make cookies, of course!

The Nature's Path Oatmeal comes in 3 flavours, 

Original which is simply pure oats with a pinch of sea salt

Apple Cinnamon which contains chunks of dried apple and a hint of cinnamon

Maple Nut which has crunchy hazelnuts and a delicious maple flavour. 

The individual sachets make for a quick and easy hot breakfast 

and the 50g portions are the perfect amount for a filling meal.

Just pop them in a bowl in the microwave with 1/2-2/3C of water, stir and cook for 75 seconds or so.

To make them extra creamy, cook them in a mix of milk and water, adding a dash of milk at the end.

They're the perfect base for whatever toppings you desire, or eaten on their own!

But, back to the cookies!

These cookies are the ultimate quick and easy soft oatmeal cookie that are the perfect base for any addition you want to make. 

I went the traditional route and added raisins to half of my batch, however, they work perfectly with choc chips, nuts, dried fruits or just about any other mix ins you'd find in a cookie!

Soft and Simple Instant Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

makes 1 dozen large cookies

or 2 dozen smaller cookies 

 1C plain flour

1C instant oats

1C brown sugar

2 tbsp boiling water

1 tsp bicarb soda/baking soda

120g butter, chopped

1 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 180*C. Line 2-4 baking trays with baking paper (depending on cookie size)

In a bowl, combine flour, oats and brown sugar. 

Dissolve bicarb soda in boiling water and set aside.

In a small saucepan, stir butter and maple syrup over a medium heat until butter melts.

Take off the heat and stir in baking soda mixture, pour into dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Roll heaped tablespoons (for large cookies) or heaped teaspoons (for small cookies) of the dough into balls, place 1 1/2 inches apart on the lined trays.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden, set aside on trays to cool completely.

And there you have it, a batch of delicious fresh from the oven cookies!

Try not to eat them all in one go ;)


Our new blog can be found here.

So tell me, 

What's your ultimate cookie like?

and what are your favourite mix ins? 

Kristy received Nature's Path products courtesy of Kadac Health Foods (www.kadac.com.au) 
If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

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Cookie Mad: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (Chocolate White Choc Chip)

our new blog can be found here.

So you might have guessed that lately I've been on a bit of a cookie kick.

Be it The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie, Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies or even Soft Sugar Cookies.

They're portable, adaptable, easy to make andddd I have a family of cookie fiends.

I had a request for Double Chocolate Cookies (inspired by Subway's Double Choc Chip Cookies) 

so I got to work in the kitchen. 

But that's where the trouble started. 

The recipe I had was all sorts of wrong.

As I looked down the ingredients list, I realised that it just wasn't going to work.

No eggs. No wet ingredients. No raising agents.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

So what did I do? Improvise!

I figured in the last couple of months I've made enough cookies to at least try to bake completely on instinct.

So I crossed my fingers and went to work. 

Once the cookies were in the oven I spent the next fifteen minutes looking from my computer screen to the oven - hoping and praying they didn't turn into a tray of cookie lava or be a complete fail.

Thankfully they didn't do either - I had soft and chewy Double Chocolate Chip cookies that smelt amazing. 

Yes, I most definitely was proud of my baking skills - fluke or no fluke :P

Being the smart cookie I am (heh)
I also wrote down what I did so I could share the recipe with you if it was a success! 

These cookies have soft centres with chewy edges and are probably the love child of a cookie and a brownie. 

If you love the chocolatey flavour of brownies but just can't go past the old faithful cookie - these are for you. 

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies  Pin It

(Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies) 

recipe by ksayerphotography 

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

125g Butter

1/2C White Sugar

1/2C Brown Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

Pinch of Salt

1 1/4C Flour 

1 tsp Baking Powder 

1 tsp Baking Soda

2/3C Cocoa Powder

1/3C Milk

1 1/2C White Chocolate Chips (or as much as you prefer)

Preheat oven to 165*C/330*F 

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Add flour, raising agents, cocoa and salt and mix until combined.

Slowly add in milk (while mixing) until a soft dough forms.

Mix in chocolate chips until evenly dispersed throughout the dough.

Cover bowl and leave to chill in the fridge for at least fifteen minutes - or until firm and workable.

Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and place on lined cookie sheets 2-3" apart.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until edges are cooked. 

Leave to cool completely on trays.

Tips!
- If you want a really chocolatey cookie, switch the white chocolate chips for milk or dark. 

- For a crispier, crunchier cookie, bake for 20-25 minutes.

- The cookies will firm up once they cool, so don't worry if the middles seem soft. 

- Try adding dried fruit/nuts/more chocolate chips to make your ultimate cookie. 

- Don't try working with the dough before you chill it, you'll end up with a huge mess.

- The dough freezes extremely well, so why not make extras and pop them in the freezer for when the cookie monster hits! 


our new blog can be found here.

So tell me, 

Are you a chocolate or a vanilla kind of person?! 

I love chocolate straight up, on it's own.

If you offered me a cake or a piece of chocolate - I'd choose chocolate :P

Or anything sweet or a piece of chocolate, really.

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Love this recipe? Be sure to check out my new blog - Southern In-Law!

Perfectionism pays off - The ultimate Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

There, I said it!

I'm not happy until a recipe is perfect

and I will never ever serve something to someone I'm not happy with.

I think being a recipe tester would probably be a dream job for me.

Testing recipes day in and day out, being paid to bake or cook and tweak recipes until they're perfect time and time again - aah!

Anyone need a recipe tester? ;)

My sister is a perfectionist's nightmare.

She will always find a little something she doesn't like or something you could've done differently.

So, being the perfectionist I am, I have been searching for her ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

Sounds easy, no? Heh.. right..

First issue? 

My sister tends to like the cookie dough more than baked cookies.

 Sure, I could just give her bowl after bowl of cookie dough, but that's not a challenge.

[Begin weeks of recipe tweaking and testing here]  

Soft cookies were the answer.

The type of cookies that stay soft even after they've cooled completely and have been sitting in a container.

But, my dear sister, also likes chewy cookies - so I had to find a cookie that had chewy edges and a ever-soft centre.

I changed flour ratios, butter ratios, chilled dough, used only egg yolks, changed baking temperatures, altered baking times and tried a million different techniques.

And then, I came up with a brilliant recipe on a whim 

(I think I need to thank the baking gods for this victory, however)

I had found THE ULTIMATE Soft Choc Chip Cookie.

Soft centres.

Slightly doughy.

Chewy edges.

Just the right amount of chocolate chips.

and best of all? 

It can be made into crunchy cookies with the perfect amount of chew just by increasing the cooking time.

Perfect for my family who is split down the middle with soft cookie and crispy cookie lovers :P

The Ultimate Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Pin It

recipe by ksayerphotography

makes about 2 dozen medium cookies

150g Butter, softened slightly

2/3C Brown Sugar

1/2C White Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 1/2C Flour 

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt
~1C Chocolate Chips 

(This is really a personal preference - so add however much you feel is right!)

Preheat oven to 165*C

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until incorporated.

Mix in chocolate chips until they are dispersed evenly throughout the dough.

Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and refridgerate for 15-30 minutes until dough is quite firm.

(Note: on my second batch I actually left the dough for 2+ hours and it worked perfectly - just took a little bit of effort to work into balls)

Once the dough has chilled, roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and place on a lined baking tray about 4cm/1.5 inches apart.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until edges are cooked and golden (the centres will still be soft).

For crispy cookies: Leave for 15-20 minutes depending on your desired amount of crispiness.

Leave cookies to cool completely on trays before transferring to a container/serving tray.

Now, I'd like to tell you how long they last.

But, errr, I can't - because they don't last.

They'll be gobbled up in the blink of an eye!

So tell me, 

Are you a perfectionist in the kitchen? (or in general)

and What's one recipe you just. can't. get. 

I once spent a week having the exact same baked oatmeal breakfast every single day because I was trying to perfect my recipe. 

(This is really unusual for me - I never have the same breakfast two days in a row, 

I at least change my topping combinations :P)

But now, I have perfected it! Worth the repeat breakfasting :P

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Love this recipe? Be sure to check out my new blog - Southern In-Law!

Tea and biscuits, anyone?

There's nothing better than sharing good food with friends.

A cup of tea and a biscuit? Of course!

Springhill Farm were kind enough to send me a box filled with their delicious slices and biscuits so I did what any normal person would do - turn on the kettle and round up some taste testers!

The Wildberry and Nougat Slice is a combination of Italian Nougat, dried cranberries, blueberries and raspberries and topped with white chocolate and a berry swirl. 

The soft base had a rich coconut flavour and I loved the chunks of berries, while the smooth chocolate topping melted in your mouth. 

I was actually surprised to find this was one of my favourites as I first thought it would be way too sweet, but thankfully it was jussssssssssssssssssssssst right!

The Summer Fruit slice was courteously passed over to my taste testers as I'm actually allergic to pineapple and pear, which the bar contained.

The slice is a combination of Australian dried fruits, amaranth and rice pops and topped with milk chocolate and a white chocolate swirl. 

My taste testers liked the citrus and coconut flavours and, like the nougat slice, all agreed it melted in your mouth. 

It's also Gluten Free! so it's a perfect treat for someone with a gluten intolerance.

The Lemon Lime and White Chocolate Biscuits are gluten free so they're perfect for sharing, even with your coeliac pals!

We all agreed that they definitely don't taste gluten free. 

In fact, if I didn't know otherwise, I'd have guessed it was just a regular shortbread style recipe.

It was crumbly and melted in your mouth with a delicate lemon and lime flavour. 

The Lemon and Yogurt slice combined the smooth creaminess of yogurt with the freshness of lemon that was balanced perfectly. 

Springhill Farm have been using this recipe for 20 years and I can see why!

 

The Springhill Farm journey began when Ray and Jo Barber hosted kindergarten and primary school children for a sensory filled farm visit experience in 1983. 

At the end of a day filled with horse and tractor rides, milking and collecting eggs, the children got to experience farm style cooking whilst sampling Jo's homemade muesli slice.

The slice was so popular that Jo began producing it to sell and the Muesli and Honey slice is the original recipe enjoyed by the children on the farm visits.

It's obvious why it was a hit! It's filled with whole grains, honey and Australian dried fruits and it topped with a creamy yogurt swirl.

I loved the crispiness of the oats against the soft bursts of raisins and dried fruit. 

It's safe to say that the Toasted Muesli biscuit is delicious and most definitely one of my clear favourites.

The moist biscuit is filled with chewy fruit pieces and crunchy rice bran flakes.

The crunch of the rice bran flakes is definitely what made the biscuit for me - it took it from a boring old cookie to something you could enjoy time and time again.

We decided if you gave us a lifetime supply of these biscuits, we'd be as happy as a pig in mud on the Springhill Farm!

Springhill Farm has chocoholics covered too with their Chocolate and Oat slice and Macadamia and Chocolate Chunk biscuit.

The Chocolate and Oat slice was also one of my favourites, so much so, that if you had me choose between the slice and the Muesli biscuit I don't think I'd be able to make up my mind! 

The soft oat base has a delicious coconut flavour and is filled with chocolate chips and delicious Australian Sultanas. It melts in your mouth, especially with the generous layer of chocolate sitting on top! 

This is Springhill Farm's best seller and there's no doubting why!

The Macadamia and Chocolate Chunk biscuit is for the serious chocolate lover!

The chocolate biscuit base is filled with chunks of dark chocolate and Australian macadamias.

It is the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of tea or coffee!

The Cranberry Pistachio and White Chocolate biscuit was generously filled with chewy dried cranberries and crunchy pistachios and drizzled with a white chocolate swirl.

All of the ingredients match perfectly, creating a delicious biscuit!

The Vanilla Chocolate Chunk biscuit isn't just your average chocolate chip cookie!

The delicious vanilla biscuit is filled with generous chunks of creamy milk chocolate and topped with an extra chocolate drizzle.

I was actually surprised when I realised the biscuit was gluten free because you could never tell!

It melted in your mouth with a shortbread like texture and we all agreed it was an extremely high quality treat! 

All of these biscuits and slices were fantastic and I would happily serve them to my friends again!

(and I'm sure they would be equally as pleased :P) 

You can have Springhill Farm products delivered straight to your door by ordering online!

So tell me, 

Are you a city person or a country person? 

and what's your favourite food to share with friends?

Kristy received Springhill Farm products courtesy of www.springhillfarm.com.au

If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies

I think it's safe to say I'll take any excuse that comes my way to bake.

What, someone's coming over? Oh hold on - let me whip up a cake!

Dinner party? Oh what flavour cupcakes do you want?

New job? Let's celebrate!

What? You've never had red velvet cake? Let me change that!

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Cravings? Give me 20 minutes!

These cookies were made specifically with my Mum in mind!

She's always been a fan of the chocolate/nut combination - so why not turn it into a cookie?

These cookies are the ultimate cookie for a peanut fiend.

Peanut butter cookie filled with chunks of peanutty snickers? Why of course!

Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies Pin It

recipe by ksayerphotography

makes 24 large cookies

125g Butter, chopped

1C Peanut Butter  

(smooth or crunchy works - it's up to you!)

3/4C Granulated Sugar

1/2C Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1 tbsp Milk

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 1/4C Plain Flour

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt
(the salt depends on whether you use salted/unsalted PB as well as your salty/sweet preference)

2-3 Chopped Full Size Snickers Bars 

(or more, or less - depending on how many chunks you want!)

Preheat oven to 180*C (350*F)

In a mixer, cream butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Add sugars and beat until smooth.

Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and beat until the flour mixes through completely and a dough forms. 

Stir in chopped snickers bits until evenly incorporated.

Form dough into balls (about a heaping tbsp per ball) and place onto a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

(Don't worry about flattening them! Leaving them in a ball makes a thicker cookie as they spread themselves)

Bake for 10 - 15 minutes - depending on your cookie preference.

For a soft cookie:  

Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are slightly brown - they will firm up once cooled! 

For a crunchy cookie:

Bake for ~15 minutes or until cookies are more golden brown on the edges.

Leave cookies to cool completely before trying to move them around.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container 

(if they get to make it to the container, that is)

I think you could definitely use other candy bars in this recipe, 

even switching the peanut butter for almond/walnut/cashew butter to match!

I can't tell you how long they'll last in a container, however, because mine were eaten IN A FLASH and proclaimed as the "best cookies you (I) have ever made"

Repeat batches have already been requested - good sign, no?

If you're a reaaaaal chocolate fiend you could also add a handful (or several) of chocolate chips for that extra chocolate hit!

So tell me,

How do you like your cookies?

Soft or crunchy? 

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Sweet Valentine: Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

 So tomorrow is Valentines Day.

Does anyone else feel like Valentines Day is the one holiday that really creeps up on you?

You've just finished celebrating Christmas and the New Year and bam Valentines Day is knocking on your door.

I decided to bake up some valentines treats for my family as an early valentines present,

seeing as my actual Valentine is 10, 000 miles away. 

This year was Sugar Cookies - two ways! 

Half of the batch had chewy jam heart centres, while the second half of the batch was frosted.

Two different cookies from one recipe? Simple! 

I still haven't decided which of the two I like best.

The jam hearts are definitely more grown up and sophisticated,

while the frosted hearts are super cute!

These cookies melt in your mouth, they're not a crunchy cookie whatsoever

This is partly due to the sour cream in the recipe which give them a super soft texture.

Sweetheart Sugar Cookies 

 1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

125g butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour 

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 180*C (350*F).

Beat butter until soft 

(if you're using softened butter, you can skip this step - I'm just too impatient)

add in sour cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat for 2 - 3 minutes. 

Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. 

Cover dough and chill in fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.

Turn out dough onto a floured board, roll out to about 1/2 centimetre/1/4 inch thick.

(You may need to add a little more flour to make the dough more workable - but don't add too much or you won't have soft cookies!)

Use cookie cutters to make shapes and transfer to a lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes until light golden brown - no longer!

When you take the cookies out of the oven they may look underdone - but don't worry, you'll thank me later for your soft melt in your mouth cookies!

Adaptions -

Crunchy cookies: Bake for 5 or so minutes longer, your cookies will be brown on the outside with a lighter brown centre and will harden upon cooling.

Jam Centred Cookies: Cut out shapes in the middle of your cookies and fill with jam, bake for 8 minutes at 180*C before turning the oven down to 120*C for a further 5-10 minutes, or until jam starts to set. 

Sugar Cookie Frosting

125g Butter

2 1/2 cups Icing Sugar

2 tbsp Milk 

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Beat butter until soft.

Add sugar, milk and vanilla and beat until pale and creamy.

Add in food colouring as you wish!

All you have left to do is package them up for your Sweet Valentine! 

That's if they make it to them.

So tell me,

What's your favourite holiday?

and how are you spending Valentines Day?

My favourite holiday is Christmas, HANDS DOWN. 

If it could be Christmas every single day of the year I'd be in heaven!

I don't know how people could ever tire of it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

As a child, the best part of baking was always licking the beaters covered in cake batter

or sneaking bits of cookie dough before the cookies went in the oven.

For some reason, it always tasted better than the end product.

Now that my tastes of changed, cake batter and cookie dough don't interest me as much

but my sister is still in love with all things cake batter or cookie dough.

In fact, she'd probably prefer I didn't bake anything.

On New Years day I found myself needing a dessert recipe.

My dilemma? Well, I had two.

The first was that whatever I wanted to make had to be made with the ingredients on hand as the shops were closed.

The second was that it was way too hot to turn the oven on.

I decided that truffles could be a good sweet treat to add to our dessert spread the following day

and a google search led me to Love and Olive Oil  where I found the recipe for these Cookie Dough Truffles. 

As soon as I read the title I knew these would be perfect for Katrina

and even better? I had all the ingredients on hand! 

Before I knew it I was rolling balls of cookie dough and putting them in the freezer to chill. 

These were alot simpler than I thought they'd be, in a few hours I had three trays of truffles.

50 something bite sized truffles in fact! 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

recipe adapted from Love and Olive Oil  

(makes around 4 dozen bite sized truffles) 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups plain flour 

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

250g butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar (I actually used 1/2C brown sugar, 1C granulated sugar as that's all I had) 

1 tsp vanilla  

1/3 cup milk 

1 cup chocolate chips/chopped chocolate (This is a matter of personal choice - I used milk chocolate, though you could use whatever chocolate/add ins you'd like - just like any cookie!)

500g chocolate (again, I used milk - but you could use dark/white/flavoured chocolate/candy coating - as long as it melts well) 

Directions: 

Cream butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, add milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Gradually add in flour, baking soda and salt and mix until incorporated.

Stir in chocolate chips. 

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour or until firm enough to handle. 

Form dough into small balls and arrange onto baking sheets lined with baking/waxed paper. Place sheets in the freezer and chill for 30 minutes until the balls have hardened.  

Melt chocolate/candy coating in a double boiler or in the microwave. Using forks, dip cookie balls into chocolate to cover, letting any excess drip off before returning to the lined baking sheets.

Chill covered dough balls in fridge until set.  Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week (though, I doubt you'll have to do that!) 

These cookie dough truffles were a huge hit and perfect for a hot summers day! 

I will definitely be trying out different combinations in the future, you could take your favourite cookie and turn it into a fancified treat!

I love ANZAC cookie dough - so I'm wondering whether they would make a good cookie dough truffle innard! 

So tell me!

What's your favourite summer dessert?

and do you like eating cookie dough/cake batter?