I Met a New Cookie. And I Liked It.

I introduced myself to a Cinnamon-Pecan Cookie this week.

My only regret is that I waited this long to meet her. She was chewy and chunky, sweet and salty, loaded with a super-dose of cinnamon, and chock full of toasted pecans.

I've decided that she's truly the unsung hero of the Cookie Universe.

Once baked--and sufficiently tasted--these babies were packaged up for a 7 hour drive to Kentucky (the land of horse races and bourbon). My parents were traveling to the Bluegrass state this weekend to visit family, and I figured it was high time I expand this Cinnamon-Pecan Love beyond the borders of WV.

(Truth: I was powerless in the face of the Cinnamon-Pecan influence. That stack of cookies had complete and utter control over me...so much so that I had to ship them 7 hours away to resist.).

I hope that you all have the opportunity to meet a Cinnamon-Pecan Cookie in the near future as well. Don't be shy, now. She'll like you just as much as you like her. Promise.

Cinnamon-Pecan Cookies

(recipe adapted from this one by Ina Garten in her Back to Basics Cookbook)

Oatmeal cookies so often include raisins, other dried fruit, or chocolate chips. I switched this recipe up to highlight two perfectly-paired ingredients: cinnamon and toasted pecans.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pecans, toasted (toast on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 /2 tsp. salt
• 1 - 1/2 cups quick oats

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat baking sheets with cooking spray

2) Cream the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined. Add dry ingredients to the batter and beat well. Stir in toasted pecans (don't forget to toast them--it's key!).

2) Drop by rounded tablespoon-fuls on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Yield: about 24 cookies.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

This weekend has been filled with plenty of delicious Foodie adventures...although very few have actually taken place in my kitchen.

The Hungry Spoon kitchen was abandoned yesterday in favor of a day trip to Pittsburgh. That's right friends: we headed north for a day in "the big city."

We enjoyed a trip to the Market, explored the Strip District, spent a good deal of time at a used book store, and settled for the afternoon at the Beehive Coffeehouse. Inevitably, the day concluded at my favorite spot for vegetarian cuisine--The Quiet Storm (I ordered the ultimate and highly addictive Apple Panini. I urge you to re-create this in your own kitchen. You won't regret it).

Enough about my travels, though. Let's get to the good stuff: White Chocolate-Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies. I initially feasted my eyes on these sweet treats at the Simply Life blog, and reading the recipe title alone convinced me that I had to try them.

Magnificent! I baked a batch late last night after we returned from PA, and I have no doubt they'll be gone quite soon. This cookie is chewy and rich, and the tart cranberries balance out the sweetness of the white chocolate quite nicely.

Happy Baking to you!

Do you ever do late-night baking?

Cranberry & White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

(recipe courtesy of Simply Life blog; makes about 2 dozen cookies)

This cookie exemplified the perfect oatmeal cookie for me--chewy and sweet. Cranberries and white chocolate make a great addition.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 2/3 brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1- 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 - 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 oz. dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat 375 degrees. Prepare baking sheets with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined.

3) Combine the dry ingredients (through the salt) in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips with a spoon.

4) Place rounded spoon-fuls of dough on cookie sheet and bake 8 - 10 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges (mine were done in 8 minutes exactly).

4) Enjoy! These are definitely good cookies to eat with a glass of milk :)

Need Chocolate. Now.

Tonight called for chocolate. Stat.

No time to waste. No time to dilly dally. Just a smiling Hungry Spoon (yours truly) and a desperate crave for some from-scratch chocolatey goodness.

The fix? Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies. And, although the recipe didn't call for it, I smudged a little natural peanut butter on the top of one. Or maybe two or three. I have a weakness for chocolate + peanut butter that I simply cannot deny.

I selected this particular recipe because tonight I was looking for something quick and not too decadent (but still a smidgen decadent). These cookies fulfilled both requirements, and they're super tasty to boot. I cut the oil in half and compensated with applesauce, resulting in a more "cakey" texture that often characterizes lower-fat cookies (as opposed to the more "fudgy" texture of the original recipe. No worries fudgy fans: I posted the original recipe below).

You're likely not surprised that this recipe hails from my latest cookbook obsession: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I truly hope I'm not overloading my dear readers with too many recipes from this one. While I aim to keep my cooking fresh and creative, I made a commitment to bake my way through this gem of a cookbook. And friends, that's just not the kind of commitment I can back out of. (It all began with those Rocky Road Cookies...).

Before I bid you a good evening (and happy baking), I'd like to give a shout out to Amie at the The Healthy Apple. She's a blogger extraordinaire, and I'm super excited to try the Mini Larabars that arrived on my doorstep today :)

As you tie up your apron and put on your pastry hat, just remember: That smudge of peanut butter atop these cookies is completely optional.

But is it really?

Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies

(recipe from those genius ladies behind Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar--Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 TBSP ground flax seeds
• 2/3 cup milk (both dairy and non-dairy varieties work)
• 2/3 cup canola oil (Again, stick with the 2/3 cup oil for those fudgy results. But, if you want to cut fat and don't mind a "cakey" result, you can use 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup applesauce)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• Optional (sort of): that little smudge of natural peanut butter for topping :)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat baking trays with cooking spray.

2) In a medium-size bowl, stir together oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, flax seeds, and milk until smooth. Add the oil, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until well-mixed. Fold in the flour mixture until combined. Then, fold in chocolate chips.

4) For each cookie, drop 2 large tablespoon-fuls of dough onto the cookie sheet. leaving about 2 inches of space between each cooki. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until cookies are just firm. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5) As noted, if you've got the chocolate + PB crave, feel free to smooth a little PB on top. It's simply not optional at my house.

Breakfast of Champions

(That's right. You and your breakfast-eatin' self are champions. Visualize yourself running to the top of those famous steps in Philly and pumping your arms above your head with shameless pride.)

I absolutely love breakfast. I'm also a ridiculously predictable and structured person (think: opposite of spontaneous). As such, my weekday breakfasts are always the same (Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal) and my weekend breakfasts are consistently a variation on a theme (some sort of fruit-and-nut-filled pancake or waffle).

*Enter Rocky theme music*

Today, however, I busted out of the predictable box and went wild.

Loaded Vanilla-Almond Oatmeal. mmmmmmmm...

And I'm not talking about a wimpy packet of just-add-water "oatmeal." I'm talking OATS!

My new weekday breakfast (which strangely debuted on a Saturday morning) is a bowl of chunky, filling, and oh-so-healthy loaded oatmeal. Inspired by other food bloggers who tout their love of morning oats, I decided there's no better time to try a new breakfast than during my 5K training period (which will finally come to an end on September 17!).

So, this morning's recipe is simple, quick, and will definitely get your day off to a healthy start.

Some common oatmeal add-ins include:

• Milk (regular, soy, or almond) as the liquid
• Nut butters (of course!)
• Chopped, toasted nuts
• Ground flaxseed
• Fresh fruit (bananas, peaches, strawberries, or bluberries)
• Dried fruit
• Honey or maple syrup
• Cinnamon, vanilla, other seasonings of choice

Enough talk. Let's get to work on your breakfast of champions.

Loaded Vanilla-Almond Oatmeal

(Inspired by fellow food bloggers!)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (use less milk if you like thicker oatmeal)
• 4 small strawberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1 TBSP almond butter (my favorite is pictured on the right)
• 1 tsp. flaxseed
• sprinkling of cinnamon
• dash of vanilla

Directions:

1) Combine oats and milk in a bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes.

2) Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

3) You're a champion :)