281 replies to this topic

[mktye]

A lot of folks around here go out to HH on a whim, I tend to bake on a whim...

I recently tried out the Apricot Walnut Bars from the April issue of Gourmet. Quick and easy, just make sure to bake them long enough. I underbaked mine a bit (I wanted to sit down to dinner) and they suffered for it.

Yesterday, I made of a batch of Pate a Choux from an interesting recipe I ran across few months ago. The recipe includes a bit of sweetened, condensed milk and makes the tastiest puffs I've ever eaten. Not sure if the difference is noticable once they are filled, but they are quite irresistible straight from the oven.

To stuff the puffs, I made two batches of coconut filling. One batch was made as written from the recipe JoeH posted in the "Coconut Cake" thread and the other batch made using unsweetened, dried coconut instead of fresh coconut. As much as I wish it did not make a difference (cleaning fresh coconut is a pain), the filling made with fresh coconut was considerably superior to the one with the dried coconut.

And I am still on a quest for the perfect yellow cake. I had been following a thread on eG where they were looking for one, but it has fizzled out and I am not satisfied with any of the recipes posted. However, I have two new recipes to test and plan to make at least one of them this afternoon.

What are you all baking these days?

[V.H.]

I consider myself quite the baking hack in that I don't always follow baking recipes to a T once I've made them a few times.

One recipe that we make quite frequently in our house is Gale Gand's molten chocolate cake recipe (with freshly whipped cream instead of the mint sauce) from Epicurious. I love it because it lends itself to scaling down to 2 or 4 servings fairly nicely, and has not suffered from me changing it to 3 whole eggs for four servings instead of two whole eggs and two egg yolks. The batter even bakes up quite well in my daughter's tiny little muffin pan, staying just molten enough for her to enjoy it but not so much that we get a chocolate covered 2 year old.

http://www.epicuriou...ws/views/104604

The other standby in our house is Mark Bittman's chocolate mousse recipe. We recently celebrated three birthdays in April and I made a three layer yellow cake with two layers of mousse for each of them. The first cake had to be transported to PA in warm weather, so I baked the cake in a springform, reassembled it with the mousse layers back in the springform, and froze the whole thing overnight for transport. Glaze, carried separately in a container, was half bittersweet/half semisweet mixed with enough heavy cream for a good consistency and a bit of corn syrup for gloss. Assembling the cake in the springform was great for people like me who lack finesse when it comes to baking. The only potential downside is that each cake made about 20-25 very rich servings, and after three of them, we're a bit moussed out for a while.

[mktye]

Okay, what is the last thing you want to do after making crackers and baguettes all week and then attending a fabulous picnic and over eating? That's right -- come home and bake some more!

However, my part of an intensely-negotiated treaty which bans trans-fats from the diet of residents of our household requires me to provide trans-fat-free snacks for other members of the household take to work. And upon returning from the picnic, I realized there were no appropriate goodies in the house (the ~2 million homemade crackers leftover from the picnic where deemed "not filling enough"), so it was time to make some bar cookies.

DATE OATMEAL BARS
makes ~24 rwtye-sized bars or 36 regular-sized bars

12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
1.5 cups packed brown sugar

2 large eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped dates
1.5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut (toasted and cooled, if you have the time and energy), optional

Cream together the butter and sugar, add the eggs and vanilla and mix in thoroughly. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate, oats, dates and coconut (if using). Spread dough in a 9"x13" greased & floured (or lined with parchment paper) pan and bake at 350 degrees until the top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Do not overbake the bars while watching a tivo'd episode of "The Soup". Cool in pan to room temperature before cutting into bars (or cut a few while still a bit warm and go to bed, leaving the rest to be dealt with in the morning).

[zoramargolis]

And upon returning from the picnic, I realized there were no appropriate goodies in the house (the ~2 million homemade crackers leftover from the picnic where deemed "not filling enough")

The crackers I brought home were instantly devoured while being exclaimed over, and they disappeared in a flash. I wish I had taken more! I know that I will be making some soon, so thanks for posting the recipe. Absolutely fabulous!

[smokey]

I have an old recipe from BA or Gourmet for 'double chocolate pudding' that I love and made recently. It's surely available at Epi, but I'm not sure I have the name right. It's made with whole milk, chopped bittersweet and a few tablespoons of cocoa (plus other ingredients, I'm just mentioning the ones salient to me). For something made with only (!) whole milk (no creme, etc.) it tastes quite rich, it's really chocolatey, and the serving size is two, which is perfect for me and the +1 (after the +0.5 goes to bed!).

I've never tried to make chocolate pudding from any other recipe. They could all be this yummy (or even yummier!), I don't know. But goodness, do I like this one.

The ancilliary benefit? This was the second time recently that I've 'realized' I need a better saucepan. I also made turtle brownies from a recent CI, and fighting the scorched hot spots in my caramel (combined with scorched spots in pudding) made me realize i really need (not want, need) a good quality pan. [FYI, the turtle brownies were quite good. I had none of the nuts called for so subbed in hazelnuts, which were delicious.]

Anybody want to recommend a good quality, won't kill me to pay for it, won't have @#$@#$$^ hot spots sauce pan?

[mktye]

I have an old recipe from BA or Gourmet for 'double chocolate pudding' that I love and made recently.

Is this the recipe?

[ol_ironstomach]

Anybody want to recommend a good quality, won't kill me to pay for it, won't have @#$@#$$^ hot spots sauce pan?

FWIW, the klutz in me was never able to set a custard without curdling the bottom until I bought some All-Clad seconds. Now I don't even bother with the double boiler...and I'm cooking over electric. (Using an infrared thermometer gun also helped, but that's another story.) Pick up one of their sauciers and you'll wish they offered sets with sauciers instead of just saucepans.

[Barbara]

Anybody want to recommend a good quality, won't kill me to pay for it, won't have @#$@#$$^ hot spots sauce pan?

You might want to look at this:

Cuisinart

I bought two different sizes (for even less money at amazon a few months ago) and I just LOVE them. No hot spots and they clean up beautifully.

[smokey]

Is this the recipe?

Yep, that's it! I used Callebaut bulk chocolate that I bought at WF and Penzey's dutch cocoa. To be honest, I think that using good quality ingredients makes a huge difference in something like this. The recipe can be just ok, or reasonable, but with really good quality chocolate, everything else just seems only kinda-sorta important (at most). All just my humble opinion.

Thanks for the sauce pan recs (particularly the saucier--that's the style I had been leaning towards). Have you been happy with the service from cookwarenmore, ol ironstomach?

[ol_ironstomach]

Thanks for the sauce pan recs (particularly the saucier--that's the style I had been leaning towards). Have you been happy with the service from cookwarenmore, ol ironstomach?

Sorry, I can't say I've used them myself. I picked mine out at the Williams-Sonoma outlet in Leesburg, which let me decide which pieces had dings or lamination flaws I didn't want. CW'nM was mentioned in another thread here, and their product link was handy...perhaps modthinglet could share a personal shopping experience?

[smokey]

I decided to take a flyer on cookwarenmore and just ordered an All Clad 2 qt saucier with lid. While I would prefer to choose one with my 'dings of choice', there's no way I'm going to have a chance to get to an outlet to give them the once over. It's got the same allclad guarantee, and I can return it if I'm not happy with whatever imperfection there is, so I decided to give it a go.

I look forward to unscorched caramel in my near future, not to mention custards of perfection!

[mktye]

To be honest, I think that using good quality ingredients makes a huge difference in something like this. The recipe can be just ok, or reasonable, but with really good quality chocolate, everything else just seems only kinda-sorta important (at most). All just my humble opinion.

I agree and, as I recently discovered, it can be surprising where it does make a difference...

The first time I made the date/oatmeal bars I posted about up-thread, I used up the last of some Ghirardelli white chocolate chips. I didn't have time to search for more Ghirardelli chips for the subsequent batch and just used Nestle chips that I picked up at the commissary. I figured there would not be much difference in the white chocolate chips and all they really add in this instance is a bit of sweetness and some textural interest (and calories!).

However, rwtye came home from work the first day he took cookies from the non-Ghirardelli batch and told me they were still good, but not as good as the previous batch. My initial response was "how could they be different -- I made them the same!", but then I remembered that I'd used the different white chocolate chips. I guess it shows that even in a rather minor role, a higher-quality chocolate can make a noticeable improvement in taste.

(But rwtye is still going to get cookies made with the Nestle chips until I run out of those. )

And, smokey, please let us know how the pan from cookwarenmore works out for you!

[laniloa]

Last night's baking whim was raspberry streusel bars from a Cook's Illustrated recipe. I used to have another recipe for raspberry bars that I preferred but it seems to have gotten lost in my move and I just can't remember the source. Bummer. Of course, that didn't stop the bars from being quickly eaten by my office.

[mktye]

Last night's baking whim was raspberry streusel bars from a Cook's Illustrated recipe.

Do you think using fresh raspberries as called for in the CI recipe was worth the hassle and cost?

My favorite ones are the Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars from Gourmet.

[laniloa]

Do you think using fresh raspberries as called for in the CI recipe was worth the hassle and cost?

My favorite ones are the Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars from Gourmet.

The recipe I used didn't call for fresh raspberries although I do recall seeing a recipe on their site that did. These were just basic bars with jam. I saw that Gourmet recipe when I was searching for the other raspberry bar recipe and had flagged it to try. I figured it would go well with the whole Florida thing. I also thought a cocunt apricot variation would be good.

[V.H.]

After eating one of the salted caramel chocolates from Artisan Confections yesterday, I had a hankering for a hunk of caramel.

Made Fleur de Sel caramels from Epicurious. I made this a couple of times last winter and they were delightful. Tonight, they were still delightful, but much softer given that my house is currently 10 degrees warmer than it was in December.

[cheezepowder]

I made the chocolate and cocoa nib cookies from a recipe on Chocolate and Zucchini here. I used semisweet instead of bittersweet chocolate because I like a less dark-chocolatey cookie. The cookies are cakelike in texture and not very sweet.

[mktye]

The cookies are cakelike in texture and not very sweet.

Speaking of cakey...

Last weekend, I was once again needing to bake some "healthy" snacks for rwtye to take in his lunch. I had just whipped us up some smoothies with two of the four very, very ripe, very, very black, very, very soft bananas sitting in the fruit bowl... Ah-ha! Banana cookies! After a bit of searching my cookbooks and the internet, I realized that banana bar cookies are not a common item. So, armed with my favorite bar cookie recipe and a couple of others printed out from online, I decided to wing it...

Well, they came out fine, but a bit too cakey for rwtye's tastes. I'm thinking about decreasing the flour and upping the oats next time.

Does anyone have a good recipe for chewy banana cookies?

Here is what I ended up making:

CHUNKY MONKEY BARS
makes ~24 rwtye-sized bars or 36 regular-sized bars

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Cream together the butter and sugar, add the eggs and vanilla and mix in thoroughly, then add the bananas and mix in thoroughly. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate, oats, walnuts and coconut. Spread dough in a 9"x13" greased & floured (or lined with parchment paper) pan and bake at 350 degrees until the top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, ~30 minutes. Cool in pan to room temperature before cutting into bars.

(Edited to update recipe with changes to make chewier cookies.)

[AlliK]

Anyone have ideas for a no-bake (relatively easy) dessert? My oven has decided to take a vacation from working and guests are coming over tonight. I was planning a citrus tart sort of thing, so I've got cream, limes, lemons, etc. on hand and normal pantry supplies. Might be able to squeeze a quick trip to the store in if necessary.

[porcupine]

Anyone have ideas for a no-bake (relatively easy) dessert? My oven has decided to take a vacation from working and guests are coming over tonight. I was planning a citrus tart sort of thing, so I've got cream, limes, lemons, etc. on hand and normal pantry supplies. Might be able to squeeze a quick trip to the store in if necessary.

Probably too late to help, but try making panna cotta and serve woth berries. If unflavored gelatin is a normal pantry supply, that is.

[laniloa]

At long last, today I made surprise cookies a la mktye. She's right -- they are a pain in the butt to make. But they taste wonderful. Chocolate sugar cookies with a hint of almond in the dough with an almond butter center. You can use any combo of nut butters and if I lived someplace where variety were readily available I would have liked to use cashew butter. They will be thank you gifts for the people in personnel who jumped through hoops on Friday to help me.

[porcupine]

Meyer lemon ice cream. I am a happy woman.

[mktye]

We're having a going away dinner party tonight for some friends, so there are 4" white cakes (recipe from the KA Baker's Companion) baking in the oven, syrup for italian buttercream heating on the stove and buns (for the BBQ) rising on the counter.

The guests of honor could not agree on the dessert -- he wanted Joe H's coconut cake and she wanted yellow cake with chocolate frosting since she hates coconut. So it will be individual cakes, torted into three layers, some with the coconut filling from Joe H's recipe and frosted with vanilla buttercream (I thought I already had some buttercream in the freezer but it turned out to be a mystery coconut-tasting, fluffy concoction that I have no clue as to its origin ), some of the cakes filled & frosted with the chocolate ganache frosting from the April '06 issue of Cook's Illustrated and the last bunch done with leftover chestnut buttercream (my favorite flavor) and using some Frangelico in the simple syrup brushed on the layers. That should make everyone happy, with the exception of rwtye who wanted pie for dessert.

[porcupine]

chestnut buttercream (my favorite flavor)

Would you mind posting the recipe in the Cakes and Icings thread? Pleeeease?

[mktye]

Would you mind posting the recipe in the Cakes and Icings thread? Pleeeease?

Sure (although there is not much to it).

The chestnut buttercream also pairs very well with chocolate cake or a white cake filled with a chocolate ganache layer.

Finished cakes:

[laniloa]

Going away party for an employee and my boss' birthday called for chocolate cupcakes with caramel buttercream. And what do you know, I made one more then my container can hold. Guess I'll have to sample the goods. In the name of science of course.

[mktye]

Guess I'll have to sample the goods. In the name of science of course.

And quality control. And safety.

[mktye]

I made another batch of Chunky Monkey Bars tonight with some changes to the recipe I used last time (decreased the flour by 1/2 cup, added another cup of oatmeal and an extra banana). The cookies came out much less cakey and with the chewy texture rwtye has been requesting.

Instead of posting the whole recipe again, I edited the recipe in my previous post here: Updated Recipe

[laniloa]

Made some chocolate mousse from Herme's recipe. Steeped some orange rind in the milk to add a twist. Served with berries for dinner with friends last night. I love this stuff -- rich without being heavy so you aren't stuffed after your meal. I'm finding that leftovers make for a nice breakfast too. I mean, its just like scrambled eggs, right????

[laniloa]

Apricot-almond mimi-muffins made for our early staff meeting tomorrow morning. Have to taste to make sure they are ok. Sadly, they are just ok. Not nearly enough almond flavor.

[perrik]

My husband and his co-workers had to spend their Independence Day in the office (journalism is not a cushy job), so I felt it necessary to feed them. It also gave me a good excuse to hang out at the office, which has an excellent view of the Mall fireworks. The lemon jumble cookies went over well (all four dozen disappeared), but I was surprised that they also liked what were supposed to be cupcakes.

Marcel Desaulniers' first chocolate book has a recipe for old-fashioned chocolate cake, which is a moist sponge-like cake with chocolate flakes. I've made this cake several times, and it's delicious (although its effort/flavor ratio isn't nearly as high as, say, his chocolate espresso fudge cake). After settling on this recipe, it dawned on me that cupcakes would be easier to transport and serve. Halfway through beating the egg whites, it dawned on me that this is not a good recipe to convert to cupcakes; half the batter will have to sit around, slowly deflating, while the other half is in the oven. (I only have one cupcake tin, why didn't I pick up another at the yard sale? D'oh!) Worse, the chocolate flakes started settling at the bottom of the batter, making it necessary to further deflate the batter by stirring it up.

The cupcakes came out with a muffin-like texture - spongy and dense. They actually tasted very good, even though they came out wrong. I decided to re-dub the cupcakes "chocolate flake muffins." The co-workers fell for it, and they ate the entire batch.

Chocolate covers all sins.

But next time, it's back to a classic yellow butter cake recipe for the cupcakes...

[cheezepowder]

Marcel Desaulniers' first chocolate book has a recipe for old-fashioned chocolate cake, which is a moist sponge-like cake with chocolate flakes. I've made this cake several times, and it's delicious (although its effort/flavor ratio isn't nearly as high as, say, his chocolate espresso fudge cake)
....
But next time, it's back to a classic yellow butter cake recipe for the cupcakes...

Have you tried the recipe for chocolate cupcakes yet from his cookbook? I'm curious about it and was planning to try it sometime.

I haven't tried the old-fashioned chocolate cake recipe, but I've made the chocolate espresso fudge cake, and I really liked the chocolate cake component of that recipe so I've been using it when I want to make a chocolate cake. I like that it's chocolatey and moist but sturdy enough to torte and be frosted without crumbling all over the place (which was my problem with the epicurious double chocolate cake recipe.)

[perrik]

Have you tried the recipe for chocolate cupcakes yet from his cookbook? I'm curious about it and was planning to try it sometime.

I haven't tried the old-fashioned chocolate cake recipe, but I've made the chocolate espresso fudge cake, and I really liked the chocolate cake component of that recipe so I've been using it when I want to make a chocolate cake. I like that it's chocolatey and moist but sturdy enough to torte and be frosted without crumbling all over the place (which was my problem with the epicurious double chocolate cake recipe.)

I thought the chocolate cupcakes came out a little dry, but they were still a big hit with both kids and adults. The chocolate espresso fudge cake's actual cake is my standard chocolate version, too. It makes very moist and decadent cupcakes. I didn't like the buttercream as much, it's a bit soft. For this cake, I like to fill with stabilized whipped cream (and perhaps some raspberry or strawberry preserves) and frost with white chocolate ganache.

His chocolate chip cookie recipe (skipping the rum and increasing the vanilla to 2 tbsp) is the one that has made me very popular. When my husband's co-workers met me, they all said, "hey, you're the cookie lady!"

Next on the agenda is pound cake and cheesecake. I've got a lot of lemons to use up...

[cheezepowder]

His chocolate chip cookie recipe (skipping the rum and increasing the vanilla to 2 tbsp) is the one that has made me very popular. When my husband's co-workers met me, they all said, "hey, you're the cookie lady!"

With recognition like that, I'll have to try that chocolate chip cookie recipe!

[perrik]

I had four egg yolks and a cup of sour cream left over from Tuesday's baking, so I made Rose Berenbaum's Sour Cream Butter Cake and slathered it with her Chocolate Butter Glaze (both from The Cake Bible). Lovely, but a fruit glaze would have worked better - the chocolate butter glaze is fairly strident in its chocolatude.

The cake itself is a keeper. The crumb isn't moist, but it's soft and melts on the tongue. Berenbaum suggests serving it with creme fraiche, which sounds like a fine idea. (my husband is more likely to prefer a raspberry glaze, though, so raspberry it is)

[V.H.]

Peach gelato with Toigo's peaches. Yummy peachy goodness.

[smokey]

yellow cake question here

I need to make a birthday cake for somebody special in my life. Typically I would probably do 2 nine inch rounds, fill and frost. But for serving purposes I really need to make a 9X13 cake. Ignoring the issue of volume of batter and pans (I can do math just fine, that's not where I'm worried), can I bake a cake designed for 2 nine inch rounds in a 9X13 pyrex? Will the center get cooked adequately without burning the outside to dried powder? Any and all advice appreciated (including any recipes for yellow cake that taste good and bake well in a 9X13 pyrex!).

Thanks.

[porcupine]

yellow cake question here

I need to make a birthday cake for somebody special in my life. Typically I would probably do 2 nine inch rounds, fill and frost. But for serving purposes I really need to make a 9X13 cake. Ignoring the issue of volume of batter and pans (I can do math just fine, that's not where I'm worried), can I bake a cake designed for 2 nine inch rounds in a 9X13 pyrex? Will the center get cooked adequately without burning the outside to dried powder? Any and all advice appreciated (including any recipes for yellow cake that taste good and bake well in a 9X13 pyrex!).

Thanks.

Any chance you can get a metal 9x13 in time? Because the answer there is sure, yes, no problem. I do it all the time. But I've never baked a cake in glass. I'm interested in the answer to that one, too.

[perrik]

The Pyrex baking dish will be fine for the cake. The volume of one 9x13 pan is pretty close to that of two 9" round pans, so any standard two-layer recipe will work fine. I think you won't get the same level of browning that you'd get with a metal pan, but with enough frosting who's going to notice?

I can't remember what the difference in baking time is - I think you'll need an extra five minutes or so, but wouldn't want to guarantee that's right. Do the toothpick test to make sure the cake is done properly, of course.

[DanielK]

The Pyrex won't distribute heat as evenly to the center of the cake, especially on a 9x13 pan. So you'll get a higher "bubble" in the center of the cake than you would with a round pan or with a metal pan. Also, doing the math, the 9x13 is nearly 10% less area than 2 9x9 round pans. So the cake will be slightly higher in the pan. You might want to consider leaving a small amout of batter in the bowl.

They make a device called a cake leveler. It's essentially a metal wire strung between a pair of tines, about a foot wide. You take the wire, run it across the top of the cake at a height very slightly above that of the edges. It will slice that bubble right off.

We call the pieces that come off "cake cookies". That's the part that I got to eat when my wife was baking cakes for clients, and got an unexpected bubble.

[smokey]

The Pyrex won't distribute heat as evenly to the center of the cake, especially on a 9x13 pan. So you'll get a higher "bubble" in the center of the cake than you would with a round pan or with a metal pan. Also, doing the math, the 9x13 is nearly 10% less area than 2 9x9 round pans. So the cake will be slightly higher in the pan. You might want to consider leaving a small amout of batter in the bowl.

Geez, what would I do with a small amount of cake batter?! Thanks for the (very!) specific info. This will definitely help as I plan my attack on the cake (that, and the bottle of vanilla extract I just received from Penzeys!).

[DanielK]

Geez, what would I do with a small amount of cake batter?!

Whenever my wife has to do a translation like this, where using a different pan or doubling a recipe leaves a bit too much batter, she makes cupcakes for the kids with the remaining batter!

[cheezepowder]

I made a cherry blueberry pie using sour cherries from the farmers market and then, when I realized I didn't have enough, adding blueberries (which turned out to be somewhat lacking in flavor) from Whole Foods. I followed the recipe from the Cooks Illustrated Best Recipe cookbook which calls for using tapioca as the thickener (they liked it better than flour or cornstarch). I haven't decided yet if I like the gelatinous texture of the tapioca in the pie.

[perrik]

I borrowed the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion from the library - yeah, it's a keeper. On Sunday I made shortbread cookies. On Monday most of those cookies became the base of a pan of cheesecake bars (plain batter with strawberry preserves as a topping). Photo is in my blog, of course, not that it's terribly exciting. I managed to avoid eating any by having my husband take them to work. (okay, I ate the bits left on the knife after each slice, shhhh) One of the editors also brought in baked goods, so if tomorrow's Express reads like it was edited by sugar-crazed ferrets it's not entirely my fault.

[smokey]

I'm SO psyched. I not only have my all clad saucier (with which i can make a mean custard), I just received the pistachio paste from KA for practicing a pistachio buttercream. This means that this weekend I'll be making a IM buttercream frosting for that yellow cake that needs to be in a 9X13 pyrex AND with the leftover egg yolks? I'll be making ice cream, probably strawberry. I love it when I don't have to waste egg yolks!

[Chica Grace]

I need some input from more professional bakers. I just started to give baking a whirl, primarily inspired by all these recipes I keep reading about on Don Rockwell. So, I took a stab at doing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, because I love the combination. I made them last Friday night. And they came out "crumbly" , meaning they are moist , but the cookie does not stick together long enough to be considered "a cookie". when you pick up the cookie, it kind of goes in pieces. So, it ends up being Oatmeal Raisin "crumble" rather than a cookie.

So, I need your help. What did I do wrong? Is there something I need to add or subtract to make these cookies stick together more? Are oatmeal raisin cookies suppose to crumble? Or is there something in the length of time of baking ? I don't know . Need input. This is the recipe.

1.5 sticks of butter
.5 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg ( I did not have eggs, so I used egg beaters in stead)
2 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
.5 teaspoon of salt
.5 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups quick drying oats
1 cup raisins

My first task was to cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Put the old KitchenAid to work - and got that done. Then, I added the egg. Then the water and vanilla.

Second task was to sift together the remaining dry ingredients - the flour, salt, baking soda. Note: I did not sift, since I do not have a sifter. Another question - is that really necessary to bake? Input needed on this as well.

Third task was to add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. And then I added oats and raisins - mixed it up and maked betweem 15-17 minutes in oven.

?? help ???

[mdt]

3 cups quick drying oats

Do you mean instant oats? I don't have my recipe with me at work and will check when I get home if nobody else replies.

Also, out of curiosity mostly, where did you get the recipe?

[Barbara]

I need some input from more professional bakers. I just started to give baking a whirl, primarily inspired by all these recipes I keep reading about on Don Rockwell. So, I took a stab at doing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, because I love the combination. I made them last Friday night. And they came out "crumbly" , meaning they are moist , but the cookie does not stick together long enough to be considered "a cookie". when you pick up the cookie, it kind of goes in pieces. So, it ends up being Oatmeal Raisin "crumble" rather than a cookie.

So, I need your help. What did I do wrong? Is there something I need to add or subtract to make these cookies stick together more? Are oatmeal raisin cookies suppose to crumble? Or is there something in the length of time of baking ? I don't know . Need input. This is the recipe.

1.5 sticks of butter
.5 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg ( I did not have eggs, so I used egg beaters in stead)
2 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
.5 teaspoon of salt
.5 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups quick drying oats
1 cup raisins

My first task was to cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Put the old KitchenAid to work - and got that done. Then, I added the egg. Then the water and vanilla.

Second task was to sift together the remaining dry ingredients - the flour, salt, baking soda. Note: I did not sift, since I do not have a sifter. Another question - is that really necessary to bake? Input needed on this as well.

Third task was to add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. And then I added oats and raisins - mixed it up and maked betweem 15-17 minutes in oven.

?? help ???

I dug out my "Quaker's Best Oatmeal Cookies" recipe, which came from a box top of Oatmeal. In comparing this recipe to yours, the Quaker's calls for 3 cups of oats (either quick or old-fashioned) and 1 1/2 cups flour. It also calls 2 1/2 sticks of margarine.

As you probably know, butter makes for a crispier cookie than margarine does. However, it would seem that your recipe calls for far more oats to flour than the Quaker's does and I think that might be a big part of the problem; i.e, there isn't enough "dough" to completely incorporate the oats. Further, I don't recall a cookie recipe that calls for water. If you are using Egg Beaters, rather than a whole egg, you may be adding even more water than you think, since egg whites have more moisture than the yolks contain.

[perrik]

I agree with Barbara, the oat-flour ratio could be causing the problem. The recipes I have call for ratios that aren't so lopsided (like 4 cups of oats and 3 cups of flour, or a 1:1 ratio).

Hope you saved that Oatmeal Crumble - it would make a wicked topping for an apple crisp!

Meanwhile, I made the Brown Edge Cookies from the KAF Cookie Companion. They brought back memories of Nabisco's late lamented Brown Edge Wafers, softer but with the same delicate touch of sweetness and vanilla. I've got to bake something tonight to feed the hungry journalists, but haven't decided what. Maybe a couple pound cakes - one blueberry lemon, one cinnamon? They've been asking for chocolate, but the hunks of Ghirardelli semisweet in the pantry just aren't calling out to me yet. What to do, what to do...

[zoramargolis]

They've been asking for chocolate, but the hunks of Ghirardelli semisweet in the pantry just aren't calling out to me yet. What to do, what to do...

I've been making a flourless chocolate cake that is the easiest recipe I've ever found (one bowl, one whisk), and really satisfies the chocoholics with a minimum of fuss.

350 oven. Line a buttered springform pan with parchment and butter the parchment.

Melt 8 oz of good bittersweet chocolate in the microwave with
2 sticks of unsalted butter
Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of sugar
Whisk in 6 eggs, one at a time
1 t. vanilla extract
Add 1 cup unsweetened cocoa, and one of following:
1 T. instant espresso powder
1/4 t. orange oil
1 T. kirsch, rum or brandy

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes

This has never failed to please.