Delicious Granola Bars

Mom (who my children know as "Oma") came to visit a while ago and made some granola bars for the children. They liked them so much they asked for some "Oma Bars" over March break. I found out mom had used the Crosby's Molasses recipe for "Peanut Butter and Molasses Granola Bars" and changed it a little. I did the same thing and here they are:

Here is the recipe that made them:

Peanut Butter and Molasses Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups quick rolled oats
• 1 cup bran
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup sunflower seeds or sesame seeds or a combination of the two
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• ¼ cup chopped nuts
• ¼ cup wheat germ
• ½ cup fancy molasses
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 tbsp 2% milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ¾ tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Mix oats, bran, coconut, seeds, chocolate chips, nuts and wheat germ together in large bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine molasses, oil, sugar and peanut butter in a 2 liter saucepan and cook over medium low heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth. (Stir constantly.)
3. Combine the milk, vanilla and baking soda and add to the molasses mixture. Stir for one more minute. Remove from heat.
4. Pour molasses-milk mixture over granola mixture and stir until dry ingredients are moist. Wet your hands and press the mixture into a 15 x 10 inch (2L) pan.
5. Bake at 275°F (140°C) for 20 to 25 minutes. The edges will start to brown and the bars will be slightly puffy. They will sink as they cool.
6. Let cool, cut into slices (I cut it into 27 pieces).
7. Store in the refrigerator.

Choco-Cherry Supreme Cookies

One day closer to Christmas, and I made cookies for a cookie-exchange party today. They were fabulous!

Here is how you can make your own - and in time for Christmas too!

Choco-Cherry Supreme Cookies Recipe

1/3 cup softened butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa                         

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup candied cherries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder  

1/2 tsp. salt                             

Cream butter and sugars together. Beat in the milk, egg and vanilla. Add the other ingredients and stir together until well combined. Drop tablespoon of dough on greased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. If desired, top with a half cherry. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Yield: 30 cookies.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Crisp

My sister had some rhubarb she was willing to share so I put a bunch in the freezer and then made a rhubarb crisp with the rest to share with her at lunch. It was wonderful! Especially since we ate it warm with vanilla frozen yogurt. Yummy.

I put it in this oblong pan, since it was 2-quarts, as called for in the recipe. I think a smaller, deeper dish would have been better, because the topping would have been thicker. Still, it was fantastic like this and disappeared completely once the children got home from school.

It was so good, you're sure to want the recipe, so here it is, from the Better Homes and Gardens COOK BOOK 12th Edition, page 246.

Rhubarb Crisp

5 cups sliced rhubarb, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw but do not drain)

3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all purpose (I used whole wheat) flour

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup chopped nuts or coconut (I didn't have either and I didn't miss them)

1. For filling: place rhubarb in a 2-quart square baking dish. Stir in the granulated sugar and the flour.

2. For topping: in a medium bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and nutmeg and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the nuts (or not). Sprinkle topping over fruit.

3. Bake in a 375degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes (40 minutes for thawed fruit) or until fruit is tender and topping is golden. If desired, serve warm with ice cream. (Yes, definately with ice cream!!!)

Enjoy!

Date Squares or Matrimonial Squares

Welcome to Good Friday. I did my baking yesterday, but I'll show these to you today. These are a favorite of my husband, which is odd, considering they don't contain any chocolate! We call them Date Squares but I use the Company's Coming 150 Delicious Squares recipe on page 50 called Matrimonial Squares.

I first made them years ago and noted that they were greasy when using margarine. I made this latest batch with butter, and I used slightly less than the 1 cup they called for. They are just right! They are easy to make - not fussy at all. My husband would be the first to say they should be cut bigger! I made 36 from the 9x9 pan, but I think he'd like it better if I cut it into 16 squares instead!

English Oatmeal Bread p. 180

I was so proud of myself today - I found time to bake after lunch. And it was a loaf that needed the oats to soak for 2 hours! The recipe says it makes 2 loaves or 2 dozen buns, so I made one big loaf and the rest into 4 buns. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day here so I raised everything in my nice, sunny window. It was a beautiful loaf - it rose up tall, smooth and even.  Everything looked perfect, and as I was sliding the loaf into the oven, I got a case of the clumsies and bumped it against the oven frame. POOF! Out went all the air I just rose into it for the last hour or so. Sigh. Since the oven was hot already, I didn't want to wait for it to rise again and I baked it anyway. But really, It would have been better if I had waited.

The buns turned out beautifully. I tried one. Could have used more salt (but I didn't use the full amount the recipe called for since we're trying to limit salt here). It tasted a bit like my morning oatmeal, but it was good. The children loved them and kept coming back for more. It was soft and had a slightly stickier texture than my "usual" bread. I did forget the step of the egg wash and the oatmeal coating over the loaf.  Oops! So my loaf looks ugly but tastes fine. I will make this recipe again. The amounts called for worked out beautifully. I know I could also make this with left-over cooked oatmeal instead of soaked oats. I will try that someday!

My sunken, ugly loaf and plain, nice buns. Yum.

War Bread p. 207

This bread is called war bread because it has rolled oats, cornmeal and whole wheat flour in it, to make the more scarce white flour "go farther". I guess I did even better because I used a full cup less white flour than the recipe. That is getting to be the norm though.

The bread felt very solid as I was kneading it, and it turned into a dense loaf. I personally don't call these large loaves, but that's what they are supposed to be. The family all enjoyed this bread just fine. I thought they wouldn't like the cornmeal in it, but it hid quite well. All in all, I liked this bread. I would make it again and maybe let it rise a little longer the first time.

Nuts and raisins Quick Bread

A while ago, we found a recipe in the newspaper for a whole wheat, nut filled Quick bread. I made it a couple of times now, and tonight I felt like having it again. It has tasted different all three times! That's because the main source of nuts has changed - the first time I used boxed granola and muslix cereal mixed together, the second time, I used walnuts and pecans and tonight I used a combination of peanuts, raisins and home-made granola. I still liked the first one best, but tonight's was almost as good. I ate it for dessert. And, oddly enough, my biggest raisin-hater had two pieces! I guess he liked the nuts.

This is a very hearty loaf. One piece is so full of nuts, raisins and whole wheat flour that you'll fill up in no time! A far cry from the delicate and soft yeast rolls I told you about a month ago.

Here's the recipe from the paper:

Hearty Nut Quick Bread

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cups rolled oats

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup cold butter

1 cup nut&seed trail mix

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup craisins

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 egg

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together first 7 ingredients.
• Cut in cold butter until it looks like coarse meal.
• Chop the nuts and seeds to chop the larger nuts.
• Add nuts, seeds & fruit to the mixture. Mix.
• In a small bowl, whisk egg into buttermilk.
• Pour wet into dry and mix until almost combined. Then tip onto a floured surface and knead it all together. Split into 2 balls.
• Place each ball on a baking sheet. Cut large, deep "X" in each.
• Bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes. (Or longer, in my experience. Check that a toothpick comes out dry).

If you're looking for something hearty, satisfying and nutty, give this one a try. It is easy and well worth trying! Crunch, Crunch!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I tell the family I am going to make cookies, these are the ones I always mean. They are at least as healthy as a Quaker (peanut-free) Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola bar, but more satisfying and definately more delicious - at least fresh out of the oven!

When I make some, I make a double batch since they always go quickly. That means 8 dozen cookies! I use my bread making bowl - it's the only one big enough! Today I worked the dough so quickly that I broke a wooden spoon! I've also broken a Tupperware Silicone spatula mixing these before, so maybe I should invest in a good, solid, metal mixing spoon. Don't be alarmed, however. The dough may be stiff to mix (although it is probably due to the volume), but the cookies turn out soft and chewy and delicious if they're not overbaked. Do you want the recipe? Read on. I'll list the original recipe for 4 dozen cookies.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Beat together:
     1 cup softened butter
     1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
     2 eggs
     2 tsp. vanilla

Add in:
     3/4 cups white flour
     3/4 cups whole wheat flour
     2 cups rolled oats
     1 tsp. baking soda
     1/4 tsp. salt
     1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Mix until combined. Drop by tablespoon-fulls onto ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a spoon or your palm. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes. (I personally set my convection oven to 360 and bake for 7 minutes). If you want soft cookies, remove from oven when the centre of the cookies are still light and puffy but the edges have begun to brown. Let stand for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and they will finish baking. Move them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you prefer crunchy cookies, just bake them until they are golden brown all over and remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

    

Blueberry Bran Muffins

Ahhh, so the wonderful smell of baking bread surrounds me as I tell you about the muffins I baked first this morning! Chocolate Chip Blueberry Bran muffins. The recipe came from the back of the milk bag a few years ago. They didn't include the chocolate chips, but I added them anyway. They are simply delicious!

The recipe made about 2 1/2 dozen muffins, so you might want to bake half a batch if you only want a dozen. These muffins have some sources of fiber and milk and with or without the chocolate chips, they taste great!

Blueberry Bran Muffins
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix together and let stand:
     1 cup bran
     1 cup boiling water

Combine in a large bowl and make a well in the center:
     2 1/2 cups flour
     2 cups oats
     1 1/2 cups sugar
     2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
     1 tsp. salt
     3/4 cups chocolate chips

Whisk together in a small bowl:
     1/2 cup melted butter
     2 eggs
     2 cups milk
    
Combine the bran mixture, the milk mixture and 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries into the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. The mixture will be quite soupy. Fill greased or lined muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the tops spring back when pressed lightly.

When you steal the first muffin, be careful not to burn yourself on the scorching hot blueberries and chocolate chips as you take the first bite! You won't be able to resist!

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Another favorite muffin of ours is the "Oatmeal Apple Muffins" from page 40 of Company's Coming  Mostly Muffins. I think they are popular because they have a topping of brown sugar, rolled oats and cinnamon. They remind me of apple cake. What's not to love?

The apple gives them a nice softness, the oats, a nutty flavor and a little texture. You'll note that they are in silicone wrappers. I bake them in these wrappers in the muffin tin. I find they need the oven to be 10 degrees warmer to form a nicely shaped muffin that gets properly baked on the bottom. When I don't increase the temperature, they become highly peaked, or lop-sided muffins with white bottoms.

I'm sure these muffins would be great with nuts too, but I try to make nut-free muffins so my children can bring them to school.

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Originally, this was a recipe for Oatmeal Banana Loaf. I just bake it for a shorter time and added the chocolate chips so my family would love them. I love that I can get my son who doesn't eat bananas at all to eat these.

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cups sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

4 medium mashed bananas

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix together first 8 dry ingredients. In a small bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Mix in oil, milk and bananas and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients.
Stir just to moisten. Batter will be lumpy.
Fill greased or lined muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, until tops spring back when pressed gently.
Yields about 18 muffins.

These are so good right out of the oven with a tall glass of milk! I feel that they are even healthy enough that we eat them as lunch! The chocolate chips make a beautiful mess of my 2 year old's face when we eat them still warm. Yum yum! They are also fantastic if you make them with raisins or walnuts (or both) instead of chocolate chips. I've even tried them with blueberries and that works too.

Simply Apple Crisp

Since you liked yesterday's recipe, I thought I would share tonight's dessert with you. It is my version of an apple crisp recipe a friend gave me years ago. It is hard to get a picture that does this simple dessert justice, but trust me when I say it is a really yummy way to get in some apples and a little fiber, without the work of a pastry shell or the calories of an apple pie!

Simply Apple Crisp
5 cups apple slices
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted

Sprinkle the apple slices with the lemon juice and arrange them in an 8" x 6" baking dish. (A 6 or 8 inch pie plate would work fine too).
Combine the other 6 ingredients in a small bowl and mix until everything is combined. A few clumps is a good thing. Loosely cover the apples with the oat mixture. Do not pack the oats down or you will get a hard mass on top of the apples when it's cooked.
Bake for 14 minutes on half power in the microwave (or until the apples are soft).

When I want to bake it in the oven (next to my favorite casserole or french fries perhaps) it can be baked at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes instead. The oven baking yields a crispier topping.

We love our apple crisp with a little vanilla ice cream on top, while the crisp is still warm! Yummy.