Butterscotch - Oatmeal - Millet Cookies

Last week I made a millet-5 grain cereal loaf. This week I'm trying some cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 1 cup millet flour (Bob’s Red Mill brand)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup butterscotch

• ½ finely chopped almonds

• ¼ oil or shortening

• 4 tablespoons milk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl adding the wet ingredients last.  Once thoroughly mixed, drop dough by small spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. 

If you are using butter or margarine as your shortening, you can blend it together first with your sugar and milk before adding all the dry ingredients.  If you bake at all you already know this but someone who is new to baking won't necessarily know.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until done. Gently remove cookies from the sheet with a egg flipper. 

This recipe makes about 32 cookies formed with a teaspoon. 

These cookies break apart easily if you are not careful.  I also found them quite sweet but they have a good crunch to them which I like.  If you don't like butterscotch chips you can also substitute chocolate chips or alternate making both kinds.  I got a "thumbs up" on these cookies.

I'm joining the lovely Hannapat for the Weekly Bake. Click on the photo to join in!

Diabetic Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

After a evening of mending and another day of rain on Sunday, I felt like some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  I saw some of these cookie recently on a blog but they didn't leave a recipel  I went in search of a diabetic recipe and tweaked what I found to better meet my pantry supply and to cut down on the sugar.

DIABETIC PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 cup white all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 2 cups canned pumpkin 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, or less if you want it less sweet. I probably used half a cup.* 2 eggs 1/4 cup canola oil 8 oz chocolate chips (1 cup)** *Taste the batter before you drop it on the baking sheet to see if you need to add more sweetener. **The recipe I tweaked used raisins (and less pumpkin and flour).

Directions 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2 Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl. 3 Whisk pumpkin, brown sugar (or Splenda), eggs, oil and chocolate chips in a second bowl until well combined. Stir the wet ingredients and chocolate chips into the dry ingredients until no traces of dry ingredients remain. 4 Drop the batter by level tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart. I never am too careful about uniformity. I actually use a roundish shaped teaspoon and fill it up. 5 Bake the cookies until firm to the touch and lightly golden on top, 10 to 12 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Cool and eat or freeze for later.

I made 2 and a half dozen cookies using my teaspoon for dropping the batter on the baking sheet.

I found these cookies were sweet enough.  They were soft inside and had just the right touch of sweetness with the added chocolate chips. I didn't grease my pan and it would have been better if I did. So I've written up the instructions for lightly greasing the baking pan before dropping the cookie batter onto it. I had a large can of pumpkin so I decided to make pumpkin muffins too. I'll have enough pumpkins and cookies for awhile.

Pumpkin is full of vitamins (A & C), minerals (magnesium, potassium, zinc) and fibre.  Not only that; it smells wonderful when baking. Enjoy!

Low-Fat Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

NOTE:  I've just been advised by a reader that she cannot leave a comment. I apologize to all bloggers who experience the same issue. I've recently set blogger settings to allow "embedded" comments. I know that this used to cause commenting problems for some people. Blogger's new comment feature requires "embedded" comments.  Hopefully blogger will soon resolve any issues associated with this change.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour (white or whole wheat)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup packed brown sugar (I used about 3/4 cups)

• 1/4 cup fat-free vanilla or plain yogurt

• 2 tablespoons canola or corn oil

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 1/3 cups uncooked old fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats

• 1 cup dried cranberries (original recipe calls for raisins)

Directions:

HEAT oven to 350°F. Cover 2 cookie sheets with
parchment paper or use non stick teflon cookie sheets.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, cinnamon,
baking soda and salt together in small bowl.
COMBINE brown sugar, yogurt, oil, egg and
vanilla in large bowl. Add flour mixture to make
a blended dough.
STIR in oats and raisins.
DROP mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches
apart on prepared cookie sheets.
BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes until very lightly
browned. Do not overbake.

I made about 33 cookies with this recipe though it says you can make 40. I had to watch how much I put in each spoon. Surprisingly the batter spread well.

I slightly adapted this recipe from a Sun Ripe Raisin recipe book.  These cookies are low sodium, low fat and low cholesterol.

 My taste test reveals a crunchy cookie, not too sweet, quite airy and delicious.

 NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Daily Values:
Dietary Fiber 4%
Nutrients per serving (1 cookie): Calories 63, Protein 1.1g,
Fat 1.1g (Sat. Fat 0.1g), Carbohydrates 12.7g, Dietary Fiber 1g,
Cholesterol 5mg, Sodium 63mg.
Note: Since I've added 1/4 cup less sugar, each cookie should be a few calories less than stated but that is only if you make 40 as per the recipe suggestion. If there are fewer cookies, the calorie count per cookie will be higher but still very reasonable.

Chocolate, Nut, Molasses Cookies

Cooler weather always brings out the desire to have hot tea and eat wonderful cookies. These cookies are my latest experiment in the kitchen.  The recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies that are about 2 inches in diameter. You can make the "drops" larger or smaller to your liking.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup molasses (black treacle if you live in Africa)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 gently rounded tablespoons unsweetened chocolate (I used cocoa powder)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I used a mix of white and whole wheat)
• 1 cup of  oatmeal (or enough to make a drop cookie batter, see photo)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs, vanilla and salt, beating until well blended. Beat in chocolate and stir in flour and chopped walnuts.  Add oatmeal until you have the desired consistency.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on well-greased baking sheet.I have a coated sheet so I did not grease the pan.


Bake in preheated 350° oven 10 minutes, or until edges are crisp. Cool for 1 minute; remove to rack to cool completely.

I enjoyed these cookies. You can readily taste the molasses, chocolate and nuts. If you don't like the strong flavour of molasses you could substitute about 1 cup of sugar for the molasses.  I've read that the treacle is not as dark as molasses so I'm assuming that molasses also gives the cookie a stronger flavour. 

Enjoy the cookies with hot tea or milk.

Update on My Leg

Well, I'm trying very hard to be on a diet (about my 4th day now) and also to eliminate water to reduce edema and relieve the pressure on my leg. I am still seeing the acupuncturist and I am also now receiving pneumatic compression therapy on the legs.

I look a little like the lady in the photo immediately below when I get my legs compressed except that the garment stops at my hip area. The compression feels a little strange but I enjoy it because it relieves some of the pressure and heaviness I feel in the legs.  Hence it reduces the pain in my knee and my foot though the feeling doesn't last so long.   I will get about 8 of these treatments altogether as they are very expensive.  I also continue to get the acupuncture.

Photo credit: Squidoo

Photo credit: me

My acupuncturist has me on several herbal medicines to eliminate excess water (not drugs as those weaken the kidneys even more so) and to address pain issues. These aren't working that quickly so yesterday I just found an herbal remedy containing boswellia and tumeric for aches and pains.  It seems to work quickly but is double the price of what my acupuncturist gives me. She only charges me at cost not at retail prices. I will continue the boswellia mixture for a short time while I wait for the Chinese herbal remedies to hopefully take effect soon.

My diet is self-initiated and consists of lots and lots of steamed veggies of all kinds, canned tuna and wild salmon,  beans & legumes, millet, squashes, sweet potatoes/yams, basa fish fillets and a piece of fruit each day.  I have very little red meat or dairy though I will allow myself a sweet treat about once every week or two.

In the Chinese medicine belief, excess weight is caused by too much mucous and water in the system and the presence of these makes it nearly impossible to loss weight. That might explain why diets and exercise very seldom do anything for me no matter how much I try.  The doctor also says I have too much damp cold inside and my body has to work hard to warm it up and hence I get too hot.  Additionally, she says that wind or cold is not good for me.  All this makes a lot of sense since I tend to get leg cramps when I have wind blowing on my legs. I'm sure she is on the right track but it does take time and I am impatient. After all I just want to get over the pain and be able to walk again.

Today's treat is chocolate no bake macaroons. I will take some to my acupuncture doctor tomorrow who is always happy to eat whatever I bring her.  I also have someone at home who enjoys the treats.  That way I am not tempted to eat too much.

No Bake Chocolate Macaroon Cookies

Here are the cookies setting before going into the fridge/freezer.  As you can see, I didn't bother to make them too perfectly shaped.  I like my cookies in different sizes and a bit "rough" around the edges.

  Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut

Directions  In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, milk, and margarine. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then boil for  2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the oats, vanilla, cocoa and coconut. Spoon onto waxed paper and allow to cool for at least an hour then put them in the refrigerator to harden up.  Store in an airtight container.

Recipes alterations:  The recipe has far too  much sugar for me. I reduced it to 1 cup and there was no problem with the mixture sticking together. It is still plenty sweet enough. You can use splenda or some other artificial sweetner but given my issues with water retention I try never to use any artificial foods or at least to eliminate them as much as possible. I will look for some stevia next time I can get to a health food store.  You can also use 1% milk or skim milk like I did. I imagine that a milk substitute like Almond milk would also be fine if you are lactose intolerant or a vegan. You will also need to use a margarine substitute. In  my case I used real butter rather than the artificial margarine. If you use slow cooking oats, you will need to cook the mixture for a minute or two longer. 

I think I've only had these cookies once or twice since I was a school child. A school chum would bring these for lunch and sell them to me as my mother never made them. I wonder if the girl ever became an entrepreneur. These cookies are approx 100 calories when you use the full amount of sugar so I calculate my sugar reduced cookies at 50-70 calories each depending on their size.  Not bad at all.

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Those Who Love Chocolate

Welcome to my newest follower, Snow white who lives in Nara, Japan.

Dōmo arigatō (thank you). Hajimemashite (nice to meet you).

Every since I found out I was diabetic I have not been baking as much as before. I miss baking cookies and eating a cookie while drinking my tea.  Lately it has been cold and windy here and  Tuesday night was no exception. I went on line and found this easy recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  These cookies are different from others I have tried because you add cocoa to the mixture.

Recipe Ingredients:

3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tbsp water if dough is dry ( I had to add a bit of water)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts ( I added some leftover pecan nuts as I don't have any walnuts)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

The mixed cookie batter.

Recipe Instructions:

Beat together the oil, sugar, and egg. Add the rest of the
ingredients and stir to blend well. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drop
by spoonfuls, about 1 inch apart, onto a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes (or until done) at about 375 F.
My batter  made 30 cookies.

There are two cookie shapes here, one round and one flattened with a fork tine.

One cookie - 106 calories, 1 starch/bread, 1 fat exchange 2 g
protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat, 124 mg sodium

Quick & Easy Diabetic Menus by Betty Wedman, M.S., R.D. 1993 ISBN
0-8092-3853-5

These cookies were tasty and not too sweet but flavourful enough with the added cocoa. The cookies are also a bit crispy.

Baking for a Season

Welcome to my newest follower, Rachel. 
It's so nice to have you :-)

When I was browsing blogs the other day after making the loaves of bread from a fellow bloggers recipe, I also came across a blogger who made and froze chocolate chip cookies. I can't remember exactly where now but she didn't have the recipe on her blog, just a note about making Hershey's chocolate chip cookies. So on Saturday I decided to google the recipe and make them.  I also made pizza dough and pumpkin pie for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner.

I made 4 dozen cookies in 3 different sizes. The recipe says you can get 5 dozen cookies from this recipe but I tend to make mine a little larger.

Lots of cookies for the freezer!

Here everything is marked as to the contents of the bags and the dates of the packing though I hardly think they will last past due date in the freezer.

Another view of the goods all laid out for the freezer. I saw the steam was gathering on the bread so I let that out before closing up the bag and popping it in the freezer.

This is the recipe for Pumpkin Pie for Sunday's dinner.


Ingredients

* 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
* 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon mace (I skipped the mace because I don't generally have it on hand).
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 eggs
* 1 (398 ml) can 100% Pure Pumpkin
* 1/2 cup cream or evaporated Milk
* 3/4 milk, scalded

# Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl and add cream or evaporated milk. Stir egg mixture into pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Add scalded milk and stir just until blended. Pour into chilled pie shell.
# Bake for 15 minutes in 425 degree F. oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately with mounds of whipped cream or refrigerate.

My pie crust is a little dark around the edges. I think the problem was I used a very deep plate and it isn't really a pie plate. it exposed too much of the pie dough to the heat. That is my guess but I could be wrong. The big mark in the middle is made by my testing whether the pie was done. Once I cut it you won't see that. I hope the pie crust takes okay. If not to my liking I will have to keep looking for a recipe that works for me.

Taste test:  The pie was actually quite good and the crust didn't taste burnt in any way. The crust was soft but it wasn't what I would consider flaky. Perhaps if I didn't have to roll it out so thin it would have been much flakier. The filling was very nice. It was not very sweet.  It was creamy and very subtle in it's flavours. It was perfect for me but others might prefer a sweeter, spicier pie filling. In that case, add a bit more sugar and another 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of the indicated spices. I tasted mine without the whipped cream and I think this would be my preferred way to eat it because it's texture is already nice and creamy.  You will probably want to have whipped cream on hand for those who love to eat pumpkin pie this way though.

On Sunday, I will be making turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and a side dish to go along with the pumpkin pie. This will be a smaller feast than usual. I am just happy to have the bird and will use the left overs for all sorts of wonderful dishes like turkey sandwiches, turkey soup and turkey casserole. Yum! This little bird will prepare a feast for a week.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

CANADIANS

:-))