My Cooking Extravaganza, Part 2

Well, I saved the best part for last. After doing all that cooking on Saturday, my brain said I needed to even the playing field and do some baking as well. So I did a little search through my Pinterest boards (6 of which are dedicated to sugary treats), looking for recipes I could make that 1) would freeze well and 2) I already had the ingredients for (or, for which I already had the ingredients [in case Grandma ever reads this]). I decided upon Cowboy Cookies and Oatmeal Brownie Bars. 

First, I mixed up the Cowboy Cookies. 

Before I continue, let me give you a tip: always read a recipe all the way through before you decide to make it. I found the recipe for these cookies on this website. I had made them before, so I already knew they would be good. But I also knew that they would need to go in the fridge for an hour or two before baking. The first time I made them, I was in a hurry and was very upset when I mixed them all up and then discovered they were supposed to chill before baking! 

I made the recipe exactly as specified; I even used walnuts as I'm sure will greatly displease my sister. I used my handy-dandy Pampered Chef scoop (I'm not entirely sure if I have the small or the medium, but whichever it is, it works great and I use it all the time!) to put them on the pan. The recipe has you making the cookies much larger than I did, but they do spread out a bit so make sure you put plenty of space in between them. The cinnamon adds a nice touch to them, but next time I might leave it out and add butterscotch chips or peanut butter instead.

While the cookie dough was chilling, I made the oatmeal brownies. 

I got the recipe for this very delicious treat from my friend Natalie's blog. If you don't believe her, then believe me, these things are DELICIOUS. I will admit I was a little leery about them at first. For some reason it seemed like an odd combination. But they are SOOOOOOO GOOOOOD. I mean, really, really good. The only unfortunate thing about them is that, like Natalie said, they taste GREAT right out of the freezer. Usually I keep desserts in the freezer to keep me from eating them (sort of an out of sight, out of mind thing, but also because I know that if they are in the freezer, I will have to let them sit out for a while before I can eat them). But I actually think these might taste better straight out of the freezer than when they first came out of the oven! In fact, I think I'm going to have to go eat one after I finish this blog post... 

Anyway, they were very easy to make. As you will soon discover, I add almond flavoring to just about any dessert I make (as long as it doesn't have peanut butter in it, though I did NOT add it to the cowboy cookies [mainly because they already had cinnamon in them]), so naturally I added it to these as well (this is a tip I learned from my dear mother many many years ago, though she might just add it to her chocolate cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies). I didn't mean to add as much as I did. I was just going to put a couple drops in, but I guess I didn't realize I was tipping the bottle as much as I was because I definitely ended up dumping in at least 1/2 teaspoon and maybe more. But that little oops was definitely a good thing because these suckers are WUNDERBAR.

I wasn't entirely sure if they were done when I took them out, but with brownies you never want to overbake them, so I just took them out anyways. I think that's part of why they are so good out of the freezer, because the dough is still very soft so it's not like you're chowing down on a block of ice. I didn't take any pictures of them after cutting them because I was too busy eating them. But here's a picture of the pan;

RECIPES:

COWBOY COOKIES

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, blend the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until fluffy, about 1-1/2 minutes. Blend in the vanilla extract.

Using a spoon or spatula, stir the dry mixture into the butter mixture one half at a time. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Refrigerate the dough for 1 to 2 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large, preferably light-colored baking sheet with aluminum foil, then grease the foil. (I just put parchment paper on a baking sheet and didn't grease it.)

Using a scant 1/4 cup per cookie, shape the dough into balls and place them on the sheet about 2 inches apart. (I used my Pampered Chef scoop which probably holds about half as much as 1/4 cup.)

Use your fingertips to flatten each ball to 1/3 inch thick. Bake the cookies on the center oven rack for 13 to 14 minutes, turning the sheet about halfway through. When they're done, the cookies should be very lightly browned and still look moist. Don't overbake them.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.

OATMEAL BROWNIE BARS

Ingredients:

for the oat layers-

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

for the brownie layer-

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (or look on the side of your cocoa box to see the conversion -- I think it's 3 Tablespoons cocoa plus 1 Tablespoon oil = 1 ounce chocolate)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter and mix with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside 1 1/4 cups of the mixture and press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack while you make the brownies.
4. To make the brownies, add the butter and chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until mixture is melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
5. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, whisking. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, water, vanilla, and almond extract until well combined. Mix in chocolate/butter mixture and continue beating to combine.
6. With mixer on low, add flour mixture, mixing til combined. Spread brownie batter over oat crust, using a spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over brownie layer. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until edges are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
*I recommend storing in fridge or freezer.