TGFB Cookie Swap: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favorite blogs posted a few weeks ago about the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! I absolutely love the idea of getting packages of delicious goodies in the mail (who doesn't?) so I of course joined in on the fun!

We each were supposed to bake 3 dozen of the same cookie and ship one dozen to 3 other bloggers that we were matched with. In return we get three dozen different cookie packages back! It's a win-win!!

I looked through a lot of cookie recipes and decided to do one I've never done before. I also look through the blogs of my matches to check out there style and taste. I settled on a Southern Living cookie recipe and added my own twists.

They really came out great and were perfect for shipping. If you have relatives in far places and you want to bake some love to send to them, this is a keeper! The oatmeal in these wasn't over powering it  was mainly there for a bit of texture and chewiness.

This oatmeal cookie also had no raisins. I not a fan of raisins in my cookies and neither was one of my matches so that worked out great. The chocolate chips instead of raisins was a great swap and was just delicious in this oatmeal cookie!

Pin it, bookmark it, but definitely bake it! They were outstanding!

Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

The night of the election I was just a little anxious about the presidential race and needed something to busy my hands. Baking has always been the best way to calm my nerves.

I took a chocolate chip cookie recipe from Cooks Illustration and added booze. I know right, everything is better with booze! These cookies are just delicious and absolute perfection!

I made mine thick because I like them soft in the center and crispy on the edge. But the recipe is totally versitle you can add nuts, white chocolate chips, or whatever you have on hand.

Easy Homemade Focaccia Bread

Focaccia bread is a flat, oven-baked Italian bread that’s topped with herbs, cheese and other ingredients. It’s kind of like pizza crust on steroids and about 100 times better. I’ve posted many-a-bread recipes here on Williams Kitchen but none compare to this one.

Many don’t make their own bread because its time consuming. This bread is a quickie though (in bread-making terms) and most of it is waiting around for the dough to rise. It is also little to no kneading. The Other Williams just loved this bread and could not stay out of it.

This is amazing served hot from the oven with pasta but it can also be frozen, which is what we did. If frozen, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake at a low temp to re-heat it.

You can add just about anything to this bread. We topped ours with tomatoes and olives but you’re only limited by your imagination!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

These are my current obsession! Finally a healthy, delicious, sweet snack! The bars are chewy and very peanut butter-y. You can really play around with what other things you'd like to add to it. For this one I added dried apricots, cashews, and chocolate chips!

The great things about granola bars are many. You can use them as a snack. They are great on the go and kids love them. You can carry them hiking or on a walk or just to the office. You can crumble them over yogurt. And these also make great gifts during the holidays or anytime!

These really knock out hunger. There is protein in the nuts and peanut butter and fiber in the brown rice cereal and wheat germ. The recipe is so adaptable so play with it and let me know your favorite add-in's!

Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting

A few years ago I purchased a small lavender plant because I love all things lavender and purple. After planting it in front of our house it grew exponentially over the following years. I would walk pass it on my way to the car or to check the mail and smile at the buds and flowers in the summer time. However, I never really did anything with them, that is, until this year.

While working in the yard a few weeks ago, I pruned my lavender bush of it's flower stems. I tied them together in small bunches and hung them in the closet of my craft room with the hopes that I would find something to use them for.

Then, like it was meant to happen, I ran across this recipe on Jessie's Kitchen-Chronicles and the light bulb went off so bright that it burst! I was having company that weekend and this recipe would be the perfect ending to our meal.

The cake is where the lavender is and the frosting is a delicious honey frosting. In my opinion, 2 1/2 tbsp of lavender was a little too much. Next time I'll just include 1 1/2 tbsp. The smell of these cupcakes filled my whole house! It was delightful! The honey frosting was the perfect pairing for this mini cake and really complimented the lavender nicely.

After dinner we served this with a drizzle of honey on top and with a delicious tea made right here in SC. I talked last year about the Charleston Tea Plantation and how to naturally remove caffeine from tea. I highly recommend serving this cupcake with tea. It goes so well together. Our guest's seemed to enjoy the experience of after dinner tea and dessert and I do believe this recipe will be repeated every year when the lavender gets pruned.

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Normally, I don't style the food that shows up on this blog. The photo's of the food here are taken shortly before we eat it. However, I've been trying to work on my photograph and I believe my photo's are getting better and better with each new post.

This hummingbird cake is one of the first things I've made and went out of my way to style. I definitely think the photo's reflect that.

Now to the cake! I had a wonderful assistant in making this cake. My friend, RC, who blogs over at Bonbons & Biscotti, came over and spent the day with me. We talked, drank wine, and made this glorious and very simple bundt cake. It was so much fun and something I hope we'll do again soon. RC, makes some delicious family recipes on her blog with a focus on baking. I highly recommend you check her out!

The Hummingbird cake is a southern cake with the first known recipe published in Southern Living. Being from the south I was shocked and appalled that I had not only never made this cake before but had also never tasted it! It wasn't until I read Sarah Addison Allen's book The Girl Who Chased the Moon that I even ran across the mention of this kind of cake. In the book, which is one of my favorites, Julia Winterson is a bakery owner who makes magical cakes! It's a great read, all of Allen's books are.

The cake is normally several layers with a cream cheese frosting in between each layer but I found this version on the Bake or Break blog. I love bundt cakes. They're just so simple to make and you don't have to worry about fussing over layers.

For me, the cake itself was very banana bread-like but much lighter and not as sweet as I was expecting. I believe that is because there just isn't as much icing on this version. Little chucks of pineapple are like finding the prize at the bottom of the cracker jack box! The frosting is sweet but compliments the cake and doesn't over power it. Pecan's in this cake are key and give you a really great crunch factor!

Overall I loved this cake. I normally prefer chocolate of some form in my cakes but this is a great summer-time snack or dessert. It would be excellent for a dinner party or cook-out. I also think it makes a great breakfast or coffee cake!

Fiesta Margarita Cupcakes

Remember about a month ago it was almost Cinco de Mayo and I posted some of the decorations I was doing for our Cinco de Mayo party. In that post I also said I would be posting a recipe…well…I forgot. So I hope you’ll forgive the lateness of this post because the recipe is worth it!

At the end of April I was going back and forth on whether we should do a Cinco de Mayo party or a Memorial Day party. Fortunately, I decided on Cinco de Mayo. It’s just such a fun holiday! And being completely addicted to pinterest I was inspired to get my crafty-on for this gathering.

The table was decorated with 12 x 12 inch scrapbook paper and tissue pom-poms. I also made matching napkin rings and cupcake wrappers out of the scrapbook paper. For drinking, instead of using (or buying) margarita glasses, I used mason jars. I wrapped jute cord around the top and added a printed cut-out of a lime. I also added my guest’s names translated and written in Spanish to the jars.

We held the party mostly outside because it was a really beautiful day and we’re all addicted to cornhole! There was a bit of a rivalry going on amongst some of us. Needless to say, while delicious, margaritas do not help my cornhole game. While we were outside I set up a table for our homemade salsa bar and drinks. (My Homemade Guac Recipe) This also served as the appetizer and went over great with my guests.

We did a taco bar for dinner, which was so yummy, and for dessert I made these delicious margarita cupcakes I found at RecipeGirl. Everyone seemed to really enjoy them and they were a great way to end the meal. I found some cute mini shot glasses that where a perfect cupcake topper and filled it with a shot of tequila!

The Cupcakes are very lime-y and the frosting is pretty sweet so go easy on it. I didn’t taste any of the tequila but it is an ingredient in the cakes! What I loved most about this recipe is that there is just enough leftover margarita that you can drink one while you're making them! Now that is fun baking, people!

We ended the evening with comfortable conversation on the back porch that lasted into the wee hours. It was a lot of work but I really enjoyed crafting-up this little dinner party. We always enjoy the company of amazing people, filling our home with loud belly laughter, and filling our tummies with delicious food!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

The Other Williams recently had a birthday! I really love birthday's. There is no better reason to celebrate other than a birthday. As you know The Other Williams is the cook in the family; however, I'm the baker!

One of The Other Williams' favorite types of desserts is anything with peanut butter in it. Recently we went to one of our favorite local restaurants, Stella's Southern Bistro! Their menu is as local as you can get here and the food is blow-yer-mind good but it's their Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie that will bring a grown lady to her knees!


It's one of our favorite desserts of all time and I thought it was high time I tried my hand at baking my own version of this masterpiece. I looked at several recipes and settled on Elizabeth from Sugar Hero's Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

There is a saying down south when something is really, really good and this is so good it will make you slap yo' mama! It's just like Stella's version and when I surprised The Other Williams (and her co-workers) with this on her birthday she was drooling! She loved it. So if you have a peanut butter nut in your family, we've found their new favorite recipe. Now get bakin'!

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

I found the recipe for these little beauties while we were on our cleanse. It wasn't fair to find something so yummy to bake that was off limits. So just about as soon as we were done with the cleanse I went to work on these!

My mom used to pack Little Debbie into my lunch box as a kid. And my dad, who turns into The Cookie Monster (seriously!) at night, loved Oatmeal Cream Pies. So I've had some experience with the "real" thing. These however are by far much better!

Baked goods can not be left in my house because I have zero self control. So when I bake I normally send The Other Williams' co-workers a little goodie basket. It's a win-win. I get to bake and not eat it all and they get treats on occasion from The Williams Kitchen!

I made the full batch of cookies but only used half the dough. I am freezing the other half. I also only made half the frosting. This left us with not too many pies hanging around my house taunting me.

The cookies are really just delicious, not too sweet. The frosting is a different story, very sweet, but oh-so-good! Try it!

What was/is your favorite Little Debbie Snack Cake?

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

In the Williams Kitchen we've implemented Hamburger Fridays. Every Friday we try a new and delicious hamburger recipe and it's been a huge hit. It keeps us from eating out and it's really fun food!

These aren't your run of the mill burgers, we're talking gourmet burgers packed with fresh ingredients and flavor.

What's one of the most important elements to a burger? The bun. How about some homemade whole wheat buns? Oh yes you can make them at home for a fraction of the cost you pay at the store! A couple years ago I shared with you a tip on freezing buns so you didn't waste food and money. It also applies here.

So many think that baking bread is this super hard thing to do. I'm here to tell you, it's not. The only thing you need is time and a few simple ingredients. What do you have to lose, try it already!

Hostess with the Mostest - Italian Rosemary Bread

I'm of the belief that if someone invites me to their home and cooks me dinner, I shouldn't show up empty handed. Hostess gifts are also so much fun if you don't wait till your on your way to the party to think about it. If that does happen, grabbing a bottle of wine is always a nice gesture.

However food makes a great hostess gift and the presentation is my favorite part. Recently, we were invited to a formal dinner party where I gave the hostess this gift.

Two homemade loaves of Italian Rosemary Bread and  a bottle of her favorite type of wine wrapped in argyle socks. Just the wine and socks is a cute gift, I think.

I also made this gift box out of a shoe box and left over burlap from my fabric stash and some ribbon. It turned out beautiful and the hostess loved it.

This bread is delicious with just about anything! Make sure you put it in a plastic baggie if it's not going to be eaten that day. Also after 3-5 days, if you want to make it last a little longer, throw it in the fridge. This bread is also great frozen if you want to eat one loaf and save the other loaves.

Scottish Oat Breakfast Muffins

The Other Williams loves these filling muffins for breakfast. I normally bake them in double batches and we freeze them. They are just PACKED with goodness and the flavor is really delicious.

There are a lot of ingredients in this one but that is what makes them so nutritious! I highly recommend getting your ingredients from the bulk section of your local health food store (like Whole Foods). This way you can get the exact amount you need for the recipe.

They aren't too sweet, which is why The Other Williams loves them and why they make a great breakfast. Hope you'll give these guys a try!

Italian Feast Part 2 - Souffléed Gnocchi

Welcome back for part two of our Italian-style feast. Last week we covered the first course, Escarole & Edamame Salad! This week we'll take a look at a souffléed gnocchi. We've always traditionally thought all gnocchi was made of potato. But this Roman-style recipe doesn't call for any potatoes. Instead we'll use semolina flour!

At first it was hard to see how this was going to work. We ended up chilling ours a little longer than the recipe called for and cut ours into squares instead of rounds. This was because transferring these was a little tricky. The trick is to make sure they are thick enough to set up.

I don't think either of us expected to taste what we got. It was truly unique and delicious. It tastes more like a souffle than it does gnocchi. The only thing I can begin to compare it to was the stuff in crock-pot mac & cheese without the macaroni. It's soft, delicate, smooth, and cheesy. It was truly a treat and totally worth the time.

Speaking of time, plan ahead for this one. The recipe called for 2 hours to prepare this dish start to finish but you can do a lot a head of time. Pretty much everything up until baking it in the oven can be done the day before. Enjoy!

Check out!
Part 1 - Escarole & Edamame Salad 
Part 3 - Anchovy & Rosemary Roasted Lamb with Salsa Verde

Turkey & Sweet Leek Pie

 

Over the holiday break we spent a lot of time watching our favorite food network and cooking channel shows. One of those favorites is Jamie at Home. We love just about everything this Brit cooks including this delicious Turkey and Sweet Leek Pie.

We cut the recipe in half, then after making the filling we split it again in half. One half of the filling we froze for another dinner and cooked the other half and topped it with the puff pastry. When we want this yummy supper again we'll just pull out the half of filling we froze and top it with the pastry and bake.

The flavor of this meal is really unbelievable. You could easily cut out the turkey for a vegetarian dish or substitute mushrooms, chicken, pork or beef for the turkey. We added mushrooms to the recipe because we had some on hand and need to use them before they went bad. It worked beautifully.

Leeks are also a great winter vegetable. I'm not a big onion person but once sauteed up with the bacon these mild onions turn into sweet deliciousness! This is a great seasonal meal!

Daddy's Cornbread

::Picture me in a beautiful southern bell flowing gown as I narrate this post::

Most southerns are very serious when it comes to grits and cornbread. We all have our own "right" way of making it. I am no exception. As a kid I watched my dad make cornbread at least once a week. I was always amazed that he never measured anything. Of course, you also never got a consistent cornbread, but that never mattered.

Many southerns also have strong strong ideas as to what goes in cornbread and what doesn't. Again, I am no exception. In my opinion, cornbread is simple, no sugar, corn kernels, flour, or other veggies are allowed in cornbread. Cornbread should not taste like cake, it should taste like cornbread. Or if you've never tasted cornbread, a dense, gritty, unsweetened bread. Cornmeal and grits are actually the same thing only cornmeal is ground down more.

I use a premix cornmeal (Martha White, to be exact) because that's what my dad used. I do measure my cornbread because I like getting a "good batch" every time. Here's my 4 ingredient simple recipe:

Daddy's Cornbread

1 egg, beaten
1 & 1/3 cup milk (or buttermilk)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cup's cornmeal mix

Throw it all in a bowl and mix.

Now let's talk hardware (as Alton Brown calls it):
I prefer cast iron for two reasons. One, it cooks the cornbread evenly. Two, it's just how it's always been done. I don't care for the corn muffins or the little trays that make cornbread into different shapes. You just don't mess with tradition. A round 8-10 in cast iron pan works mighty fine.

We use grease in our house to season the cast iron, keep it conditioned, and for no sticking. So screw the doc, grab the Crisco, and grease the damn pan - you won't regret it. It gives the cornbread a wonderful crispy edge.

Now pour your mixture into the pan and cook at 450 for 20-30 minutes, depending on how crispy and brown you like yours. We normally go the full 30 around here.

Service: The Other Williams (yes, I got my yankee to like my cornbread) likes her's sliced with butter. I enjoy it that way but my favorite is in milk (or half milk, half buttermilk). I was raised that it was the best way to eat cornbread, and I have to agree. Don't gross out until you try it. It's the best cereal you'll ever eat! Enjoy!

Almond Bars - Guest Post

Some friends of ours came up to camp with us over the weekend and Heather brought these delicious, mouth watering almond bars. They were just super yum and the almond flavor with the crunch was just on point. I asked her to do a guest post for us and, lucky us, she agreed. So here's Heather with the recipe for her Yummy Almond Bars!



If you like almonds, then you'll love this no-fail recipe. These bars were not only easy to make, but they have gotten rave reviews from my family and friends. Perfect for a fundraiser, elegant enough for a holiday party, etc. You can also try variations of extract & nuts such as banana extract and walnuts. Love these bar cookies for the ease of preparation and burst of flavor. This recipe will definitely be used again and again!

~~~
Almond Bars

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 bottle almond extract
1 cup oil
2 cups flour
sliced almonds

Mix first 5 ingredients with a mixer. Spread onto greased and floured medium sized cookie sheet(preferably one with 1 inch sides). Top with sliced almonds. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown. Sprinkle with confectioner sugar. Cool and cut. Makes approximately 24.

That's all there is to it! So simple.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

A few weeks ago I grabbed Ina Garten's cookbook Back to the Basics. I am in love with this book because the recipes are easy yet impressive. The Other Williams and I made a deal that I would cook once every couple of weeks, mostly out of this book. The first recipe I tried was the Baked Shrimp Scampi and oh man was it good! It was easy to make and tasted amazing, just like from a restaurant! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did!

Wine Suggestion:
Chardonnay





Ingredients:
* 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
* 3 tablespoons good olive oil
* 2 tablespoons dry white wine
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
* 1/4 cup minced shallots
* 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
* 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 extra-large egg yolk
* 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
* Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly.

If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.