Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

I know I made those sweet (& salty) brownies last time, but I’m decidedly not a chocolate fan. This is not to say that when given the option of choconilla swirl, I go strict vanilla—I don’t. I’m not a maniac. I’m just not as into chocolate as the rest of you people. I understand I’m in the minority, and I’m cool with it. The way I see it, I’m doing you a favor—more chocolate for the general population. So what’s my “chocolate,” then? Although the question is a difficult one, the general answer is fruity such and suches, but not “fruit-flavored”—cherries and grapes do not taste like that.

A fruit-and-flavor (not to be confused with “fruit-flavored”) combo that I’m super into, especially when it’s a might chilly, is apple and cinnamon. To me, it’s the perfect blend of crispness, tart, sweet, and warmth. There’s that pop of fruit sugar and tang, and the spice of the cinnamon to really round it out. These buttery oatmeal cookies came out pretty much exactly how I wanted them to, and I barely had a fully formed plan beyond “apple and cinnamon is happening.” 

After looking at several oatmeal cookie recipes, I pulled bits and pieces from quite a few. I’m pleased with the blends—butter and coconut oil; whole wheat and all-purpose flour; cinnamon and cinnamon chips. A note on the cinnamon chips—they aren’t always easy to find, and, really, although they add to the cookie, but they don’t make or break it, in my opinion. Without them, I would just double the amount of cinnamon (that’s right! DOUBLE IT!).  If you wanted to try a vegan adaptation of this recipe, I would suggest replacing the butter with coconut oil and replacing the egg with flax eggs (1 tbsp. of ground flax + 3 tbsp. of water per egg; let sit about 5 minutes before using) or your favorite vegan egg replacement (e.g., Ener-G, Bob's Red Mill, etc.).  

Sweetheart Edition: Cocoa Brownies with Sea Salt

"Artist" Rendition of the Love of My Life

The Love of My Life doesn't really smile for a lot of photos. As such, this doodle I drew of him about a year ago will serve--it's pretty accurate. Big huge beard. Broad shoulders. Dimples. Cleft chin. Lifts big. Trust me. It's all there; you just can't tell because of the huge beard. He's super picky, but he'll tell you that he's just a man who loves good, simple food. I love to cook (obvs), and I do it fairly often. He'll eat what I cook because he loves me and because he's a good man, but being a man of incredibly discerning palate (i.e., he so picky, you guys), there are but a handful of dishes about which he's gotten truly excited. Those dishes, and ones that are inspired by his tastes, will be highlighted in this and other "Sweetheart Editions."And in the interest of the coming romantic-times holiday, I thought I'd bake something for the Love of My Life.

I found this recipe last year when Buzzfeed had posted this article on sexy brownies.  Keeping in mind his penchant for simplicity, I opted to bake my love the most straightforward of the recipes--Cocoa Brownies with Sea Salt. They come together quite easily: I happened to already have all the necessary ingredients just hanging around. AND since the first step involves melting the butter down in a double-boiler-type setup, you don't have to worry about softening it first. I must admit that I'm kind of the worst about remembering to set up my butter beforehand. Easy come, easy go--you make these one night, and they are gone the next morning!

Enough jibber jabber--here's how I made them.

Dreamy Loaded Pumpkin Loaf

Gather ‘round for a treat, people! I know that pumpkin season is dwindling (or has been over for months…), but I was either grossly pregnant or in the midst of newborn chaos during OMGPumpkinMania ’14. As such, I’m giving you the blog recipe equivalent of the latergram.  This hearty bread is not only relatively healthy—its base is white wheat, and its fat content is reduced by the addition of pumpkin and Greek yogurt—but it also contains enough goodies that you won’t feel like you’re missing out. What I’m getting at is although 2015 is still fresh, January’s over, y’all. Put some dark chocolate in dat bread.

The inspiration for this recipe was this cookie recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction—I made them for coworkers back when pumpkin was holiday-appropriate, and I highly recommend them. Weeks later, when I was in labor (hour 12 or thereabouts) and was taking an epidural-nap, I could only dream about food because I hadn’t eaten in forever. Thus, the concept for this bread was born. There was also a baby in there somewhere, but this isn’t that type of blog.

Many aspects of this loaf are flexible. The recipe uses white wheat flour, so you get the nutritional benefit of whole wheat without some of the denseness that often accompanies it; however, if you don’t have that on hand, a blend of whole wheat and all purpose will also get the job done. The add-ins can also be adapted to what you’re into—some variations we at Kitchen Elise have considered are cinnamon chips, walnuts, cranberries, white chocolate chips. I don’t want to say that the pepitas make this bread, but they did speak to me in my dream.

Loaded Pumpkin Loaf

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 60 - 70 minutes

Total Time: ~ 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yields: 1 loaf

Serving Size: I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life. 

Ingredients

1 ½ c. white wheat flour (or you can use a combination of whole-wheat and all-purpose)

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1/3 c. granulated sugar

½ c. light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tbsp. vegetable oil (or canola or melted coconut oil)

1 ½ c. pumpkin puree

½ c. Greek yogurt (I used non-fat plain)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼  c. chopped pecans

1/3 c. dark chocolate chips

¼ c. pepitas

1/2 c. sweetened coconut flakes, toasted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with butter or cooking spray (I used Pam for baking because how else am I supposed to use that stuff up?). Set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, spice, and salt. Whisk it up, and set it aside.

Spread coconut flakes onto a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 4-7 minutes. Be sure to check on them frequently, as they will burn quickly. Once done, set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat together (I used a hand mixer) both sugars and eggs until thick and pale tan. Stir in the oil, pumpkin, yogurt, and vanilla. Then, slowly fold in the flour mixture, followed by the add-ins. Stir until just combined—do not over mix.

Pour into loaf pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes (minute was done in 62), or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack and serve. Pat yourself on the back.

Ta Daaa! 

Have any suggestions for other mix-ins or variations? 

Anything you'd like to see me attempt to bake?
Did you try to make this and find my recipe incomprehensible? 

I wanna hear about it. Leave me a comment.