Oatmeal Cream Pies -- Vegan & Gluten-Free

Oatmeal Cream Pies

I am a little bit obsessed with Thistle's Summit Bakery's oatmeal pies. I can get them at my favorite coffee shop, The Slow Down Coffee Company here in Des Moines, but what I really want to do is crack the recipe so I can make them on my own. 

The oatmeal cookie has this certain flavor that I can't quite put my finger on. I can't tell if it's just slightly saltier than your average oatmeal cookie, or if there's a molasses flavor--or it's probably just a perfect balance of all the flavors. The texture is perfect too, though--not too soft and squishy, and not too crisp. Just nice and chewy. The oatmeal pie filling is so nice too. It feels cool on my tongue, and not overly sweet. It's all really cookie perfection, which is surprising coming from me because I'm both a huge chocolate fan AND a cookie snob.

At any rate, I've been taking some of my "failed" attempts to work, and people seem to love them. I suspect when you place a creamy sugary filling between any two cookies, you're likely to get positive reviews. Just a hypothesis that I'll probably continue to test in the coming months as I pursue perfection of this recipe.


Oatmeal Cream Pies

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use Better Batter Original Blend)
• 3 cups uncooked rolled oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Morton's)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 scant teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 sticks vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed unripe banana (Use ripe bananas for more banana flavor.)

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
• 2 1/2 cups (about 10 oz.) powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 tablespoons oat milk

Instructions:

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, cream the vegan butter, sugar and molasses. Add the vanilla and mashed bananas.
• Stir in the dry ingredients to incorporate. 
• Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
• Scoop about 2 tablespoons (I used a cookie scoop) and flatten slightly so you end up with a disk that's about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and about a half inch thick.
• Place prepared dough disks onto a wax paper or parchment lined pan/container that you can refrigerate or freeze.
• When all dough has been scooped, you can refrigerate for a few days or freeze.

• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, allowing about 1 1/2 to 2 inches between dough disks.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 13-15 minutes, depending on how soft you like your cookies. 
• Remove from oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
• When cookies are cool, prepare filling by creaming together the vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons oat milk. If the filling seems too stiff, add a little more oat milk, taking care not to overdo it. Continue to mix until very smooth and creamy.

• Build cookie sandwiches by scooping about 1 tablespoon of filling onto the bottom of one cookie and then top with another. Squish together carefully until filling is almost to the edge.

• Store oatmeal pies in an airtight container.

Makes about 20-22 cookie sandwiches

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gooey Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lately I've gotten into this habit of watching mostly cooking Youtube videos in the morning before and after my morning spinning bike workout. I'll start a video while I do my arm/shoulder physical therapy exercises, and then I'll turn on my spinning workout video. My treat for my post-workout cooldown is finishing the video. 

This past week I tumbled down a New York City chocolate chip cookie Youtube rabbit hole, and discovered Cupcake Jemma, a delightful baker based in the UK. (Check out the Crumbs & Doilies Bakery website here.) There were two things about the two Cupcake Jemma videos I watched that struck me. The first is this recipe that I've tweaked a bit here by adding vanilla and decreasing the size of each cookie by half (I mean, I'm not a baker selling these things--just an average home baker who actually eats and shares them.) 

The second thing that struck me is the mixing method they used for these cookies and in their rendition of Levain's famous NYC Chocolate Chip Cookie. Rather than creaming the butter and sugars, adding eggs & vanilla,  adding all the dry ingredients, and then adding the chocolate chips as most cookie recipes call for, Cupcake Jemma barely mixes the butter and sugars, adds the chocolate chips, then the dry ingredients and lastly the eggs. What the...? 

Sounded so crazy to me, but the results don't lie. These chocolate cookies are gooey, tender, flavorful, and just perfectly satisfying. I may be obsessed.

The first batch I made were just half-sized versions of Cupcake Jemma's, but they failed to spread at all and remained kind of ball-shaped, which wasn't very attractive (see pic below). So I did what any other obsessed person would do and I almost immediately made another batch. This time I flattened each ball just a bit, and decreased my baking time a bit. The cookies came out attractive AND delicious. Perfect. 

Now here's the recipe for you to go and try yourself. 

You're welcome.

Gooey Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
     --Adapted from Cupcake Jemma's Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 230 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into tablespoon size chunks
• 160 g granulated sugar
• 160 g brown sugar
• 450 g dark chocolate chips (I love Nestle's Dark Chocolate Morsels)
• 200 g walnut pieces (optional)
• 230 g self-rising flour*
• 200 g all purpose flour
• 70 g cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk, beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

• NOTE: See images below instructions for visuals of the various stages of this dough mixing process.

• In the bowl of a standing mixer, place the cold butter and mix on low for about a minute, just to break up the butter--do not cream the butter.
• Add the granulated and brown sugar to the butter and mix again on low/medium low until little nuggets of butter & sugar form--again, do not cream this mixture.
• Add the chocolate chips and walnuts (if desired), and mix again just to incorporate the chocolate chips and nuts.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk until completely mixed. 
• Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/chocolate/nuts mixture in the mixing bowl and mix on low until combined, about 30-45 seconds. It will still be dry and sandy looking.
• Add the vanilla to the egg mixture and then add that to the mixture. Mix on low/medium low until dough starts to come together, but do not mix long enough to create a completely cohesive dough.
• Using a large cookie scoop or a large spoon, make 60 gram balls of dough. Then flatten each ball into a disk that's about an inch thick.
• Cover and freeze dough disks at least 90 minutes before baking.

• Preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place in the oven to get hot while the oven preheats.
• When pan and oven are heated, remove the pan from the oven, place frozen dough disks on pan allowing a couple of inches between them.
• Bake at 360 degrees for about 14-15 minutes, until puffed and starting to crack. Take care to not over-bake. Underbaked is better than over-baked.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet at least five minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Alternately, if you have a rimless baking sheet, you can slide the parchment with the baked cookie sheets onto a cooling rack to cool until ready to eat, about 5-10 minutes. This is what I try to do so the cookies will not continue to bake on the hot baking sheet.

• Place unbaked dough disks in a zip top freezer bag and store in the freezer until you want more cookies. 
• Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container.
• Heat cooled cookies in the microwave on high for 10 seconds if you want to melt the chocolate and make the insides gooey again.

Makes about 30 cookies

*You can mix your own self-rising flour by combining 2 cups all purpose flour with 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Then use just 230 grams of that for this recipe. Save or toss what's leftover.

Dough disks ready for the freezer.

See the difference between the flattened version and the ball?

Pizza Sauce -- Quick and Easy

Easy peasy pizza sauce

After years of using mediocre store-bought pizza sauce for my homemade pizza, I finally searched up and found an easy, delicious option for homemade sauce. I kind of like my pizza sauce to be a little thick, so I looked for a recipe that included tomato paste, and found this recipe pretty quickly on JoyFoodSunshine.com. That recipe does not involve fresh garlic or any cooking, but I really wanted an intense garlic element, so I tweaked the recipe a bit.

Depending on how much red pepper flake you put in, you can make this pretty spicy. The half-teaspoon called for in my rendition below gives it just a small kick that I don't think will be too much for sensitive folks, but put in less if that's your preference.

I had the Orlondo's Pizza Spice on hand, and I realize now it's kind of a local thing. So, if you don't have that or anything like it, go to JoyFoodSunshine.com and check out the ingredients they have there for the original recipe of this sauce. I think you could also use "Italian spice" and augment with basil, parsley, and fennel seed, since that's what is listed on Orlondo's bottle (see pic below).

Overall, I consider this pizza sauce a win, and it's now my go-to sauce for homemade pizza night at my house. It's flavorful, just the right viscosity and spice. I keep the leftovers in my fridge and one batch covers about six 12-inch pizzas, which covers 2 different pizza nights at my house.

So, it's a winner in my book. Give it a try.

Pizza Sauce

  -- Adapted from JoyFoodSunshine.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons pizza seasoning (I used Orlondo's Pizza Spice)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, pizza seasoning, oregano, onion powder, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for about 30-45 seconds before adding the tomato paste. 

Stir in the tomato paste to incorporate, and then stir in the tomato sauce.

Turn heat to medium low and cook until bubbles start to pop through and sauce is very hot, but not boiling.

You can allow the sauce to sit & cool in the pan while you prep the other ingredients for pizza, or you can transfer it directly to a glass container (like a Mason jar), cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Use as you would any other pizza sauce.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups sauce

Orlondo's Pizza Spice Ingredients:
basil, parsley, fennel seed, Italian spices

Chewy Chocolate Strata Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Strata Cookies 

I already have a version of this cookie on the blog here, but I recently took it a step crazier and created chocolate wafer pieces so the resulting cookies have the stratified chocolate that you see in the pics. They really are worth the effort because the chocolate gets distributed in lovely even layers, providing the eater with the perfect amount of chocolate in each bite of cookie. 

I rarely eat cookies past the first two days of their lives, but these ones I'll eat even on the third day (if they don't disappear) because they don't get stale the same way some other recipes do. 

Heads up: this is a ridiculously complex recipe. Not difficult really. Just lots of prep to get to the fantastic final product. I've seen chefs on TV and YouTube use chocolate baking discs, but those always seem so expensive. Plus, I just love Dove Dark Chocolate in my cookies.

There are lots of videos on Youtube that will show you chocolate tempering techniques (like this one). I believe this one shows three methods. I use a version of the "seeding" method, and that is described below.If you don't want to go through the trouble of tempering the chocolate, just chop up two bags of Dove Dark Chocolate Promises. They'll still taste great.

So buckle up and get ready for some of the most satisfying chocolate chip cookies you've ever eaten.

Chocolate Strata Cookies

    --adapted from For Me-For You who in a roundabout way got it from Jacques Torres

Ingredients:

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour 
• 1 2/3 cups bread flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour)
• 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 ½ teaspoon coarse salt, such as kosher

• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespons  granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs
 (room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 20 oz. good quality semi sweet chocolate chips/chunks/discs (I used two 9.5 oz bags of Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, unwrapped an chopped into large chunks.)

Instructions:

• First prepare the chocolate.
• Line a half sheet baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place all but about 2-3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass or metal bowl (that's about 10-12 Dove Promises), and then place that bowl over a double boiler set to medium (with the water already at a simmer).
• Allow chocolate to melt about 2/3 of the way, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted. If it's not all melted within about 5 minutes, return to the double boiler for another minute or two, remove, and stir until chocolate is melted.
• Add 2-3 Dove Promises at a time to the melted chocolate and stir until they are completely melted in. Repeat until all chocolate is gone. Ideally you'll have one last Promise that just won't melt. The chocolate will become a bit thicker, like a loose chocolate pudding. 
• Pour chocolate out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly to all edges using an offset spatula (I told you this was complicated).
• Set aside and allow chocolate to set. Once set, move parchment to a cutting surface and cut chocolate into 1 1/2 centimeter squares.
• Place 1/2 stick of butter in a small or medium sized heat-proof bowl.
• In a small pan over medium-low heat, melt the other stick of butter, and stir until its foamy on top and you can see browned bits of milk solids at the bottom. Be careful to not over-brown the butter. 
• Pour hot browned butter over the 1/2 stick butter in the bowl. Also place the cream cheese in there to get it started softening.
• Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Put dry ingredients through a sieve to sift them together. Set aside.
• Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter, cream cheese, and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 
• Reduce the mixer speed to low/stir; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
• Add the chocolate pieces and stir with a silicone spatula or spoon to incorporate the chocolate. Do not use the mixer paddle at this point because you'll break the chocolate pieces if you do. 
• Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), scoop all cookie dough into balls and place on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
• When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
• Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes, or until puffed, matte looking (not wet and shiny), and the edges are lightly browned.
• Allow to cool on baking sheet at least 5 minutes before removing carefully to a wire rack to cool completely. Alternately, if you have a baking sheet that lacks rims on some sides, you can slide the parchment with the baked cookies onto a cooling rack to cool right when you remove them from the oven.
• Continue baking the remainder of the dough balls, or place in the freezer. Once frozen solid, move dough balls to a zip-top freezer bag. Keep in the freezer and bake up a few at a time as needed.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Your tempered chocolate should look like this when it's cut up.

There are nuts in this image of the ingredients, but they're optional, of course.

These will be frozen for baking at a later date.

Layers of dark chocolate. Mmm. So good. 

Cinnamon Toffee Almonds

Cinnamon Toffee Almonds

These tasty nuts are just a variation on the butter toffee pecans two posts ago. I decided to make them after finally giving up on finding the Salted Caramel Churro Almonds that had been available at Sam's Club earlier this year. They have been out of stock for months now. 

This recipe here is not exactly as I remember the Sam's Club almonds, but they're delicious nonetheless.

Next time I will probably use fewer almonds than I did this time (I used more than noted in the recipe below) because I just don't think mine had enough of the toffee coating. I will also use more cinnamon, as I went conservative with the ones pictured, using only 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. 

Cinnamon Toffee Almonds

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I used Morton brand)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (amount depends on your preferred level of cinnamon)

Instructions:

• In a small bowl, combine the salt and cinnamon, and set aside. Then line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and also set aside.
• In a large non-stick pan/skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.
• Add sugar and water and stir with a silicone spatula to combine.
• When the liquid starts to simmer and all of the sugar is melted, add the nuts.
• Stir continually until all water is evaporated and the sugar starts to looks crusty.
• Sprinkle the salt & cinnamon mixture evenly over the nuts and then stir.
• Continue to stir until sugar starts to look a bit shiny on the outside of the nuts--it will not get completely shiny (see pics below for reference).
• Pour nuts onto the prepared cookie sheet and separate the nuts as much as possible with the silicone spatula or other heat-proof utensil.
• Allow nuts to cool completely before enjoying. Nuts will get crunchier as they cool.
• Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Sugar is melted and ready for nuts.

Add salt & cinnamon when nuts look like this.

Heidi's Pecan Pie

Heidi's Pecan Pie

Last Thanksgiving was the first time I ever actually tasted pecan pie. Call me an apple-pie-person. At any rate, my dear sister-in-law Heidi always makes the pecan pie for Thanksgiving dinner. She really just follows the recipe on the back of the Karo Syrup bottle, with one small tweak: she adds a teaspoon of butter flavor/extract, and it really makes all the difference in the world.

The fact that Heidi's pecan pie is superior to other pecan pies was proven to me yesterday when I tried some Perkins Restaurant pecan pie that was left over from our holiday meeting at work. The pecan pie tasted fine, but not delicious, and not really worth the calories, in my opinion. (Sorry, Perkins.) The big difference, I think, was the butter flavor. Mmmm.

So, if you are already a pecan pie fan, or are open to the idea, give this recipe a whirl. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I have. 

(Note: The pie picture here is a half-recipe pie baked in a 6-inch glass pie pan.)


Heidi's Pecan Pie

   -- Adapted from Karo Syryp's Homemade Pecan Pie recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3 eggs, beaten lightly, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon butter flavor/extract
• 1 3/4 cup pecans (about 8 oz)
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (see recipe below)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.
• Place the corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and butter flavor/extract into a bowl and stir with a spoon.
• Stir in the pecans.
• Place the unbaked pie crust onto the prepared baking sheet, and then pour the liquid & pecan mixture into the pie crust.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pie reaches 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely and then refrigerate so the pie can set up. After that you can serve cold or at room temperature.
• Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Makes 1 9-inch pie

(Note: the pie pictured here is a half-size pie.)

Liquid ingredients mixed and ready for pecans

You'll end up with quite a bit of pie crust scraps.

Pie Crust

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3-4 tablespoons ice cold water

Instructions:

• Place flour and salt in a medium size bowl and stir to distribute the salt evenly.
• Cut in the 4 tablespoons of butter until butter is in 1/4-inch chunks.
• Cut in the vegetable shortening until the shortening is in 1/4-inch chunks, and the butter is cut pretty finely.
• Add the cold water to the mixture by sprinkling in one tablespoon at a time while you toss with a fork. 
• After you've added 3 tablespoons of water, try squeezing the dough together. If it does not stick well, add up to 1 more tablespoon of water and mixt just until combined. You will have a lot of dry parts, but that's okay.
• Start pressing and squeezing the dough to form a cohesive ball. Try not to overwork the dough or else you'll end up with a tough crust.
• Once the dough is cohesive, place a 1 foot piece of plastic wrap on the counter and then try to form the dough into a disk on top of the plastic. Smoosh the disk to about 6-7 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the pie filling.
• Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. 
• If dough is nowhere near a perfect circle shape, cut off a piece that sticks out, dab with a little water, and place on a spot that needs more dough. Continue to roll out until you have a circle of crust that will fill the pie plate.
• If you're not sure what to do at this point, you're probably best off going over to Youtube to see how other people form and shape their pie crust. My words won't do the process justice.
• Makes one 9-inch pie crust 

Mixture before adding water

After stirring in water

The cohesive mass

Wrapped and ready for refrigeration