Oatmeal Apple Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Cider Glaze

 I can finally get to some Fall Baking, now that Scott's Party is over, and I have more time to bake I have appples and cider calling my name. I love making cookies with rolled oats, which amp up the nutrtion and chew factor.  Add in chopped apples and dried cranberries  dressed up with a Cider Glaze, and you have a a soft, chewy cookie that screams and tastes of Fall. These cookies are good by themselves,  even if you don't want to put a glaze on them, You can make these to fill up your cookie jar, and your cookie monsters will thank you.

 These cookies keep in covered container for awhile, if you have any left.  I have always had trouble with my oatmeal cookies spreading too much, until I started refrigerating the dough for several hours, or even overnight,  Also, lining your baking sheets with parchment paper, and using a cookie scoop, helps as well. Now, I don't get alien shaped cookies, but cookies that are somewhat round.  Do you refrigerate your cookie dough before baking?  These are just a few of my cookie baking tips.  No matter how your cookies are shaped, they will taste soo good.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Apple Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Apple Cider Glaze

 Adapted from Quaker Oats

Ingredients:

·        1/2 C (1 stick) butter, plus 6 Tbsp

·        1 C firmly Packed Brown Sugar

·        1/2 C Granulated Sugar

·        2 Eggs

·        1 tsp Vanilla

·        1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour

·        1 Tsp Baking Soda

·        1 Tsp Cinnamon

·        1/2 Tsp Salt (optional)

·        3 C Quaker Oats (Quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)

·        1 C Dried Cranberries

·        1 C finely chopped apples- I used Zestar apples

Directions:

1.                 Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.                 Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.

3.                 Add eggs, and vanilla; beat well.

4.                 Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

5.                 Stir in oats and chopped apples, dried cranberries mix well.

6.                 Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

7.                 Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

8.                 Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire ra

9.                 Glaze cookies with Apple Cider glaze when completely cool.

Apple Cider Glaze

1/2 C. powdered sugar

1-2 Tbsp apple cider, or more

Combine powdered sugar and apple cider, until desired consistency

I linked up my recipe to Brandie's The Weekend Potluck #138  
      

Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Curd Filling for Scott's 75th Birthday

Hello!  I know that I have been MIA for awhile, but I was busy planning Scott's 75th Birthday Party, which was last week. ( I am not good at multi-tasking)  Whew!  What a job!  I've been planning the party for two months.  I wanted to do as much as I could ahead of time. There were still so many last minute details, and I was making all of the food, except for the appetizers that some of my friends brought, a daunting task for sure!  We were planning between 30-40 people, and outside would be perfect on our large patio and yard.  I apologize for lack of pics.  I was too busy to take pics, so my son was supposed to take pics, but I haven't gotten them from him yet. He didn't take that many.

 Here in the Midwest you can't count on the weather for sure, and in the Fall the bees go crazy, attacking people.   As it turned out showers were forecasted for the 20th, so we had an inside party.  After the showers stopped the sun came out, and then some people ventured outside.  All in all. it was a wonderful party with bountiful food and Cake, lots of Cake, including the Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Curd Filling.  I had ordered a Costco half a sheet cake with Vanilla Mousse Cake. For those of you who go to Costco, you know all about the decorated cakes for $17.99, Amazing!  the birthday boy also wanted a Lemon cake, his fav, too.  I apologize for lack of pics.  I was too busy to take pics, so my son was supposed to take pics, but I haven't gotten them from him yet. He didn't take that many.  Luckily I got pics of the Lemon Cake.

This Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Curd Filling was amazing, and the Birthday Boy was elated. The cake is bursting with lemon flavor from the sour cream batter and Lemon Curd Filling to the Lemon Frosting.  The  lemony cake is moist and dense.  This cake is a must for any Lemon Lover.
My neighbor watns me to bring the cake to our annual neighborhood Hallowwen party, will do. We also had Chocolate Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Filling and Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting with Peanut Butter Cups for my DIL, Cherise's birthday, which was 9/18, the day after Scott's. We also had mini bar cookies, that Cherise's Grandma made, so good. Lots of cake and cookies. Don't worry besides the cake we had, a full menu.

We had appetizers and drinks first.  Then the buffet had  BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken, Scott's 5 Bean Casserole in Crockpot, Red Potato Salad,  Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Creamy Cole Slaw, Broccoli Salad, and Fruit Salad, in addition to the  desserts. A good time was had by all.

 Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Curd Filling  Adapted from A Baker’s House

Adapted from Cooking Light recipe
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon curd (store bought or homemade) for the batter and 1/4 cup lemon curd for the filling
1/4 cup lemon juice plus 1 TB lemon juice for glaze
8 ounces sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray Bundt pan with baking spray and dust with flour.

Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a fork or whisk.

Using a mixer (hand held or stand mixer) beat the butter for 2-3 minutes, until it lightens in color and texture. Slowly add the sugar, then the eggs, Next add the lemon zest, lemon curd and lemon juice. Blend well.

Add the flour mixture and the sour cream in stages, alternating and mixing at low speed as you go. 

The batter will be thick. Put half of the batter into the pan and spread it around with a spatula. You can spoon the lemon curd filling around the batter but I like putting it in a ziploc bag, cutting the corner off and piping the filling around in the center of the batter. Avoid the edges so that the curd stays within the cake.

Bake for 1 hour, add an extra ten minutes if necessary.

Cool for ten minutes in the pan then invert the pan and remove the cake. Once the cake is cooled.

Lemon Butter Cream Frosting

2 C sifted powder sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1/4 C fresh lemon juice and lemon zest

Beat butter with mixer until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, and lemon juice and beat until desired consistency.   Garnish with Lemon zest on top of frosted cake, if desired.

I linked up my recipe to Brandie's The Weekend Potluck #137  
      

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal with Rice Chex Cookies

 Late August and early September signals the time for your kiddos to go back to school.  Here in Illinois, most schools have been in session for a week or two. Now Mothers and Fathers are now scrambling to fill their kiddos lunchboxes with healthy options. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal with Rice Chex Cookies will certainly be a healthier option than Oreos, for example. I wish that I had this recipe, when my kiddos were growing up.

Whew! I know that Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal with Rice Chex Cookies is a long title, but these cookies are so good and deserve each ingredient in them.  They are sturdy, with healthy ingredients like peanut butter, oatmeal, and Rice Chex with dark chocolate.  These are the perfect cookies for your kiddos lunchbox and are great for dunking in milk.  Even adults like them, as my neighbor Tom, says that these are now his favorite cookie.  Thanks, Tom for the endorsement! And of course my "Cookie Monster", a.k.a. Scott loves these, too.  I'll chime in too, because there are more gluten free ingredients in the cookies, than the flour, and I could eat the whole batch.  I always try to give some of the  baked goods away, much to the dismay of my Cookie Monster.

What kinds of treats do you put in your kiddos lunchbox?  Cookies, granola bars, fruit?  This recipe is is very adaptable, and you can swap out various ingredients according to your family preferences or needs.  Various nut butters, or even Sunflower butter may be swapped out for the peanut, butter, and if your family doesn't like Dark Chocolate, use milk or semi sweet chips. Different types of cereal can be switched for the Rice Che cereal as well.  Whatever ingredients you add, these cookies are amazing, and you and your kiddos, or your neighbors won't be disappointed.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal with Rice Chex Cookies

Inspired by  Will Cook for Smiles

Yield: 24

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups of old fashioned oats
• 1 cup of  dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup rice, wheat, or corn Chex

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with Beat butter and dark brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. It will probably take a couple of minutes.
2. Add the peanut butter and beat on lower speed until all incorporated.
3. Add the eggs, one at the time, beating until combined. Beat in the vanilla extract as well.
4. On low speed, sift in the flour, baking soda and salt, mix until all incorporated.
5. Add the old fashioned oats and mix it on low speed as well, until just combined.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips and rice chex
7. Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet, shape the cookies and bake for 9 minutes.
8. Let rest on cookies sheet for several minutes.  Remove to rack to cool.

I linked up my recipe to Brandie's The Weekend Potluck #134