Chocolate & Chipotle

Round #1 Operation Baking Gals ... on to Round #2!

So I was a little late in joining Operation Baking Gals so I had to hussle to bake cookies and get them out, which I did over the weekend. I have been wanting to make these first cookies FOREVER!!! They are from my blog friend Oatmeal Cookie Guy (Fred) and they are TO DIE FOR!!! If you love cookies you MUST visit his site for some totally awesome recipes!!! PLEASE help suppost our men and women overseas defending our country ... Join Operation Baking Gals and bake your support for our troops!

Holy Mole Cookies

 

Creamables	2 sticks butter 2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Wet Ingredients	2 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon extract 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 cup finely ground graham crackers 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup cinnamon chips 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 2.5 oz milk chocolate, microplaned 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, microplaned 2 tablespoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Roll each dough ball evenly in turbinado sugar
9. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

I also made some Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal cookies for the box BUT I was in such a hurry to get it packed and sent out, I didn't take a picture :( So thanks to Sun-Maid for the picture and the recipe. They use White Chocolate but we prefer semi sweet or dark, so much better flavor!

Photo from Sun_Maid.com

Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal

Preparation time: About 10 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter or margarine softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspooon salt
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 cup Sun-Maid Cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional) 
1 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons grated orange zest

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Directions:

HEAT oven to 350 F.
BEAT butter, sugars, milk, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
COMBINE flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture; mix well.
STIR in oats, cranberries, walnuts, chocolate and zest.
DROP dough by tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
BAKE 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Supporting our troops, one cookie at a time!

I joined this wonderful group that is doing a small thing but making a HUGE difference one cookie at a time!

Operation Baking Gals

With a DH active duty Navy and a cousin in the Air Force over in Iraq for the 4 time, this is one way I think we can help let them know we care If you have an extra dozen cookies the next time you bake, please sign up and send them to our boys!! As my DH said, even cookie crumbs beat the food over there

The boxes go to an APO address so it isn’t going to cost you an arm and a leg, just a bit of time to fill out the customs form. For those that are giving their lives for us, I think we can take 5 minutes to fill out the form. Let’s make someone happy today!!

Are you ready for a Throwdown?

I am a big food TV geek, I could watch it all day if my family would let me, thank goodness for my DVR. My favorite are the challenge shows, where you get to play arm chair chef and see if you could come up with something interesting in the alloted time like with Iron Chef or try to figure out what you would make in other challenges like with Top Chef. One of my favorite ones is Throwdown with Bobby Flay where he goes to challenge the absolute masters in one kind of cooking to put their specialty up against a creation of his own. Well for all you arm chair chefs this is your chance to Throwdown in your own kitchen.

 

Over at Great Cooks Community, the Facebook & My Space of the cooking world, is Food Bloggers Throwdown! Each month we will have a host from the Great Cooks Community throwdown their specialty dish and the rest of us will have to come up with the same dish but with our own twist on it. If you have ever wanted to try and compete but just don't want to leave the comfort of your own kitchen, then this is the group for you.

This month the founder/owner of Great Cooks Community & Simple Daily Recipes, Jill McKeever is our Throwdown host. Jill wanted to get some variations to an old family recipe, which almost everyone in the USA has had at one time or another, Baked Sweet Potatoes.

So come join us in our first Throwndown and see what spin you can put on this holiday standard. We have cooks from all over the world trying their hand at the Sweet Potato. If you live some place that doesn't have this readly available, no problem, you can use Yams, Pumpkin, Acorn Squash ... it can be sweet, it can be savory it, can be a side dish, it can be a dessert the only question you have to ask yourself is ...
Are You Ready For A Throwdown?