Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

So my friend who is in Advanced Individual Training in the Army requested Chewy Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies in his next care package. I decided to combine to two. I therefore went to the smartest person I know, the Internet. I searched and saw that many of the cookie recipes were similar. 

My Recipe

I took notes and compared 5 different recipes. Then I took what I thought would be best from each or what was similar in most of the recipes and make my own. I probably should have watched Alton Brown or read his cook books on the subject in order to really get a perfect recipe but I winged it. (The same friend bought me all 3 of Alton's cookbooks! Eeep!!! Was so surprised and happy when I got it in the mail. :))

Here are how the cookies turned out. They are more crunchy than chewy but I think it's because they are too small. I made the recipe and then split it in half for Chocolate and Peanut butter chip cookies and Chocolate and Walnut cookies. 

They both turned out to be very yummy but it was a workout! I only have a hand mixer so creaming the butter and mixing this batter was really hard. My right arm got a workout mixing in the oats and chips as well. Now I need to work out my left arm a little to even them out. :p 

After they cooled enough to touch, I couldn't help myself and ate 2 cookies. I surprised myself at how fast they went into my tummy. :) There was a strong smell of pumpkin because I used pumpkin pie spice but I think I will leave it out next time. If you don't smell it, the cookies taste just fine but the smell was kind of overwhelming. I packaged them up in bags and jars.

I am going to send a tin full to my friend, Bunny. And a jar full to my Army friend. I might have to take out some stuff from his care package to send more cookies. That way, I don't get fat eating them all. :)

Here is the recipe I used:

- Unsalted Butter 1 cup

- White Granulated Sugar 1 cup

- Dark Brown sugar (packed) 1 cup

- Eggs - 2

- Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoonful

- All-purpose flour 1 1/2 cup

- Baking soda 1 teaspoon

- salt (take out if using salted butter) 1/2 teaspoonful

- Cinnamon (optional) 1 teaspoonful

- Nutmeg (optional) 1/4- 1/2 teaspoonful
- Pumpkin spice (optional) 1/2 teaspoonful 

- Quick oats 3 cups

- chocolate chips - 1-1.5 cups

- peanut butter chips 1/2 cup

- chopped walnuts 1/2-1 cup

1. pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together

3. add eggs and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl combine/shift together: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg
5. combine butter and flour mixtures
6. stir in oats and chocolate chips
7. separate batter into 2
8. add walnuts to 1/2 and peanut butter chips to the other 1/2
9. Let batter cool in fridge for at least 20min.
10. Drop rounded tablespoonful of the batter onto an un-greased non-stick cookie sheet 2 inches apart from each other
11. Bake for 9-12 min, rotating halfway through. Pull the cookies when the edges are browned and the center is still a little gooey. The cookies will finish on the warm sheet and it will make the cookies more chewy.
12. let cool on the sheet for 1-2 min
13. let cool completely on cooling rack
(Let the cookie sheet cool completely before the next batch.)

I read on the comment section of the recipes that some people had their cookies fall flat. Some tips to avoid that: do not grease your cookie sheet, chill the batter before you bake it, don't over cook it, and heap on the batter. :)

Hope you have a good baking experience! :)

Halloween Recap

Halloween morning I went with a friend to the gym and did cardio for a total of 40 min and some back and ab exercises. Then I started making my cupcakes. I baked them, had to wait for them to cool, color the frosting, frost the cupcakes, add the web design with gel. I also had to print out, cut out, put together, and put the cupcake toppers onto the cupcakes. All the while doing 4 loads of laundry. And I really wanted to wash my car but couldn't. Then my family went to West Hollywood for the Halloween carnival so I had to leave the cupcakes, candy, and toys (for the wee ones) on my front porch with a note. 3 of the cupcakes were gone and no one had damaged our porch by throwing cupcakes regardless of what my friend was predicting. I was then dragged to the gym again for a more back-focused workout. But I brought the girl on staff a cupcake and made her night. :) All and all a nice day and night. :)

My Halloween Decorations:

The cross stitched pumpkin was from my friend Rachel last year. :) The dog actually dances and flaps his ears. It's so cute! Along with the cupcakes, I gave out these candies and some little toys for the wee ones.

My mo had bought the place mat and the snow globe but the ghost cup, beanie, and cross stitch is from my friend Rachel. :) The pillow is really cute! I loved it!

A little centerpiece to my dinning table. Thank you Rachel!

The chocolate cupcakes I made. I put it in pumpkin cupcake liners. I also tinted the frosting orange to match the pumpkins. I printed the toppers on label paper and just stuck two circles together with a toothpick in between.

Pictures from the West Hollywood Carnival:

Steve Jobs Lego Man

Girl version. There was a guy dressed in the same costume.

Tella Tubbies

We saw like 10 of them, both male and female.

The Queen of England with the Princess of China

Trojan Man. 

 There were a couple of guys dressed with a big white bubble on their heads waving around a white streamer. Guess what they were....sperm!

Angry Birds

 There were a lot of Angry Birds fans.

Gingie!

1 of 2 Peacocks

 There were two European men dressed up as peacocks. Their tail feathers can be raised and lowered as they want by pulling on two strings. Very ingenious.

Victoria Secrets Drag Angels

Old Pregnant Chinese "Lady"

LOL ...Actually, my favorite!

Care Bears?

Hope you guys had a great Halloween! Don't eat too much candy.

Halloween Package for my Bunny friend

My friend, Bunny loves Halloween. This year, I saw some really cute stuff so I sent her a Halloween package. I don't know why but I have been bit by the Halloween spirit. :)

Pre-halloween package package.

This shirt is from an online store called, Shirt Woot. They only have about 20 shirts on sale and every so often the bottom sellers get discontinued. This shirt was sadly one of them.  I just read from an email she sent that she loves candy corn so I saw this shirt and thought it was perfect. Hopefully, it will fit. : / If it doesn't, I hope it will make a cute pillow. hehe

Actual Halloween Package:

Pot Holders Set

This bunny loves to bake so I thought it would be a cute way to keep your paws from burning. :) Every time I look at them, it makes me want to bake something more Fall...hehe

Halloween and Thanksgiving cookie cutters

I think she was eyeing some cookie cutters but since we are just about on the other side of the country from each other, hopefully she doesn't already have these. :) You can't have too many cookie cutters. :) I want to find some stainless steel ones and make eggs or pancakes in weird shapes. Hmm...I wonder if it would work...would the heat get to the sides? Can't wait to try. :)

The Halloween card.

That candy corn is a necklace. :) Isn't she a cutie?

Inside of the card

But what really got me was the inside. Rachel is a real sweetie. I would mistaken her for a treat. :)

Brooches

I am sending the brooches I worked so hard to make for her safe keeping and use. :) I know she will take care of them and appreciate them for the rest of her life. :) If only i could get her to send me some of her soul in the form of pictures of her wearing them...muahahah!

Happy Halloween Bunny!

Mom's Red Bean Mochi Bars

I have been craving my mom's red bean mochi bars for a couple of weeks and I finally got her to make it for me. I was actually asking her to teach me how to make it but I ended up making spaghetti and she made the dessert. hehe I got her to write down the recipe for me though so I would have it. :) 

Mom's Red Bean Mochi 

It smells so yummy! The smell permeates to the second floor too...drool...hehe My mom was saying how she over cooked it by 6min so the edges are too crunchy. It was still good. You see, my mom had to kind of remember how to make this, since she has not made this in years. Good job Mom's memory. hehe

The ugly but very yummy inside.

My mom didn't put enough of the mochi on the bottom and too much red bean paste so it came out looking ugly to her. It still tasted really good to me. The top is crunchy but the middle is sticky/chewy. I like the difference in textures. The red bean and mochi are both not too sweet. It was everything I remembered from childhood. :) I had two big pieces. :P

Rice flour to make the mochi part

My mom buys this brand. We get it from a Chinese supermarket named 99 Ranch. (Tip: you will have to pay for bags so bring your own) I did not realize that this is made in Thailand. :)

Sweetened Red Bean Paste

Yes, it is from a can but it is not that sweet and it is a lot easier than making your own paste. :) Yes, I had to lick the can just a little. hehe

She wrote down the recipe for me. :)

Now I am going to translate the recipe just for you guys. :)

Mix together:
1 bag of rice flour
3 Large Eggs
2 Cups of milk

1 cup of Vegetable oil
1 cup of white granulated sugar

Pour 2/3 of this mixture into a pan.
Add 1/2-1 can of red bean paste in globs randomly and evenly throughout the pan. You can just drop the globs of red bean on top of the mixture.
Pour the rest of the mixture on top of the red bean paste to cover.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Let cool. Cut and Enjoy. :) It will be sticky but not as sticky or chewy as mochi. :)

Doesn't every love their mom's and grandmother's recipes? It is really sad that more and more of these goodies are getting lost and not passed down. So, I DARE you ALL to take one day and learn just one recipe from the generation before you. It is a legacy that should not be lost in this day and age of fast everything. :)
Have fun! :)

P.S.
I forgot to tell you about my spaghetti dinner. I usually cook semi-homemade style. I took Prego spaghetti sauce added chili powder, red pepper powder, ground black pepper, garlic salt, chipotle seasoning, and paprika to make it spicy. :) I added sausage that I took off the skin and cooked like ground beef, mushrooms, and broccoli. Instead of spaghetti noodles, I cooked up wheat spiral pasta. I like it because 1. I don't like regular spaghetti noodles, I like thick spaghetti noodles 2. I am trying to eat healthy and 3. It holds the sauce better. :) Tip: add a little of the noodle water to the sauce, it helps to thicken the sauce with the starch from the noodles. :) You are also suppose to pull the noodles from the water 1min early from al-dente and put them into the sauce so it cooks the last min in the sauce and flavors the noodles more. :)

I love one pot well, here 2 pots but I love it when all my food groups are in one dish. The dairy is from the parmesan cheese you can put on top. :) I don't think it is because I'm lazy, per say...hehe I just like how it is easy. It is just like soup. I can put all of my food groups into a soup and it is really healthy. :)

Eat on!