Chocolate chip oatmeal coconut cookies and why I haven't been baking as much

First of all it's been hot.  When it's above 90 degrees no one feels like turning on the oven.  And even though some people are clever enough to bake on a BBQ, mine is pretty crappy so that's not an option.  So if I'm not baking what am I doing?  Well catching a lot of toads apparently.  Also a lot of gardening and I got to the beach a few times with friends.

But as the temp drops and the oven becomes more tolerable I start thinking about cookies and muffins again...

Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe adapted from Thyme of Taste

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C of flour
• 1/4 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 4 Tbsp of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1 C of brown sugar
• 1 C of dark chocolate chips 
• 1 C oatmeal
• 1 C shredded coconut

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 and put tin foil on 2 baking sheets.  In a small bowl mix flour, b soda, salt, and oatmeal.  Melt butter in microwave and then add to it the egg, vanilla, and sugar.  Mix into the dry ingredients and then add the chocolate chips and coconut and stir to combine.  You might have to use your hands if it gets stiff.  Make walnut-sized balls of dough and place on baking sheet.  These don't spread too much because of the coconut.  Bake for at least 15 minutes or until golden brown on the bottoms.  

Black toad in the flower pot

I found this black toad in a pot I was watering last week.  He was sucking up the moisture from the soil and chillin in the shade.  And he wasn't too happy when I moved him, he started chirping at me.

Lots of fruit lying around...

Strawberries, a couple of aging peaches, and half of an apple that no one ate...  I haven't made muffins for a while.  So I looked up a strawberry muffin recipe and then basically didn't follow it.


Strawberry Muffins
Recipe adapted from Sprinkle Charms

Ingredients:

• 1/2  cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup or more soymilk

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup ap flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 pint chopped strawberries
• 2 mashed peaches
• 1/2 apple (chopped)

Method:

Wash and cut all of your fruit into one bowl, set aside.  Preheat oven to 430 and paper a 12 cup muffin tin.  Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl, mix, set aside.  Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl, mix, and add to the wet ingredients.  Mix until almost combined, add fruit and then mix just until combined.  Divide into prepared muffin pan and bake on 430 for 7 minutes.  Lower temp to 400 and bake for another 13 or so minutes, until muffins bounce back to the touch.  

Molly's birthday cake

I made a banana cake with cream cheese icing for Molly's surprise birthday party!  We had a great time last night celebrating Mole's birthday at Gravers Lane Gallery, where Molly works.

The first time I made this cake I brought some to Molly at work.  She told me it was her new favorite cake and she wanted it for her birthday.  That was months ago, but I didn't forget.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Adapted from White On Rice Couple

Cake Ingredients:

• 3 c Flour 1 T Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Salt 
• 1/2 t Nutmeg 
• 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted Butter, room temp 
• 1 1/2 c Brown Sugar 
• 8 Egg Yolks 
• 1/2 c Canola Oil 
• 1 T Molasses 
• 8 ripe Bananas

Icing Ingredients:

• 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese
• 2 sticks Butter
• 3 c Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour two 9" cake pans and one tall 4" wedding cake top if you want the double layer look like I did for Molly's cake.
Mash bananas and set aside.
Mix flour, b powder, salt, and nutmeg and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the butter on high until fluffy.
Add sugar and cream with the butter.
Add egg yolks and mix just til combined.
Add canola and molasses and mix til combined.
Add dry ingredients to mixer and mix just til combined.
Add bananas and mix just til combined.
Pour batter into cake tins.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, the cakes are done when they are firm to the touch and a knife comes out clean from the center.  My little 4" took a bit longer than the 9" cakes because it was so thick.
While the cake is cooling make your icing.
Beat the butter and cream cheese in a mixer until fluffy, then add powdered sugar one cup at a time beating well and then add vanilla.
Once the cake is cool cut the 4" cake top into 2 separate layers.

Ice your cake and then decorate with some icing chocolate (melted semisweet chocolate chips and a little butter) in your piping bag.  My mom threw on a little mexican heather and some lantana for color.

Toad chronicles

Somehow this blog has become more about toads than baking.  I keep coming across the biggest fattest toads while I'm gardening.  The best place to find toads is in the woods while it's raining.  If you can stand to go on a hike in the rain in Valley Green, as I did earlier this summer with a couple of friends, you will literally trip over all of the toads that come out to absorb the water.  Toads don't actually live in water, they like rain, moist soil, and shallow puddles.  They need water to lay eggs and for their tadpoles to develop but they aren't water-bound like frogs are.

This guy was hiding in the dirt where I was pulling out some ivy ground-cover.  He jumped up on a rock and sat there for about an hour.  He has kind of a grumpy looking face doesn't he?   

Grump

More toads

There's something about a toad...  This summer I've been finding lots of different colored toads.  I saw a big yellow one about a month ago and then the other day in the same garden I found this little dark brown/grey guy in the bottom of a flower pot.  What a little sweetheart he didn't want to get off of my hand.

It's hard to find toads, they stick to the dirt and come out when it rains to soak up the moisture.  But the frogs in the pond are bold and loud!  They sound like angry rubber bands.  They're harder to catch and slimy.  If you can manage to get your hand around one they slip right out if you're not careful.  These guys are much easier to catch with a net.  

What to do with aging peaches?

Muffins.  A beautiful golden bran muffin with fresh peaches.  I stopped at the farm stand on my way home the other day and got some really nice local fruit.  I thought the richness of the molasses in Maida Heatter's bran muffin recipe would go nicely with the sweetness of a fresh peach.

I cut back on the sugar in this batch and threw in a splash of OJ because the batter was a bit thicker than I wanted.  I also used egg yolks instead of whole eggs.  I cut my peaches into good-sized wedges and then stuck them in the muffins after I poured the batter into the pan.  I wanted them to be on top of the muffins so you could see the fruit poking out the top.

Bran Muffins with Peaches
Adapted from Maida Heatter

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark or light molasses or honey
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups bran cereal (do not use flakes, Maida recommends Kellogg's All-Bran)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup unsifted whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsifted all purpose white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 peaches- cut into wedges

Method:

If your oven can not fit both muffin tins side by side on the middle rack, adjust the 2 racks to divide the oven into 3rds.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Butter 18 2 3/4 inch muffin forms. Note: Buttering the tins will create a very nice crust for the muffins, if using paper cups the crust may be diminished but the muffins will keep longer.  Melt butter over low heat. In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, sugar and molasses or honey and stir to mix.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk to mix.  Slowly add the egg mixture to the butter mixture stirring with a wire whisk to blend. Mix in the bran and raisins and let stand for a few minutes. Or cover and refrigerate overnight.  Sift together flours, salt, and baking soda and add to bran mixture. Stir quickly with rubber spatula just enough to moisten dry ingredients.  With a large spoon, fill prepared cups with batter about 2/3rds full.  Stick 3 peach wedges in each muffin.  Bake for 6 minutes on 425 and then lower the temp to 400 for another 10 or so minutes.  Check the center of the muffins carefully by poking with your finger, they may still be a little wet because of the peach juice but the cake should not be raw.  So take a close look around the fruit.  Hopefully your muffin tops will be golden brown and gorgeous.  

Maida Heatter fan

Finally!!  Someone who likes Maida Heatter as much as I do.  She's the chocolate goddess of the baking world.  I recently made her Palm Beach Brownies and it is by far the best brownie I've ever made or tasted.  She knows how to make a rich decadent dessert like no one else.  So imagine how excited I was when I came across this blog where this guy is baking only from Maida Heatter's cookbooks!!  I have been bookmarking every other recipe.

For whatever reason I decided to make these chocolate chip wheat germ cookies.  The germ intrigued me.  I switched the ap flour to whole wheat and used egg yolks instead of a whole egg.

Chocolate Chip Wheat Germ Cookies
Adapted from Maida Heatter's Great Book of Chocolate Desserts via Mad About Maida

Ingredients:

The last lonely cookie

• 3/4 cup unsifted whole wheat 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 lb (1 stick) sweet butter (softened)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant) oatmeal
• 3/4 cup untoasted wheat germ
• 2/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Method:

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with foil and set aside.  Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.  Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat in the vanilla and two sugars. Add the egg and beat well. On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl and beating only until mixed. Mix in the oatmeal, wheat germ and coconut. Stir in the morsels.  Make walnut-sized balls of dough and spread about 2 inches apart on tin foil-lined baking sheets.  Bake two sheets at a time for 12 - 20 minutes (depending on your oven), reversing the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through baking. When they are done, the cookies will be lightly colored and the tops will spring back when lightly pressed. Do not under bake - make sure they are crisp on the edges and bottom when cool.  (If baking only one sheet at a time, use the upper rack).**

**Note:

I definitely left mine in a bit longer than the average cookie.  I wanted these to get nice and brown so I waited until they were thoroughly darkened around the edges and on top.  This cookie can't get overcooked.  It can only get more flavorful the browner it gets. Plus we like slightly burnt cookies over here.