Here are a few clips of our day!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013

Noodles

13.5 ounce box whole wheat Rotini

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

In a Separate Pan

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, medium dice

4 cloves garlic, emince (sliced thin)

1/2 pound Apple-wood Smoked Bacon

1 1/2 pounds chicken

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 bunch Swiss chard (stalks and leaves separated)

*I used rainbow Swiss chard

1 1/3 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half

6 ounces cream cheese (by weight)

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 cup pine nuts

Options (you can use one,two or all three – I recommend adding at least one of the options)

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest, minced

a few leaves of basil for garnish

Instructions

1. To start your noodles, fill a large pot with water and add salt. I use an eight quart pot with seven quarts of water and about 1/4 cup of iodized salt. You want your water to taste like the ocean. This helps in the final taste of your dish. If you don’t properly salt your water, your noodles will have a “flat” taste. For more information on this, see my article “Table Salt, Strangely not Just for the Table“. Put the pot on high and bring the water to a rolling boil.

2. While your’re waiting for your water to boil, you can work on the rest of the dish. Make sure to check your noodle water from time to time. When it is at a rolling boil, add the noodles and cook them for 8 minutes. Drain them, then put them into an ice water bath to cool them and drain them again. After you drain them, put them back in the pot you cooked them in and toss them with a little bit of olive oil so they don’t stick to each other. Put them to the side.

3. In a large pan, add one Tablespoon of olive oil. Turn the heat on medium -high and add your onion. Sprinkle the onion with a little Kosher Salt and black pepper. Sweat your onion. That means you saute it until it starts to get a translucent look. Lower the heat to medium – low. Allow the onions to caramelize.

4. Emince your garlic – that means cut it into thin slices (peel it first of course). Set it to the side.

5. Rinse and then Slice your tomatoes in half long ways (see video for a time saving tip). Set them to the side.

6. Rinse your Swiss Chard and drain it. Chop off the very ends of the stalks if they are brown. Remove the leaves of the Swiss Chard by tearing them off. You can also cut them off, but this is not necessary. We are removing the leaves from the stalks because they do not cook at the same rate and if you put them in together, either the stalks would have to be under-done, or the leaves would have to be over-done, so, we will add them at seperate times. Set the leaves to the side.

7. Slice the thick parts of the stems into 1/4 – 1/2 inch slices. Set to the side.

8. Slice the leaves of the Swiss Chard. It is easiest to do this if you work with a few leaves at a time and roll them together before you slice them. Set the leaves to the side.

9. At this point, your onions should be good, go over and check on them and then remove them from the pan and set them to the side.

10. Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the chicken to the pan (that you had your onions in). Sprinkle it with Kosher Salt and pepper. Stir your chicken. Allow the chicken to cook for two to three minutes.

11. When you chicken is about half way done, add the bacon to the pan. Stir.

12. Saute the chicken and bacon together until they are almost done. Add the chili flakes (red pepper flakes). Stir.

13. Deglaze with the red wine vinegar. That means you scrape any of the fond (the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom) off of the pan. I use a wooden spatula for this. Stir.

14. Add your chicken stock. Then, add your garlic. Stir.

15. Add the stems from your Swiss Chard. Allow them to cook for about one minute. Reduce the heat to medium – low.

16. Add your tomatoes. Then your cooked onions. Stir.

17. Add the cream cheese in chunks. Stir. You have to be a little patient with the cream cheese as it starts to melt, but it will, and then it will stir in easily.

18. Once you have the cream cheese melted in, sprinkle in the Parmesan Cheese and stir to combine.

19. Add the Swiss Chard about 1/2 at a time along with a sprinkle of Kosher Salt and pepper and stir in between each addition. It will look like you have way too much but don’t worry because it cooks down.

20. After your Swiss Chard is stirred in, turn off the heat and add the pine nuts. Stir.

21. Add your cooked and drained noodles. Fold them in to combine and serve hot.

Please enjoy this “how to” video!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013

Other Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecans (if you don’t like pecans, substitute something like walnuts, white chocolate chips, or more chocolate chips, just make sure to add something for the 3/4 cup)


Instructions
1. Get your butter out and let it come up to room temperature.
2. In a small bowl, measure all of the dry ingredients, then stir them with a fork or a whisk to make sure they’re evenly combined.
3. Pre-heat your oven to 350°.
4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula making sure to get the bottom and the sides, then mix for a few more seconds to get any chunks of butter that may have been hiding mixed in.
5. Add the eggs and mix to combine.
6. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Scrape the bowl with your rubber spatula again.
7. Add in the dry ingredients, 1/3 at a time mixing in between each addition. Scrape the bowl with your spatula, again, make sure to get the bottom and the sides. Mix just for a few more seconds to get any dry ingredients that you may have scraped from the bottom or sides.
9. Stir in your chocolate chips and your pecans – or whatever you choose to substitute for your pecans. I use my rubber spatula to do this.
10. Place your cookies on a prepared sheet pan a spoon full at a time. To prepare your cookie sheet, you can use either cooking spray, or parchment (wax) paper. You can also use a silpat.
11. Bake your cookies at 350°F for about 13-15 minutes. I rotate my pan half way through the cooking time.
12. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to set on the cookie sheet for about one minute and then you can move them to cooling racks. Enjoy your delicious chocolate chip pecan cookies :)! Soooooo good!

Store them in an airtight container.

Here’s a great tip for storing your cookies – put a piece of bread in the container with them. It will keep them softer longer. I have even added a piece of bread to cookies that were getting a little hard and something magical happened – they got a tiny bit softer – Yay, cookie magic!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013

Ingredients

1 pound cream cheese
8 ounces goat cheese (I used Laura Chenel)
4 eggs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground if possible
1/2 teaspoon thyme (dried, ground)
*if you use fresh thyme, you’ll need 1 1/2 teaspoons
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 c green onions, sliced thin (green parts only)
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers, diced (about 4 peppers)
*please see my recipe and video tutorial of “How to Roast a Bell Pepper”  if you don’t know how to roast your own bell peppers. You can also buy them in jars at the store, but you can roast your own at home for a fraction of the cost and they’re fresh and yummy!

For the Crostini
French Bread
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
pepper


Instructions

1. Place the cream cheese into a large bowl and cream it for about one minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula (and your beaters or paddle attachment).
2. Add the goat cheese into the cream cheese and mix them (with a mixer- either hand held or a stand mixer) until they are well combined and have an even consistency. Scrape your bowl with a rubber spatula again. Doing this helps to make sure you don’t end up with clumps of cream cheese or goat cheese in the end and also helps to ensure that you have a smoother texture when your cheesecake is all done.
3. Add the first two eggs and mix until combined. Then add the other two eggs and mix until well combined. Scrape the bowl again. Then mix again just to get rid of most of the chunks. You may still have a few little chunks in there, but don’t worry about them.
4. Add the garlic, Kosher salt, pepper, thyme, green onions and bell peppers to the cream cheese/goat cheese mixture. Stir these in by hand using your rubber spatula.
5. Line the outside of a ten inch spring-form pan with aluminum foil. Then place that pan into a larger roasting pan or large casserole dish. We will be cooking this in a water bath, so you need the larger pan.
6. Spray the inside of your spring-form pan with cooking spray.
7. Pour the red pepper cheesecake batter into the spring-form pan. Then add some water to the roasting pan – try to get the water even with the top of the red pepper cheesecake. However, if it starts floating around a lot, stop adding water because it will end up floating instead of being in the water bath where we want it.
8. Bake the cheesecake at 350°F for about 30 minutes – until the center is just set. If you over-bake it, it may get cracks. Remove the cheesecake from the water-bath – you can also remove the foil.
9. Allow the red pepper cheesecake to cool for about one hour and then place it in the refrigerator. If you place it into the refrigerator too soon, it will likely crack. So, be patient and let it cool.
10. Leave it in the refrigerator for at least five hours – overnight is better, to allow it to set up.
11. Once your cheesecake is totally set-up, run a knife around the edges and remove the outside of the spring-form pan.
12. Garnish your beautiful cheesecake with some extra roasted red bell peppers and serve. I served mine with some french bread crostini on the side – so very delicious! Enjoy everyone!
**Oh, to make the crostini, slice your french bread about one inch thick, lightly brush it with olive oil and then sprinkle it with the salt and pepper. Bake it in the oven at 350°F for a few minutes until it gets toasty on the outside – you still want it to be soft on the inside. It should take anywhere from four to six minutes. OK, now enjoy :)

Please enjoy this how-to video (coming soon) for making Roasted Red Pepper Cheesecake!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013

red bell peppers, that’s it

Instructions

1. Place your bell peppers on a sheet pan (cookie sheet). If you don’t have a sheet pan, you can use a casserole dish or a roasting pan, it’s no big deal. Also, get out a large bowl, not one that will melt, but either stainless steel or a glass one along with some plastic wrap and set them to the side.
2. Put the pan of peppers under the broiler in the oven. They should be on the top rack of your oven unless they touch the heating element in which case you’ll need to put them down a rack lower.
3. Keep the oven door open just enough where you can look in. Most ovens have a spot where the door will stay  around four or five inches open. The point of leaving the door open is more so that you don’t forget about your peppers in there because it’s easy to walk away for too long. So, don’t walk away, stay there and baby-sit a pepper-sit, your bell peppers.
4. When one of the sides turns black (the side closest to the broiler), turn the pepper a quarter of the way. Then, when the next side is black, turn the pepper by a quarter. Do this until the skin of the bell pepper is black all the way around.
5. Remove the bell peppers from the oven and place them into the bowl that you got out earlier.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap as fast as you can. We are trying to trap the steam from the bell peppers.
7. Let them sit in the bowl, covered with the plastic wrap for at least 15 minutes. You can let them sit longer if you happen to be doing something else, but I wouldn’t leave them for more then 40 minutes for sanitation reasons.
8. Remove one pepper from the bowl and place it on a cutting board or plate. Be careful because they are probably still hot or may have hot juices inside. I wear gloves for this part.
9. Gently remove the blackened skin. Then, hold the pepper upside-down and pull the stem off. When you do this, some juice and seeds will come out.
10. Open the pepper up and remove all of the seeds. Your pepper is now roasted and ready to use.
Keep scrolling for the video tutorial.

How to Choose a Bell Pepper
No matter what color bell pepper you are shopping for, look for peppers that have deep, vivid colors, are heavy for their size, have a smooth, wrinkle free texture, and only push in slightly when you squeeze them softly.

A little extra information on bell peppers
Bell peppers are fruits….well botanically speaking because they contain the seeds of the plant. However, as far as the kitchen goes, they are generally treated like vegetables. They originated in Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America and made their way around the world from there on trade ships and such back in the 14 and 1500′s. Of course, they have lots of other names through out the world including capsicum and paprika. Bell peppers are a member of the Capsicum genus – Why do we care? Well, members of the capsicum genus produce the chemical capsaicin and capsaicin is the chemical in peppers that makes them hot. The higher the level of capsaicin, the hotter the pepper. However, bell peppers are the only member of the genus that don’t produce any capsaicin. So do we still care that they’re in that genus – a, yeah, now you can answer that question if you’re ever on Jeopardy or you can impress your friends at the dinner table. OK, so how about some nutrition facts. Red bell peppers are high in vitamin A and vitamin C, they have around 209mg of vitamin C compared to about 70mg in an orange. I should note here though that cooking will destroy at least part of the vitamin C. So, if you want to get all the nutrition, raw is better. Bell peppers are also high in carotenoids (a group of antioxidants) including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. There is a ton more nutrition information out there if you want it. The two links below have some great information, so check them out if you want to know more.

Links for more information

http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=50

http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/sweet-red-peppers

Please enjoy this how to video!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013

Ingredients (for 2 large sandwiches)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 onion, sliced (I used a brown onion, white is good too)

1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 1/2 pounds mushrooms (white button or crimini *see note), sliced

2 pounds Steak (I used Sirloin), partially frozen – I’ll explain later :D

1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced 1/4 inch thick, seeds removed

1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced 1/4 inch thick, seeds removed

2 Loaves French Bread

butter – enough to spread on the bread

mayonaise – the amount depends on your taste, 1/2 cup or so

1 pound Provolone Cheese

American Cheese (optional (I don’t use it))

Cheese Whiz (optional (I don’t use it))

Instructions

1. Saute your sliced onions with a little bit of Kosher salt (about 1/4 teaspoon) and black pepper (also about 1/4 teaspoon) in the olive oil for about 30 seconds. Reduce your heat and stir the onions one time really good making sure they’re not sticking anywhere. Leave the onions cooking on low for now (we’re going to caramelize them lightly).

2. Slice your bell peppers about 1/4 inch thick. Remove all of the seeds and throw them out. They taste bitter when you cook them so we don’t want any on our sandwich. Put the bell peppers to the side.

3. Slice your mushrooms. Make sure you wash them first. It is OK to get your mushrooms wet. I put them all in a bowl together and fill the bowl with water, then I swirl them around, drain them and repeat the process. If you do this, you will notice how dirty those mushrooms actually are because you can see the dirty water. So, the point is, wash your mushrooms, you don’t really have to worry about them absorbing a bunch of water. It’s cool.

4. Add your sliced mushrooms to the onions and add a little more Kosher Salt (1/2 teaspoon or so) and pepper (1/4 teaspoon or so).

5. Stir the mushrooms in with the onions. Allow the mushrooms to “cook down”. Please check out my how-to video if you’re not sure what to look for.

6. Once the mushrooms are cooked down, it’s time to add the beef. Now, let’s have a little talk about the beef. Often, when I have had a Philly Cheese Steak, the meat has been well done. That’s fine I guess and I’m not downing it or anything, but I like my steak to be somewhere between mooing and medium rare depending on what I’m cooking it for. In this case, I like to have my meat medium rare. So, to accomplish this while still getting the flavors right and that kind of saucey-ness that you end up with at the end, I freeze my steak. SSSSSSSSSSS (that’s the sound of everyone doing that suck in through your teeth sound in a tisk tisk manner – I wasn’t sure how to spell it :D), I know. I normally would not tell you to freeze your steak, especially all the way through (but that’s another lesson). This time, for this sandwich, I freeze my steak all the way through. Then, I let it thaw a little. “What?” You may be asking, why would you freeze, then thaw. Well, that’s the only way I know to start with the middle totally frozen and the outside thawed. Do you follow me? So, what’s going to happen when we add the steak to the pan is we can cook the outside enough to get the flavor and sauceyness and the inside stays medium rare – Yay! If you want your meat to be well done, just don’t freeze it. The other thing is, when your meat is slightly frozen, it’s easier to cut into those nice even beautiful slices. So, even if you’re going for well done, you may want to freeze the steaks for an hour or so, just to make them easier to slice. And just in case you’re wondering why I don’t just cook the steak for less time, well it’s because I think you get better flavor this way because you can cook the outside of the slices further then if they weren’t frozen in the middle.

7. Moving on, sprinkle the meat with Kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon or so) and a little pepper (1/4 teaspoon or so), then, add the beef to the pan.

8. While your beef is starting to cook, slice your french bread in half long ways. Butter each side well, then lay them buttered side down onto a griddle or pan to toast them. Go back to your beef.

9. Saute the beef around until it is starting to brown. This should be happening by the time you butter your bread and everything. When the beef starts to brown, add your bell peppers. Stir everything around. Allow this to cook while you check on your bread (that is toasting).

10. When your bread is golden brown, add the mayonaise, then the cheese to the bread. I put mayonaise on both pieces of bread and then cheese on the top slice.

11. Add the beef mixture on top of the cheese (yep, it’s upside-down), put the two sides together, flip it :) and enjoy!

*A note on mushrooms-You may not know this, but Button Mushrooms, Crimini Mushrooms, and Portabella Mushrooms are all the same mushroom in different states of maturity. They are the variety Agaricus bisporus. The white button and the crimini are the youngest and therefore the softest. Why are the crimini brown? Well, they are bred to be brown, but the only real difference between them and the button is color….and price. Sometimes I like to use the crimini anyway because even though I know they’re the same, they somehow seem “nicer” to me. I don’t know why – maybe because they cost more :). The Portabellas are the most mature in the family and have the “meatiest” texture and the most flavor. Look for mushrooms that have a membrane covering the gills. Those are the freshest. If you can’t find any that are still “closed” (that means the membrane is there), then make sure the cap is still turned down. If the cap is turning up, that’s a sign of an old mushroom. There, now you’ve learned something today :).

Please enjoy this how-to video!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013

Ingredients

dry ingredients

3 cups AP (all purpose) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin spice *see note

2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

15 ounce can pumpkin puree

1 cup pecans

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

If you’re new to making cookies, I’d like to invite you to read my article and watch a short video “The Cookie Method – How to Properly Mix Your Dough :D! ”

Instructions

1. Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature. At least make sure that your butter is soft. This helps everything blend together better.

2. In a small bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt).

3. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. (I don’t usually do it at the beginning of the recipe because then it just sits there wasting electricity and making the house too hot :).

4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula making sure to get the bottom and the sides really well. It is important not to leave any chunks of butter behind.

5. Add the eggs into your creamed butter mixture and mix until well combined. If you happen to be doubling this, add the eggs two at a time and mix in between additions.

6. Add the vanilla and the pumpkin puree and mix until well combined. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, again, make sure to get the bottom and the sides.

8. Add in half of the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Scrape the bowl. Add in the other half of your dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Don’t over mix once you’ve added the dry ingredients. Over mixing causes your flour to develop gluten strands and makes your cookies tough.

9. Stir in the white chocolate chips and the pecans. Just as a side note, you can buy pecan pieces instead of pecan halves which and they are less expensive. It makes more since to buy the pieces for this recipe since you will have to break them up anyway if you buy the halves.

10. Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined sheet pan (cookie sheet). You can also use a Silpat if you have one or use cooking spray or butter.

11. Bake until they’re done. Mine took about 12 minutes at 350°F. They don’t really brown much on top (or shouldn’t), but the bottoms will brown, so watch the sides of the cookies for signs of browning.

12. Remove your delicious pumpkin pecan cookies with white chocolate chips from the oven and let them set on the pan for about one minute.

13. Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool.

14. Enjoy your awesome, delicious cookies, you deserve it! Also, keep reading for a little more info on the health benefits of pumpkin.

Here’s a little extra information about pumpkins and their nutrition and health benefits – just in case you wanted to know.

Did you know that a pumpkin is a fruit? Yep, it is. There is a really easy way to tell if you have a fruit or vegetable. Fruits have seeds, veggies don’t. But what about tomatoes and zucchini and cucumbers? They’re fruits too. Yes, even tomatoes – even though there is a whole legal thing about tomatoes being a veggie. I’ll get into that another time since we’re talking about pumpkin here. So, pumpkin is rich in vitamin A. Vitamin A is an anti-oxident. It is great for your skin and vision and believed to lower risk of lung cancer among other benefits. Pumpkin also contains the vitamin B-complex group of vitamins like folates, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid. Not to mention vitamin C, and E. It is also a source of the minerals phosphorus, calcium, copper, and potassium. It is low in calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol. It also contains other flavonoid compounds which are also anti-oxidents and have tons of benefits. They have been shown as “anti-aging”, they help protect your eyesight (zea-xanthin), the list goes on and on. If you would like to know more about the benefits of pumpkin, I encourage you to just google it because there is a ton of information out there. Just make sure you’re at a reputable source like mayoclinic.com or USDA.gov. See, I knew that they were “healthy” :).

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012

Ingredients
2 pounds of Pecans
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon coriander
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Also, pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

2. While you’re waiting for your water to boil, place the sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper and spices into a large bowl. Stir them up really good. I use a rubber spatula and kind of mash the places where the oil is to break it up. Stir it until everything is evenly combined.

3. When your water comes to a rolling boil, pour your pecans in. Stir them up and leave them in there for one minute. Then drain them in a colander. Don’t leave them in there any longer then one minute. This is called “blanching your pecans”. “Blanch” is a culinary term that means to boil quickly (as in for a short amount of time but not necessarily one minute). It is often used to remove the skin from fruits or vegetables. There, now you’ve learned something today :D.

4. Once you’ve drained your pecans, put them in the bowl with the sugar and spice mixture.

5. Stir them until the sugar has “melted” onto the pecans and is sticking. Make sure you are getting the sugar/spice mixture from the bottom of the bowl too. Stir until the pecans are well coated.

6. Spread the spiced pecans onto a sheet pan (cookie sheet).

7. Bake them at 350°F until there is barely any liquid left on the pan, stirring them every 5 minutes during baking. Mine took around 20 minutes of baking. So I took them out of the oven and stirred them four times including the last time I pulled them out. Don’t skip the pulling them out and stirring them because the poor little spiced pecans that are hanging out on the sides will burn and then they won’t taste as yummy.

8. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before storing them. You don’t have to do anything fancy, just leave them on the sheet pan to cool.

9. Store your delicious spiced pecans in an airtight container.

Please enjoy this how-to video!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012

Ingredients
dry ingredients
3 cups AP(all purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
Just as a side note, I like to use bananas that are super ripe. They should have lots of brown spots and smell like yummy sweet bananas. Just don’t let them get too ripe – yes, there is such a thing. I let mine sit to ripen for banana bread one time and kept waiting and waiting and they were all the way brown, then when I went to pick them up, I discovered that the one on the bottom was leaking some kind of syrup. I think I may have accidentally made a banana liquor on my counter top :D. Anyway, on with the recipe!

If you’re new to making cookies, I’d like to invite you to read my article and watch a short video “The Cookie Method – How to Properly Mix Your Dough :D! ”

Instructions
1. Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature. At least make sure that your butter is soft. This helps everything blend together better.
2. In a small bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt).
3. In a separate small bowl, mash your bananas. You don’t have to mash them into baby food, just mash them with a fork.
4. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. (I don’t usually do it at the beginning of the recipe because then it just sits there wasting electricity and making the house too hot :).
5. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula making sure to get the bottom and the sides really well. No butter chunks left behind :D
6. Add the eggs into your creamed butter mixture and mix until well combined. If you happen to be doubling this, add the eggs two at a time and mix in between additions.
7. Add the vanilla and the mashed up banana and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, again, make sure to get the bottom and the sides.
8. Add in half of the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Scrape the bowl. Add in the other half of your dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Don’t over mix once you’ve added the dry ingredients. Over mixing causes your flour to develop gluten strands and makes your cookies tough.
9. Stir in the peanut butter chips. I also like to eat a few, they’re so good!
10. Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined sheet pan (cookie sheet). You can also use a Silpat if you have one or use cooking spray or butter. These don’t stick too bad.
11. Bake until they’re done. Mine took about 12 minutes at 350°F. They don’t really brown much on top (or shouldn’t), but the bottoms will brown, so watch the sides of the cookies for signs of browning.
12. Remove your delicious banana peanut butter chip cookies from the oven and let them set on the pan for about one minute.
13. Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool. Although they are really tasty warm, especially with a nice, tall glass of milk. Just be careful of the hot chips – I said warm, not fresh out of the oven still at 350° :)
14. Enjoy your awesome cookies, you deserve it!

Yield – about 40 cookies

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012

**Note – I highly recommend using a Silpat or other silicone baking mat to bake these on. They stick to the pan, and they stick to parchment/wax paper. If you do not use a Silpat, you will have a serious issue getting these cookies off the pan/paper and you will end up hating me and this recipe. So what I’m trying to say here is – if you don’t have a Silpat or silicone baking sheet, get one before you make these cookies! Or, proceed at your own risk :), I did get one batch to come off of my parchment, but in all of my test batches, the Silpat was the winner by far! Also, you have to pull these cookies out a tiny bit earlier then you pull out most cookies or the caramel melts into liquid and they’re not as pretty.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups apples, small dice (1/4 inch dice)
I used 1 Granny Smith and 1 Jonagold
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sugar

dry ingredients
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups caramel bits (I used Kraft)

Special Equipment
Silpat or silicone baking mat – these cookies stick to the pan and to parchment. I really highly recommend only making these if you have a Silpat or other silicone baking mat. There is a link at the bottom to where you can purchase one (no, I’m not the seller).

If you’re new to making cookies, I’d like to invite you to read my article and watch a short video “The Cookie Method – How to Properly Mix Your Dough :D! ”

Instructions
1. Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature. At the very least, make sure your butter is soft. This helps with the mixing process.
2. Melt the one Tablespoon of butter in a saute pan. Add your diced apples. Sprinkle them with the teaspoon of sugar. Saute them for about two minutes – until you see liquid coming out of them and they are beginning to get soft. Don’t over cook them or they will lose their shape and you will end up with something closer to applesauce. Set the apples to the side to cool off.
3. In a small bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients – the flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt.
4. In a large bowl, cream your butter with your brown sugar and white sugar. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, make sure that you get the sides and the bottom. We want to make sure that there are no chunks of butter hiding that didn’t get mixed in.

5. Add the eggs into the butter mixture and mix to combine.
6. Add in the vanilla and mix. Scrape the bowl again, and again, make sure to get the bottom and the sides.
7. Add in your dry ingredients half at a time and mix in between additions. Only mix it until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Over-mixing your dough will give you tough cookies.
8. Once you have all of the dry ingredients mixed in, add in your cooled apples and the caramel bits. *see note* Stir them with a rubber spatula. It takes a few minutes and a little arm strength to get them all mixed in, but be patient and try to get the caramel and apples mixed in as evenly as possible.
9. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to six hours. If you want to store it raw longer, freeze it.
10. Pre-heat your oven to 325°F.
11. Drop the cookies by Tablespoons onto your Silpat. Make them as round as possible. This will make your cookies come out more round.
12. Bake at 325°F for 8-9 minutes. Pull the cookies out while they still look a little raw on top. They will finish cooking outside of the oven. If you over-bake them, they will be a mess of melted caramel and not pretty, so watch them close in the oven.
13. Remove the cookies from the oven. Transfer your Silpat to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely before you attempt to move them or they will fall apart. The caramel is like liquid magma until it sets back up, so just wait until they are cool.
14. Finally, enjoy your caramel apple oatmeal cookies. Mmmmm, so good!
**note on step 8 – – I have also found that instead of mixing the caramel and apple bits in, you can make them the center of the cookie. So, what I did to do this is – I made a flat cookie, then I put a couple of the caramel bits in the center along with some of the apples and then I folded the cookie around the filling so that it would be in the center. After you bake them you end up with a caramel apple filled oatmeal cookie. – Yum!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012