Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - a "Healthy" cookie!

This is an old favorite in our family. The recipe is on an old Quaker Oats tin - I checked and it has 1984 stamped on the bottom. It's as old as I am!

Every year, my mother makes these and fills the cookie jar for my dad for Valentine's Day.

Sometimes we reduce the sugar somewhat, and use half whole wheat flour, so it's a bit healthier - it's got oats, and nuts, and all!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (with healthier options)

1¼ c butter
½ c granulated sugar (1/3 c)
¾ c packed brown sugar (1/2 c)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1½ c flour (half whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 c oats
2 c chocolate chips
¾ c chopped walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Beat together butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to wet ingredients, mixing until well blended.

4. Stir in oats, chocolate chips (and nuts).

5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. (Or use parchment paper.)

6. Bake 9-12 minutes; cool 1 minute on cookie sheet before moving to wire cooling rack.

Coconut Macaroons (with Chocolate Chips!)

This is the cookie I think gets requested the most... especially when I add chocolate chips!

They also are very easy to make gluten free, because there is very little flour - I just use rice flour, then I can share with people I know can't have gluten.


Coconut Macaroons

2 eggs
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 c shredded coconut - or one 14-oz package!
1/4 c flour (or rice flour, or whatever)
1 c chocolate chips (Hershey's Special Dark is really good!)

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.

2. Mix eggs and sugar at high speed for 1 minute.

3. Stir in flour and coconut all at once, then chocolate chips immediately afterward.

4. Drop onto parchment-lined baking sheets. (This WILL STICK to anything else! Even non-stick pans! Even greased non-stick pans!) The dough will be loose - scoop with a spoon and use your fingers to smush it together a little if it falls apart as you set it down on the pan. If you get a bowl of water and keep dipping your fingers in between cookies, it won't stick to them.

5. Bake 15-18 minutes until edges start to brown. I usually need all 18 minutes, and I switch the pans around halfway through - nine minutes on the upper shelf, nine minutes on the lower.

These are a pain to make, but the result is worth it!

Winter Strawberries

This is a favorite Christmas tradition in our family - a kind of no-bake cookie which is very distinctive, messy to make but a must-have on the cookie plate!

It also just happens to be gluten free, as far as I know.

Winter Strawberries

1 1/2 c finely chopped walnuts (or use a nut grinder!)
1 1/2 c shredded coconut
3 3-oz packages powdered strawberry gelatin - do NOT make the jello! Just use the powder!
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c red sugar (or just use a fork to mix a few drops of food coloring into some plain sugar.)

Green gummy candies (We always use "Spearmint Leaves, but they can be hard to find sometimes... we've gotten them at Walgreens the last few years.)

1. Combine nuts, coconut, powdered gelatin, condensed milk, and vanilla, and mix together thoroughly. Smush it all down into a ball, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.

2. Shape into "strawberries" - gouge out a spoonful of dough, roll it into a ball and pinch the end with your fingers, rolling it to get the right shape.

3. Roll "strawberries" in red sugar.

4. Cut spearmint candy into small strips for "stems" and insert them into the wide end of the berries - use the tip of a paring knife or a skewer to poke a hole. Roll the stems in a little sugar first if they are too sticky to manage easily.

Enjoy!

A note about these - store them separately from your other cookies, unless you want everything to end up with a strong strawberry flavor!

Salmon Spuds

This is a kind of twice-baked potato, so it can take a while to put together, although you can bake the potatoes ahead of time.


Salmon Spuds

4 medium sized baking potatoes (this is all you need to begin with.)
1 15.5 oz can salmon
1/2 c milk
1/4 c butter
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c minced green onion
1/2 c frozen peas, thawed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme, crumbled
dash of black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400º F. Wash potatoes and pat dry, then oil lightly and prick with a fork. Place on baking sheet in the oven and bake 1 hour or until done. Reduce heat to 350º F.

2. Carefully cut potatoes in half and let cool while assembling other ingredients.

3. Drain salmon. I prefer to pick out the bigger chunks of bone, but they are edible. Use the edge of a spoon to break it into smaller chunks.

4. Scoop out the center of the potato halves, being careful not to break the skin. Leave about 1/8 inch around the edges. Put scooped-out bits into a bowl or large pot.

5. Add butter and mash potatoes thoroughly. Beat in milk and parmesan cheese, then stir in green onions and dry seasonings. Stir in peas and salmon last.

6. Spoon mixture into the potato skins, mounding the tops. Sprinkle a little extra parmesan cheese on top if you want. Bake at 350º F for 20-30 minutes or until nicely browned on top.

If you don't want to deal with scooping the skins, you could always cut them up and mix them in with the rest, then put the whole thing in a casserole dish. But it's fun to have those neat little potato bowls!