Friday, September 19, 2008

Thursday Cooking

This week I had a cooking activity for both girls. I think this was the first time that I have let Lucy help. Cooking with Lucy is much messier and takes much longer, but I knew she would love it.

Lucy and I made Oatmeal Squares from this cookbook. They have a ton of butter and brown sugar - so I need to figure out a better way to make them, but it is super easy.

Oatmeal Squares

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 T corn syrup
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup raisins (we did 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup dried blueberries, & 1/4 cup dried cranberries and apples)

Preheat oven to 325.
Grease 7 x 11 pan.

Melt butter, sugar & corn syrup in saucepan over low heat, stirring carefully until butter is melted.

Take off heat and add oatmeal and dried fruit - stir well.

Pour into pan and press it down. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let cool, then store in airtight container.

Norah and I made Cinnamon Apple Muffins. The recipe is a combination of several and I have adjusted it to make it a little healthier.

Here is our recipe:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
2 T. milled flaxseed
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup skim milk
1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 cup finely chopped apples

Preheat oven to 375
Grease muffin tin
Makes 12 muffins

Sift flours and milled flaxseed into bowl. Add sugar, baking powder, & cinnamon and stir. Add remaining ingredients and stir until flour is moistened. Spoon into muffin tin.

Bake 18-23 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

2 comments:

Gidget Girl Reading said...

yum i wnat to try your recipes!

heather said...

here's a great recipe (healthy AND very yummy!) you might like. They're considered granola bars, but when I tasted them I immediately thought "oatmeal cookie bar" instead.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (next time I might even use less)
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges.

Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.
You can add anything to this... cranberries, dried fruits, sunflower seeds, etc.

Anyway, really yummy!