Oui, Chef

Breakfast Cookies That Will Make Your Kids Think You've Gone Crazy!

 

 

Hey Dad, what's in the container on the counter?

Oh, those are some breakfast cookies I made today.

Say what?  Did you just say breakfast cookies?

Yeah, I thought they'd be great for a breakfast on the fly, they're sort of like a portable bowl of oatmeal.

Shut Up!

No really, they're loaded with grains and nuts and dried fruit, just like a bowl of oatmeal.

So you're telling me that tomorrow morning I can eat cookies for breakfast?

Uh...yeah, I guess that's what I'm saying.

SHUT UP!

Hey relax, will you.  

How come I never hear you get this excited when I offer you a bowl of oatmeal?

Oh....and stop saying shut up or I'm giving your cookies to Muppet!

Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

 

Do you remember the post a few weeks ago about the favorite holiday cookie we baked this year, the incomparable Chewy Ginger Cookies ?  Well these little lovelies ran a close second in the race for Christmas cookie dominance, so I thought I'd share them with you today.  The good news is that they're not like a bûche de noel, or a gingerbread treat that seem totally out of place once the holidays have passed.  These sugar bombs are a welcome treat regardless of season.

Pumpkin Spiced Steel Cut Oats

If any of you are like me you won't need to eat for at least a week following the massive Thanksgiving food-fest you just enjoyed.  But, when your hunger returns, you've worked your way though all your left-overs and you finally need to start cooking again, this is a bowl you'll really enjoy.

This dish is my adaptation of a recipe I recently found on The Kitchn, and is exactly the type of thing I like to make on a Sunday night to provide us a quick and nutritious hot breakfast over the course of the week.  It is also the kind of dish I encourage my students at Cooking Matters to consider making for their families as well because it can be made ahead of time in bulk, is really tasty, and SO good for you.  Many with younger kids might want to pass on the pumpkin puree and spices here as they may appeal to a more sophisticated palate, but the idea of having a batch of pre-made oatmeal in the fridge that requires little more than 40 seconds in the microwave, some dried fruits and nuts, and a drizzle of maple syrup to start your day on the right foot, is a great one.

Apple and Cranberry Crisp

HA....we're on a roll now.  This tasty treat turned out to be the perfect foil for a 1/2 used jar of Trader Joe's  Apple Butter hogging space in our fridge, and as easy as that the inventory of our refrigerator condiment museum took another hit.  Perhaps we should craft a song for the occasion...."50 bottles of condiments in the fridge, 50 bottle of condiments....you take 1 out, and put it to use, 49 bottles of condiments in the fridge"  Ugh, with 47 bottles left, this could take a while.....

Peach and Blueberry Crumble with Tarragon

I found some delicious, locally grown peaches at the market the other day, and they looked so good in their cute little wooden box that I had to buy them.  There were about 12 of them in the crate and were still a bit hard when I bought them so I left them on the counter to continue ripening for a couple of days.  When they seemed to have softened enough, my wife and I cut into one for a lunchtime dessert and were thrilled with how great they were, so juicy and very sweet.

Of course, the problem with peaches (and most fresh fruit for that matter) is that once they attain their peak of freshness, they begin a quick downhill sprint to the land of rot.  If we only had one or two to snarf down in a hurry I wouldn't have worried much, but with a ten or so peaches left, and most of our clan off at various camps this week, I was afraid we'd lose all the lovelies to our ever present summer battalion of fruit flies, before we had a chance to enjoy them.