Swappin’ Cookies

I think this is the last of my holiday items to catch you up on. Do you have today off? Great! Make some of these cookies! If you’re working today then just stay tuned this week for a guest blog recipe post and a calzone!

I love all the cookies that come along with the holidays. Growing up I don’t think I realized how lucky I was that Mum made so many cookies, from scratch. I thought everyone was so lucky.

Normally when cookie swaps are mentioned everyone groans and isn’t into consuming more calories this time of year so I think I haven’t been to one since 2008? Wow.
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Ms. L invited me to one at Flour that is also a fundraiser for Cradles to Crayons. I’m so glad I took on the challenge but brining cookies to Flour Bakery? Talk about pressure! Let’s also talk about the recipe I chose considering I don’t bake very often: Apple Oatmeal Toffee Drop Cookies. Go ahead, you can laugh.

I made a sugar cookie base thinking I’d make some more cookies soon afterwards…what was I thinking? During packing, buying the house, and preparing to move all during the holidays, I had no time.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used granulated brown sugar)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup quick oats
1 green apple, chopped
1/2 cup toffee bits

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
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Cut in butter and sugars together.  Add egg and vanilla, and mix until well incorporated.
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Add oatmeal and apple and stir by hand until combined.
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Form dough into ping-pong sized balls. Form an indent on the top and fill with toffee bits (see the top row). Cover the toffee with the dough from the sides of the well (see the bottom row).
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Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges start to turn golden brown. Then transfer to a cooling rack.

I made a double batch since we were asked to bring 2-4 dozen. These suckers had lots of butter, brown sugar, and oatmeal. I mixed in granny smith apples but filled them with toffee bits. I think the apple did a lot to keep them soft and the toffee melts so much faster and might leave these with burn toffee oozes if it isn’t stuck in the middle.

Baking a double batch and filling each cookie was a test of my patience. I tried to just go slow and make them all perfect. They came out awesome but baking cookies is hard work! I had 2 trays going and my apt oven was terribly uneven. Two timers, fifty million cookies, and creative cooling racks I was done and ready for the swap. (Mine are in the middle in the back).
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There were some awesome cookies at the swap. I had to admit there were a few I thought were below par. I’d never bring chocolate chip cookies to a swap unless they were perfectly cooked and the best ever…these weren’t.
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I was hoping Joanne Chang would talk more about baking, about Flour, about holiday cookies, etc. She talked about why they hosted this event again but I would have liked to hear about her cookbook or her favorite goodies. She had made Butter Breton Cakes that she was testing for her next cookbook.  They were reallllly good.
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Apple Something

I didn’t quite make apple crisp as promised on my fall list. My apples were on their way out when I got to it so I went with apple sauce rather than crisp.
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It’s sweet, tangy, and everything I wanted. Plus, it meant I didn’t lose any apples I picked myself!

Ingredients:

6 apples mostly pealed (peel gives some color)
½ cup water
½ cup apple cider
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ cup brown sugar

Directions:

Roughly peel and chop apples.
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Drop them into a pot with water, cider, lemon juice and brown sugar.
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Cook low and slow, stirring occasionally until cooked down.
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I probably cooked mine for 30 minutes. You could definitely puree the apples if you don’t want any chunks. Apple sauce is just like peanut butter, the more chunks the better for me. I thought adding some vanilla would be good. If I’d had some vanilla ice cream I probably would have tried some warmed up as an ice cream topping. Seriously, the brown sugar makes it that good.

What a good jar gift! I keep seeing cookie kits on Pinterest (where else?) but a lot of my loved ones will be getting some sort of edible gift this year. (shhh!) The applesauce will be long gone by then. Since I’m no baker, I wouldn’t prep a jar filled with cookie ingredients no matter how cute it looks since that’s not really me. Maybe somebody in your life would like some homemade applesauce?! I have a few ideas for goodies but I won’t be sharing those until the gift-giving has commenced! Just 19 more days!!