Ultimate Oatmeal Cookies

With the start of school, I am stuck with a sense of malaise, mixed with sadness. Mind you, I'm not the one going to school. Having those junior people at home with me for summer's protracted stretch has now left me under a rigorous Attack of the Lonelies. Joined to the hip, maybe not TOH- TAH-LEE, I  suffice to say I will miss my kiddies. Yes, they are. Even the one that towers over me by two heads.

Mom Mind fast forwards to after school treat. It is the first day after all, cookies it shall be. They adore  the oatmeal raisin. Thus comes my confession, I'm not too fond of them. In fact there is no hankering here for a cookie whose ingredients qualify as boring breakfast item.

Mom Mind again compels me to bake them the oatmeal raisin. Perhaps I can find one that exists where the contents would appeal to me, as well. Is that even possible?

My answer came in an America's Test Kitchen cookbook, the fine chefs over there, as per the famous working kitchen's style, took me though a detailed drill on the making of a foolproof Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie. There it was on page 466,  that I found the new breed of oatmeal cookie, one that would make my head spin and my tastebuds do the happy dance. Sans cloying cinnamon, complete with real old fashioned oats, this one had a doozy of unconventional, tastefully scandalous ingredients.

Now shall we discuss the multiple achievement those ingredients accomplished? Through the maintaining of a crisp exterior, the Ultimate One housed a chewy interior which in itself was moist and chunkily textured. Most importantly, this Olympian of a cookie led to my resolute conversion.

I'll let you in on the other noteworthy task Ultimate effortlessly hurdled. It straddled the divide by not only being a resounding child pleaser, but also an elegant adult treat. Can it get any better than this? Yes. With  the colossal stick and a half of butter, it transcends beyond the great.

Make no mistake, these are Exact Opposite of the mishmash known as monster cookie, where a jumble of ingredients amount to nothing taste wise. Quite the contrary, this one is balanced perfectly with tart cherries, studded with crunchy nuts and subtly sweetened with bursts of dark chocolate. "Ohh, Sweet Luscious, where were you all my life"... yes, I did say.

The recipe makes for 16 subtantial chunksters. The same amount that should've been awaiting my very eager kids returning home from their first day, if it weren't for the sad fact that a few may have slipped through the portals of my mouth. Judge me not, people. Go bake and see for yourself.

(Recipe adapted from "The Complete America's Test Kitchen Cookbook")
Ingredients:

• 1¼ c all purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1¼ c old-fashioned oats
• 1 c chopped walnuts
• 1 c dried sour cherries
• ¾ c semisweet chocolate chunks or chips (preferably Ghirardelli)
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1½ c packed brown sugar, golden brown
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment.
• In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a smaller bowl mix together oats, nuts, cherries and chocolate chips.
• On medium speed, beat butter and sugar in a stand mixer until creamy and smooth.
• Add the egg and vanilla and take speed down to medium- low to beat for not more than a minute.
• Decrease mixer speed to low, slowly add in the flour and beat until just blended, 30 seconds.
• Incorporate oat mixture and mix on low until just combined.
• Stir the dough one last time using hand to integrate all ingredients.
• Take ¼ cup measure from the dough and roll roughly into a ball shape. Repeat for approximately 16 balls.
• Reel the balls onto baking sheets.
• Press down each sphere until flattened to thickness of 1 inch.
• Set sheets in upper middle and lower middle racks of oven.
• Bake for **20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway between, edges will be golden brown but the center will be soft and slightly mushy.
• Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, this ensures a final cooking on the pans themselves.
• Transfer cookies onto wire racks to cool completely.

Notes:
**Update 12/19/2014~ I recently had to bake these for less than 15 minutes, app 14 and they turned out perfect, crisp, exterior and soft chewy middle. It worked as written in 20 minutes the number of times previous to this, but now I have a new oven and live in higher altitude, so I assume these must contribute for for the shorter bake time. I apologize, but do your time adjustments accordingly :-)

I used ¼ tsp salt instead of the recipe's recommendation for ½ tsp, substituted chopped walnuts for the pecans (almonds would also work great). I also added in ¼ c of white chocolate chips in half the recipe along with reducing the semisweet which I didn't mention above (a good addition, as well).

******

 Priceless, because you are ~

"You are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are". ~Max Lucado

Pizza Pizza!

My favorite food after my obsession with AFSI (all foods S. Indian, Indian, etc.) is pizza. And I can  honestly say the best I've had, on several occasions is at the extremely laid back, high quality Piece Pizzeria, in the Wicker Park area of Chicago. It is as good as pizza gets. I lived closer to that pizza joint once upon a time. Saddeningly, these days I must fly over a 1400 mile stretch to sink a bite into a piece of Piece. Distance can never diminish that strong love I possess, I confess Piece Pizza will always be my sunshine of pies.

Keeping that in mind, pizza as America and the world know it stems into quite a different path, unalike it's very traditional and original Neapolitan counterpart. These days, we have oozy cheesed up buttered-crusted options that overfloweth with unbearable goodness. Further decorated with more than a gazillion toppings. Agreed, pizza is everywhere, familiar ingredients making it undoubtedly fine, yes, but a little too run-of-the-mill so.

Bringing me back on track to my adoration of savoury pie and my immutable, rather fierce love of  Indian ingredients led me one day to the realization that bringing two of the most potent food species together could result in a super phenomenal eat of high intense ranking.

Entirely a can do, right? Something I should do, I know. Though the nagging head talk diligently reminded me of my irksome Fear of Pizza Dough. Don't get me wrong, numerous times went by where according to recipe instruction I'd come up with fantismo dough making results. On the other hand, an equal number of occasions led to epic dough making fail, doomed from the onset with a no rise, super sticky demeanor that no one could put straight. Pathetic it was, the days relying heavily on my hope in the Hut (Pizza, that is) and of course readymade pizza crusts.

But let me tell you, my sweeties, miracles do happen. Mine came, in the form of a larger-than-half-my-kitchen counter breadmaking machine. So yes, with my brilliant breadmaker churning out dough, I was liberated to dream up topping after topping, thus bringing me to my India meets Italy mighty wonder. Oh, how good it is to see these two in union, not in a long time has this  merging looked so fabulous and chic.

Shredded chicken tandoori carried with a flavor packed white sauce styles the top of this stretched, baked- crust dough.

Dear people, this is seriously good, it is beyond swoon.

So, stop order that ridiculously cheesy( yes, pun) takeout, and give Tandoori Chicken pie a try.

Surely, you will consider yourself fortunate if ever a slice makes it for leftover following morning.

What shall it be then, shukriya or arrivederci - I accept and you are most welcome, si!

Ingredients :

• pizza dough ( enough for two medium pizzas)
• 1 tbsp olive oil or canola
• shredded tandoori chicken from 4 breasts
• 1 ½ c chili white sauce
• ½ c feta cheese 
• chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions :

• Preheat oven oven to 400° F.
• Working with one piece of dough at a time (keep second covered), shape with hands or roll with pin dough into either a rectangular shape or round ( 7- 9 ",to fit  2 baking trays) of 1/2- 1/4 inch thickness. 
• Brush olive oil over both sheets of prepared dough. Divide and pour sauce over both stretched doughs. Top both with shredded chicken and sprinkle  the feta over that.
• Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until dough is done.
• Take out and top with cilantro leaves.

 Tandoori chicken topping:

• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp red chili powder or cayenne (adjust this for heat)
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• *1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Mix the ingredients from the coriander powder to to oil together and combine to paste- like form
• Evenly coat the chicken breasts with the mixture.
• Place chicken onto a lined baking tray.
• Bake for 25 minutes .
• When cool, pull apart pieces and shred with fingers

  Chili white sauce:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 ½ c warm milk
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ 10 oz. can lime and chili blend diced canned tomatoes

Method:

• In a small heavy saucepan over medium- low heat, melt the butter.
• Blend flour into the melted butter using a wooden spoon. Cook and stir over low heat for 4 - 5 minutes.
• At this point, use a whisk and slowly stream in milk, whisking at intervals.
• Continue to stir and cook until mixture is smooth, thick and free of lumps.
• Stir in salt.
• Take off heat.
• Let cool. Pour in canned tomatoes and combine with the sauce.

For the pizza dough I used the recipe that came with my breadmaker's manual, which gives me steady results each time, not to mention the ease of it - throw in the ingredients- it mixes, it kneads, dough rises. For those of you wanting to make dough with a processor which can also be done by hand, I've adapted an awesome one from  Bobby Flay. Believe me I've tried and the Iron Chef duly delivers a very good dough.

Junior bunch don't like leaves on pizza, so I omit the cilantro, altogether.

Pizza Dough:

( adapted from Bobby Flay's Bar Americain cookbook)

• 1 c water, you may not need the whole amount
• 1 ½ tsp yeast
• 2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil or canola 
• 2 c bread flour or all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt

Method:

• Measure ½ c of the water into a cup. Sprinkle in yeast and let stand until yeast dissolves and mixture foams, 5-7 minutes.
• In a food processor, pulse  flour and salt until mixed well.
• Add in yeast mixture and pulse 4- times to combine.
• Stream in olive oil and slowly add in water. Pulse with each addition, all the water may not be used for dough to pull together.
• Process until dough is smooth and pliable.
• Take out and turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. 
• Form into a smooth ball, keep covered in a well oiled bowl, until doubled in size, about 2- 4 hours.

We like our crusts thick, but if you prefer a thinner dough, roll out thin.
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Never doubt ~ God will finish His work in your life in its entirety. Trust His faithfulness.

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6