I love cookies! I’ve been on some sort of cookie binge lately, searching for that old school Americana feeling of stepping into a house warmed with the scent of freshly baked cookies. It makes me feel like I’m not an adult of 31 with worries that didn’t concern boys, homework or prom. I miss that. When we’re young, we want to grow up as fast as we can, take for granted how easy life can be. Now that I’m staring 32 in the eyes, I can’t help but wish I were 12 again!
I made homemade oatmeal cookie sandwiches this past weekend after seeing this post on Annie’s Eats for moon pies. I know moon pies are more of a east coast thing, growing up in Oakland, I loved the west coast version, It’s It, vanilla ice cream sandwiched between oatmeal cookies and dipped in chocolate. A bit different from the east coast oatmeal cookies with marshmallow cream dipped in chocolate, but still delicious regardless. I modeled my cookie sandwich after the It’s It more than the moon pie, using a vanilla frosting vs marshmallow cream. I also felt cookies and frosting alone were already sweet enough so I didn’t feel the need to dip or drizzle it with dark chocolate.
I used the oatmeal recipe on Annie’s site, but changed it a bit since she said her cookies were a bit crisp. I love moist chewy oatmeal cookies, so I changed the recipe around, substituted some ingredients, added new ingredients and changed the cooking time. The result were moist and chewy near perfect cookies! As for the frosting, I found this recipe for “That’s The Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had” months ago, I’ve used it several times and loved it, its my go to frosting recipe, you have to try it! Its a bit strange, but trust me, it’s wonderful, warning, the recipe makes quite a bit of frosting, I halved the recipe and had enough to make about 14 cookie sandwiches.
Makes 36 Loaded Oatmeal Cookies or 18 Cookie Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:
For Cookies
1 cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 Stick Unsalted Butter, soften (or 12 tbsp)
1 Egg, room temperature
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed (preferably dark brown sugar)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 1/4 cup Rolled Oats
1 cup Dried Cranberries
1 cup Almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
For Filling
5 tbsp All Purpose Flour
1 cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Unsalted Butter, soften
1 cup Granulated Sugar
METHOD:
For Cookies
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. In a sheet pan, toast whole almonds in the oven for about 10mins or until they are fragrant. Roughly chop and set aside to cool
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside
4. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy and sugar has dissolved, about 3mins. Blend in egg and vanilla
5. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Using a spatula fold in cranberries, oats, chocolate chips and cooled almonds into the batter
6. Scoop about 2tbsp of dough onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for exactly 14mins, rotating pan halfway through
7. Allow to cool on sheet for about 5mins before moving to wire rack to cool completely.
For Filling
1. In a small saucepan, whisk together flour and milk. Continue to whisk while heating until thickens to the consistency of a browned batter
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool until room temperature then stir in vanilla extract. Must be completely cool before using it in the next step
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until smooth, make sure sugar is fully dissolved, you don’t want any graininess left
4. Add cooled flour/milk/vanilla mixture to sugar mixture and beat on medium high until smooth and fluffy. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough. End product will resemble whipped cream.
Assembling Cookie Sandwiches
1. Take 2 completely cooled oatmeal cookies that are about the same size and add a big dollop of frosting in the middle of the flat side of the cookies
2. Smush cookies together until frosting reaches the edges
3. Wrap and refrigerate at least 5 hours to allow frosting to slightly harden
4. Store in the refrigerator
COOKING NOTES:
1. Lightly toasting the nuts brings out their essential oils and makes them taste better.
2. Don’t over mix the flour into the creamed butter and sugar mixture. I like to mix until just combined with some streaks of flour left, then fold in the rest of the ingredients. Keeps the cookies from being tough
3. Use a cookie scoop to insure you have the same amount of dough in each cookie. It also promotes even cooking
4. Make sure cookies are completely. cool before adding frosting.
The cookies are incredibly moist and chewy with hints of tartness from the dried cranberries and decadence of slightly melted dark chocolates chips. The frosting is lightly sweetened but ethereally fluffy, like whipped cream, it melts in your mouth as soon as it touches your tongue
I couldn’t help myself and indulged in a cookie or two while making the frosting, then barely able to wait the 5 hours before munching on a few cookie sandwiches. I store them in the refrigerator, I let them rest on the counter top for about 5mins before serving, just to take the chill off of them. Lasts 2 weeks in the fridge or 4 days in my household.
Posted from Ms Fatty’s BlackBerry 
I initially set out for a new glaze for chicken wings, only to find I didn’t have any wings on hand. Substituting with pork chops I bought a few days earlier, I started pulling different ingredients from the cupboards as well as the fridge. I stared at everything for a bit, trying to figure the flavor profile I wanted. I’ve been very into sweet-salty desserts lately when it hits me, why not a new savory marinade/glaze with a sweet touch.
Its not a new idea by any means. Cambodian flavor palates has always been a balance of salty, sweet, spicy and sour. Tapping into my roots, I wanted a new spicy sticky sweet glaze, though I’ve made quite a few before, I wanted to try using some sort of caramel in my recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
4 Pork Chops 3/4 – 1 inch thick
1 small Onion, thinly sliced (or half a large)
5 cloves of Garlic, finely minced
1- 1 1/2 inch piece of Ginger, finely minced
2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
4 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Chili Garlic Sauce or Sriracha Sauce (optional how much you use, can also substitute with red pepper flakes)
1 tsp Black Pepper
3 cups Water + 4 tsp
2 tsp Corn Starch
METHOD:
1. In a large bowl (preferably w/a lid) combine oyster sauce, hoisin, fish sauce, brown sugar, chili sauce and black pepper. Add onions, ginger, garlic and 3 cups of water. Stir to combine, add pork chops and make sure its submerged in the marinade, if you need more water, add just enough to submerge your meat. Cover with lid or plastic wrap, place in refrigerator to marinade at least 6, over night preferred for optimum flavor.
2. Pull the pork out of the marinade and pat dry, strain all solids from marinade and reserve 1 1/2 cup of liquid.
3. Cook pork any way you’d like, grill, bake or sauté on stove top. I chose sear it lightly in a pan before placing in the oven to finish cooking. Careful not to over cook. Tent with foil when done and allow to rest.
4. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, bring the reserved liquid to a boil, let it boil/reduce for 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoon of cornstarch to 4 teaspoon of water, stir to make a slurry, add about half to the liquid. Let boil to a slightly thick sauce. Add the rest of the slurry if its not thick enough. Turn off heat, be careful not to burn the sauce! Taste and adjust flavors as needed (adding brown sugar, fish sauce or chilies to balance the flavors to your liking) sauce should be sticky, sweet and spicy.
5. Add any liquid from the rested pork to the sauce, stir to combine. Coat the pork chops in the glaze before serving.
6. Serve sauce on the side along with steamed rice and vegetables.
COOKING NOTES:
1. When making fish caramel sauce, it can foam up a lot while boiling, make sure you use a fairly large sauce pot.
2. I used the same marinade for the glaze, letting it boil for 5 minutes does kill all harmful bacteria. You can save some of the marinade before you add the pork if you’re really uncomfortable. Just cover and refrigerated until you use it.
3. Would be delicious with chicken wings or thighs and drumsticks.
I was incredibly impressed with myself at how delish this turned out! The pork had a beautiful ginger flavor while the sauce was wonderfully sticky sweet and spicy! I love pulling from my roots to create something new but still in the spirit of Cambodia, I hope you’ll try this and love it as much as I do!
Posted from Ms Fatty’s BlackBerry
I’ve been working on this cookie for awhile now. I used to be obsessed with fat thick cookies for their chewy soft textures, now I’ve grown to love thin crispy cookies for its light texture. I’ve been working on merging chewy, crisp and gooey textures as well as salty sweet flavors into the “perfect cookie”. After searching the internet for some ideas and techniques, I’ve finally made something I can be proud of, plus it tastes great, super easy and has everything I’m looking for! I made these cookies last night at my friend Sena’s house during a party for its first public tasting. Luckily it was well received by my friends who all enjoyed them, despite its slightly funny appearance!
INGREDIENTS:
1 Egg, room temperature
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tbsp Coffee Granules (like Folgers)
1 1/4 cup Nutella
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp salt + more to sprinkle on top (I used sea salt)
1 cup Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk together Nutella, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until combined and smooth
3. Add flour, baking soda, coffee granules, salt and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, dough will be slightly sticky
4. Spoon 1 tbsp of dough on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle a pinch or two of salt on top
5. Bake in middle rack for 9 mins, rotate sheet halfway through.
6. Allow to cool about 5 mins on cookie sheet before moving to a wire rack to fully cool
7. Enjoy!!
COOKING NOTES:
1. Do not over mix the dough, you want to keep it tender.
2. The dough spreads out a lot when baked, so make sure you have a good amount of space in between.
3. The addition of coffee makes chocolate taste deeper and richer but if you don’t like coffee you can omit it.
4. I love salty sweet cookies, but if you aren’t a fan, don’t add extra salt on top and you’ll have just a sweet treat.
5. These keep very well when stored in an airtight container. If you want the warm cookie effect, just microwave 3-5 seconds and it’ll soften up like it was freshly baked.
The edges are beautifully thin and crisp while the middle is absolutely soft and chewy with pockets of melted chocolate chips for that gooey factor coupled with the initial salty kick to wake your palette for some deep chocolate flavors. One of the best cookies I’ve ever made, wonderfully savory and sweet! My friend Paulina suggested I add nuts for extra texture and I’m thinking next time I might try roasted chopped hazelnuts.
I hope you try these cookies and let me know how you like them!
Posted from Ms Fatty’s BlackBerry
Ok, so I said I would refrain from posting about chain fast food joints for the blog, but its an order/take a seat type of facility NOT a drive thru, so it passes for me!
The first time I ate at Habit was a few months ago when I came down to visit my brother at Fresno State. The sometime-a-3hr-trip makes me famish because I don’t consider a 3hr drive a road trip so I never take breaks while driving. Seeing the huge sign in a plaza with a Coach and Whole Foods made me stop because I realized how badly I wanted a burger. I was incredibly surprised at how cheap everything was! A typical double cheeseburger is only $3(and some change), seriously, you can’t even buy a burger for that much at Burger King!
So fast forward to Tuesday, I popped down to Fresno with my siblings and mom for Fresno State’s CCA encore performance of Judge Me Not: The Story of Who I Am. Written and directed (and sound engineered, proud!!!) by my brother, its a love story about a young Cambodian deportee who falls in love with a traditional girl while trying to learn how to survive his new life in the “old country”. Yes I rambled a bit, but I’m super proud of my brother!
My sibs and I love Habit (the actual topic of the post) so we stopped in before the show. They cook everything to order and have a nice variety on their menu. My mom is an almost-vegetarian and doesn’t eat much meat, luckily they have a veggie burger that she actually enjoyed. We ordered at the counter, get a buzzing pager when food is up and enjoyed it indoors since it was super windy o n the patio. My meal was $10.85 with tax, but I’m listing it because I didn’t even drink my coffee milkshake, I ended up giving it to my sister after 2 sips. Though thick and creamy, there wasn’t enough coffee flavor for me. I ended up finishing her diet Coke instead.
The burger was well made, I chose the Swiss Mushroom, it came with 2 beef patties with swiss cheese, mushrooms, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes oozing between a toasted bun. I also had a side of sweet potato fries with spicy ketchup that I made myself using their condiment bar, half Tapatio hot sauce and ketchup. Filling, hits the spot, cheap and makes me feel better about having a “fast food” burger. Yayyy Fresno!
Swiss Mushroom Burger - $4.45
Sweet Potato Fries - $2.65
Coffee Milkshake - $2.95
The Habit Burger Grill
702 West Shaw Ave
Fresno CA 93704
559-226-2128
The open road and vast nothingness along hwy 99 is actually pretty spectacular when you take a moment to appreciate it.
Posted from Ms Fatty’s phone
Still searching for that Love At First Bite and welcome any recommendations for a damn good meal! Some people eat to live but I LIVE TO EAT! *pats belly* Nom Nom!!
