Sweet Love Child

At the start of the new year, many of you will vow to cut out sweets from your life, go on diets and jump on the treadmill, desperately trying to drop a few holiday pounds. I get very lonely when that happens :-) Since I have a couple more days before 2013 gets here, I thought I'd share one last recipe in 2012 that's full of buttery, sugary goodness. Can I tempt any of you with Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake? There are oats and raisins in it, so don't feel so guilty. 

My very own photo/blog assistant!

I saw this recipe and had to make it, because I love me a good oatmeal raisin cookie. It's such a simple cookie, but it delivers every time- chewy raisins and oats, crunchy and buttery edges...oh, so good! There are oats in the cake batter, in the filling and the top cookie crumble. It's got raisins scattered throughout with spicy cinnamon and nutmeg perfuming the whole thing. It's practically health food. If coffee cake and cookies got together and had a love child, this would be it. And what a sweet love child it would be. While there is no coffee in this cake, a warm cuppa is the perfect accompaniment. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Coffee Cake adapted from Baking Bites

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For The Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup quick cooking oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For The Cookie Crumble:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

To make the cookie crumble: In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until well combined and the mixture is coarse and sandy. Stir in raisins and oats until mixed throughout. Set aside while you make the cake batter.

To make the cake: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

Blend in half of the flour mixture until just combined. Add all of the buttermilk and the vanilla and stir until  well mixed, then blend in the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined, but do not overbeat.

To Assemble: Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Top with half of the cookie crumble. Pour remaining batter on top and spread carefully to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumble evenly over the batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, before running a knife around the edge and carefully removing the springform ring. Allow to cool completely before serving. 

Store cake in an airtight container.

Thank you for the support and encouragement you all have shown me here at Lick The Bowl Good. I couldn't do this without each and every one of you. I hope to bring you many new and delicious creations in the upcoming year. Please be safe as you ring in 2013. Cheers!

~Monica H

Last Minute Treats and Handmade Gifts

I am so cookied out! I keep thinking of other cookie recipes I want to make, but in reality, I really don't want to stand on my feet in the kitchen for hours on end, reaching into the hot oven. After baking 22 dozen cookies, I'm looking for an easy way out. And these cookie sandwiches are the golden ticket. 

I found these on my friend, Michelle's blog, One Ordinary Day and they could not be simpler. The hardest part was unwrapping all the shiny gold foil off the chocolate covered caramels, the rest was just easy peasy. You line up your crackers, top them with Rolos, bake for 3-5 minutes, then top with another Ritz and you're done. From start to finish, these took me about 10 minutes, so if you're in need of a quick sweet treat, these are for you. 

Rolo Stuffed Ritz Crackers adapted from One Ordinary Day

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• Rolo Candies
• Ritz Crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Place Ritz crackers on a cookie sheet face side down, and top each one with a Rolo candy.

Bake for 3-5 minutes to soften (but not fully melt) the Rolos, Remove from the oven and immediately top  the Rolos with a second Ritz cracker. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. 

NOTE: There are about 55 Rolos candies per bag. 

If you need a last minute gift for the grandparents, these salt dough ornaments are perfect. You only need three ingredients to make the dough, and acrylic paint and ribbon to embellish them. You can make them as fancy or as simple as you want, it's the handprint and the memory of spending time with your child that's important. 

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments adapted from Once A Month Mom 

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• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 7 tbsp water
• Round cookie cutter large enough to go around the handprint
• 1 drinking straw
• Craft paint
• Ribbon

Preheat oven to 250°F. 

Mix together flour, salt, and water. Knead for 10 minutes til smooth and no longer sticky. Add a little flour at a time, if necessary.  

Roll out the dough to no more than 1/4-inch thick, then use the cookie cutter (or glass) to make rounds. Press a hand into dough. If you’re doing this with really little ones, you may have to go back and make deeper impressions of their hands with your fingers or a kitchen utensil–the deeper the impression, the better your ornaments will turn out. 

Use a straw to poke a hole in each ornament (this is where the ribbon will go later). Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until ornaments have completely dried out. 

Remove the tray from the oven, once they're cool enough to handle, place ornaments on a cooling rack and allow to cool before painting. Paint or decorate as you want. When the decorations have dried, thread ribbon through the hole. Hang on your tree. 

Hot Cocoa Cupcakes

Hi Everyone, 

I mentioned last week that my Hot Cocoa Cupcakes were going to be featured on People.com. The link for Kid Friendly Holiday Cupcakes went live on Tuesday and out of the 14  festive cupcakes featured, mine were front and center. I am beyond thrilled! Thank you for stopping by and sharing in my joy. And thank you Brooke for asking me to be a part of this segment- I'm honored to be included with so many other talented bakers. 

~Monica h