I’m participating in Menu Monday at Organizing Junkie

My oven died a few days ago, so this Menu Monday is a creative one! Just as I had finished mopping up my tears over discovering it wasn’t just a fuse issue, my wonderful husband delivered another striking blow – it could take over a month for us to get the part our oven needs. Shake it off, May! It’s ok, there are plenty of stove top, no bake and slow cooker options. Deeeeep yoga breaths. Ok so I think I’m alright.

This Week’s Menu (Feb 13-19)
*In case you’re wondering why I’m making two meals every night, I made some dietary changes that were important to me earlier this year and my family is a little slow to jump in. They usually join me in a healthy breakfast and lunch and I refuse to bicker over dinner.

Sunday – Tacos for the fam, Tofu Nuggets for me (yes again, I’d eat them everyday if I could with homemade BBQ sauce)

I know this recipe is not mentioned at all in my menu for this week but let’s totally ignore that and be thankful for moderately healthy cookies. If you like your Oatmeal Cookies Granny-style, just add a cup of raisins at the very end and mix them in with a wooden spoon. None of us are fans of raisins in baked goods (except maaaaybe cinnamon buns but even then not really), so I didn’t use any.

Grandmother’s Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies – From Good Housekeeping Cook Book (p. 722)

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats, uncooked

As you’d expect, cream the butter and the sugars together first. Then add the egg and vanilla.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl before you tip that bowl into the wet mixture. Beat till just combined.
Finally, mix in the oats with a wooden spoon (this is where you’d add raisins if you’re so inclined).
Bake for about 15 minutes at 350!

I’m skipping the oatmeal cookie post (cookie #4 for 2011) because oatmeal, however amazing they may be are really not worthy of their own post. My husband may argue that, as he looooves them and requests them on the regular, but we all make oatmeal cookies, don’t we?

As with most genius baking ideas I come across online, I found the idea for pillow cookies over at Bakerella. She found them in the bakery of Fresh Market and this version was her reproduction. Hers are huge and way way bigger than the inspirational cookies that she ate. I went with much smaller ones, probably closer to the ones she bought, simply because my wee ones and husband will eat them and eat them, so they’ll last a little longer if they’re smaller!

First whip up a batch of brownies and cut them pretty small. I went with 1/2″ squares (ish) and Bakerella went with 1 squares. Then, as they’re cooling, make a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough (use mini chips). Do you need recipes for these elementary school baked goods?

The brownies could not be simpler; melt 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan, once it’s melted add 1 cup of sugar and stir till it’s totally dissolved. Then mix in 2 eggs, one at a time and 1 tsp of vanilla. Now dump in 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder. It’ll be pretty gloopy, but just mix it in till it’s all one gloopy mass and away you go. Pop them in for about 10-15 at 350.

The cookies are also painfully easy. Mix 1 cup butter and the 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar till creamy. Then add 2 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Yes, a tablespoon not a teaspoon. Mix 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsps baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp baking soda. The add that to the rest of the mix. Now stir in a whole 12oz bag of mini chocolate chips. Chill the dough for about an hour.

Now, the fun begins! Make a generous ball of cookie dough. Smoosh a thumbprint into it.

Plunk a brownie into the indentation you just made. Now roll the rest of the cookie ball around the brownie, add a little more dough if you need to. Now giggle. You just hid a brownie in a cookie.

Repeat over and over. Don’t try to put more than 6 on your tray at a time (assuming it’s an average size tray) because they run together like woah.

It was really hard to wait for the kids to get home after school to try one, but I usually have the first tea time treat with them. It was painful but I waited!

I could not, however, wait to open one up and see what it looked like inside, so I sliced this one – then my husband walked by and ate it! Can you blame him?!