Tag: baking

Desserts

The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

One of my favorite things to bake is cookies, and I have to say these peanut butter oatmeal cookies are the best. I make them more often than any other cookies and I get so many compliments and people asking for the recipe.

This makes about three dozen cookies so if you aren’t making them for a crowd, you could half the recipe. I always end up making the full batch and sending them with my husband to the firehall. I also love to give them away because who doesn’t want homemade cookies! The last batch I made lasted until 9 am at the firehall, they were devoured, and they are so easy to make.

Scoop your dough evenly after refrigerating
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with chocolate chips

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup or two sticks of butter (softened)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark but light is fine)
  • 2 large eggs room temperature (I let mine sit on the counter about 30 minutes before baking)
  • 1 cup peanut butter (we love the 100% peanuts peanut butter)
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (you can use baking vanilla in a pinch)
  • 2 cups whole oats
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350° or 325° if you have the option for convection
  2. Whisk your flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside
  3. In a large bowl, beat your butter until smooth and creamy, then add your sugars and beat again until creamed (a minute or two). Add your eggs, peanut butter and vanilla and beat again until everything is combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula.
  4. Add about half of your dry ingredient mixture to your bowl and mix, then add the rest and mix until well combined. Add in the oats and chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.
  5. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours up to overnight, if you don’t have that kind of time just pop it in the freezer until you’re ready to make.
  6. Line your baking sheet/s with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat and scoop even balls of dough onto them and bake for 12-14 minutes. If your dough is a little too hard to scoop, let it sit out for 30 minutes to thaw. A scoop makes this job super easy!
  7. Remove cookies from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Also try my favorite peanut butter cookies!

Desserts

The Best Lemon Square Recipe

One of my favorite scents is freshly squeezed citrus. It makes me think of spring, it’s fresh and it just makes me happy! Lemon bars made with freshly squeezed lemons with a flakey sweet crust, even better.

Lemon bars are one of the things I made a lot when I started to bake by myself. They were easy and we always had all of the ingredients on hand. I loved making these for friends because I would always hear them say “I don’t really like lemon” or something to that extent. But when they took a bite of my lemon bars, I could tell by the look on their face that I had changed their mind.

To this day, this recipe still brings me joy and remembering how many people love them. I want to share this recipe in hopes that they will be enjoyed even more.

Your crust might look dry/crumbly, that’s okay!
I judge my crust by the edges, they are a nice golden brown.
Fresh out of the oven.
And the final result! I went a little heavy with the powdered sugar, feel free to use as much/as little a s you like.
My helper for today, Leni

Ingredients For the Crust

  • 1 cup or 2 sticks butter (I use salted at room temperature)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus more for topping)

Ingredients For the Filling

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice (I use fresh but you can use bottled)
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

  1. For the crust: Mix butter, flour, and powdered sugar together with a hand mixer, then use your hands to really incorporate the butter. Your mixture will look a little dry/crumbly and that’s totally fine!
  2. Press the mixture into a 13×9 inch baking dish, and bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until light brown.
  3. For the filling: Mix the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, flour and baking soda together and pour over the crust, return to the oven for an additional 25 minutes.
  4. Cool and cut into squares, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Notes

I like to loosen the edges of the bars a few minutes after they come out of the oven, it makes it easier later to remove them from the pan.

I like these baking dishes because they come with nice lids for food storage: Baking Dishes

This is the hand mixer I have used for the last 10+ years and its great: Hand Mixer

The camera we use: Fujifilm Camera Fujifilm Camera with Lens