oatmeal pumpkin bites

Just in time for Thanksgiving!

I was going for cookies but I think what came out was a mix between cookies and bread, pretty yummy non the less. I hope you like them. I'm thinking about entering the recipe into Betty Crocker's Cookie Mix Context.

Ingredients:

1 pouch of Betty Crocker's Oatmeal Cookie mix
1/2 stick of butter, soften not melted
1 egg
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans
1 cup of cinnamon graham crackers, or vanilla wafers, or whatever cookie wafer you might have at hand, finely crumbled.

Set the oven at 375°F.

In a medium size bowl mix the oatmeal cookie mix, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, butter and egg.

In a different bowl, mix the cookie crumbs and pecans. Add a pinch of pumpking pie spice if desired. I did and it gave them a little extra.

Scoop about 1 inch size balls and roll them in the cookie pecan mix until well covered. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake for about 8 1/2 minutes or until you see the light golden edges begin to show.

leave on the cookie sheet for about 1 minute and then transfer to a cookie sheet to cool off completely......

..nah! you don't have to wait that long to enjoy this bites. They're actually pretty good while warm.

Mh...you want one now, don't you?!   Go make some and come back tand tell me how they turned out! 

pistachio-craisin oatmeal cookies

These cookies are soft and moist, full of flavor and ah so easy!  It all starts with..... you guessed it,  one of Betty Crocker's cookie mixes.

Oatmeal cookie mix.  This time I followed instructions as directed on the back of the pouch, ok, kind of followed, I also added craisins and vanilla for extra flavor and...

pistachios for crunch and more flavor.  I love pistachios. They were hard to find, not to mention expensive, when I was a kid so it was rare when I got to eat them.  But I digresss....

Set the oven at 375 F 

Ingredients:

1 pouch of Betty Crocker Oatmeal cookie mix

1 stick of butter (Softened not melted.  If you forget to get it out of the fridge before hand, just throw it in the microwave for about 1 min at Power Level 1.  Do a second minute if necessary)

1 Egg

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 tbsp of water

1/2 cup of craisins (Cut into small pieces.  You could also substitute the craisins for raisins or any other dry fruit,  I'm thinking mango)

1/2 cup of finely chopped pistachios (I put them in a small food processor and usually about 4-5 pulses does the trick)

Incorporate the craisins and pistachios with the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until they're evenly distributed.  Add the vanilla with the wet ingredients (including the butter) and mix throughly with a fork.   The dough comes out a little sticky,  but not to worry that is normal. 

With a spoon or cookie scooper, scoop out about 1 inch balls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, at least that's what the back of the package calls for, however I found out that the best time for my oven is about 8 to 81/2 minutes.  So I recomend you start checking for light golden brown edges at about 8 minutes.

I know it's hard to see in this picture, but when you turn them over....

Nice golden edges..

You are going to feel compelled to try them when they're warm,  but I would suggest to let them cool off completly before you sink you teeth into this delicious rounds. 

Once cooled off, you could stack 'em.....

Pile 'em up,  or simply enjoy them with a nice tall glass or milk or hot cup of coffee. 

Come back and tell me how they turned out!

finally, some cookie talk!

The original recipe, wich one day I will share with you,  called for almonds and powdered sugar, but I did not have any almonds nor almond extract,  what I did have were pecans and vanilla extract.  I don't think I need to tell you how the story ends, Pecan Cinnamon Sugar Cookies....Yummy! 

Although I think they deserve a more appropriate "stage" name like..."peek-an-mon cookie bites"  or  "sugar-mon pecan bites".  What do you think?

It all starts with ingredients you probably already have in your refrigerator and your pantry; granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, corn starch, pecans and my secret ingredient.....

....Betty Crocker's Sugar Cookie mix.   Best invention ever!  It makes baking so easy AND  it makes me feel like a big shot baker. And they come in a variety of flavors; chocolate chip, oatmeal, and oatmeal chocolate chip to name a few.

I have started stocking up on this mixes,  believe it or not they are hard to find during the holiday season.

And you thought I was kidding.  What you can't see,  is another row of cookie mix pouches right behind this one!  I know, I need help.

Ingredients:

1 pouch of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix

1/3 - 1/2 cup of corn starch.

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup (one stick) of butter - soften, not melted. 

1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.  I really like cinnamon so I use it all, and some times I add more,  but if you are not sure,  you should start with one teaspoon and add to your taste.

Before you start mixing,  set the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, mix the sugar cookie mix, corn starch, pecans, vanilla, egg and butter.  Mix with a fork until well blended.  Roll or spoon about 1/2 inch size balls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. I use a small cookie scooper,  easier and less messy.  It yields about 46 cookies.

Bake anywhere from 7 - 10 minutes.  It really depends on the oven.  Mine takes about 7 to 71/2 minutes until the edges start turning a light golden brown......

Viola!   Nice light golden brown edges. This cookie is done! Baking at least....all it needs is a good dusting.....

While your cookies cool off on a rack....

Mix the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.  Once your cookies have cooled off roll them in the sugar and cinnamon until they're all covered with the sugary mix....

Yummy! 

A mountain of goodness.

But don't take my word for it.   Locally, one of my hardest critics,  my 8-year old son, was at hand to provide an unbiased opinion.....

What I did not know was that two of his alter egos were going to participate in the judging.  And yes, they all had a cookie.

Almost a perfect score!.........but wait.......

Apparently after a review of the previous scorings and a second tasting they have decided that my cookies deserved not 2 but 3 PERFECT TENS!

This cookies are ready for the market place.  They would make the perfect addition to our early morning garage sale.

We packaged...

Priced....

and cha-ching$!$   At least that's what we thought.  Sorry to say, I'm keeping my day job.

But I am not blaming it on the cookies, I am blaming it on the foot traffic.  It was almost non-existent.  We probably had about a total of 6 people come by.  They all bought something,  but not nearly enough for me to get rid of all my junk.