Spiced Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie Bars

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Happy Fall!  I know that's a repeat statement, but fall has finally (FINALLY!) hit here in Southern California and I couldn't be more excited.  I've been on a scarf & boot jag like nobody's business.  I love me some scarves & boots, kids.  I've got it bad.

Another little something I've got it bad for lately is butterscotch chips.  I'm sure these have been around forever, but I am just getting around to discovering them and now I'm hooked.  I may or may not have several pounds of butterscotch chips in my freezer.  (Do you not remember the great pumpkin shortage a couple years ago?!  I'm not about to fall victim to another situation like that.  Call me Crazy Butterscotch Lady all you want.)

This year was my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner.  With my parents-in-law the officially guests of honor, I took my title as Hostess very seriously and was determined to make everything from scratch. Thankfully everything turned out great (according to my in-laws ~ SCORE!) but I'm going to be honest and confess that I didn't make the pumpkin pie.  Every hostess has her secrets right?  Well this year my little secret was Costco's $6 pie.  Don't judge.

I did, however, throw together a quick festive dessert from scratch that I must share with you.  It's another one of those super easy ones, and surprisingly tasty.  Enjoy these babies with a cup of hot tea or coffee, a pair of cozy slippers and a fire in the fireplace!

Spiced Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookie Bars

| Yield: 12-18 cookie bars | Prep: 10 mins. | Bake time: 30 mins |

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 c AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

1  1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

3 c rolled oats

1 1/2 c butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13x9 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until creamy and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three stages, mixing until just combined.  Stir in oats and mix well.  Finally, add in the butterscotch chips and mix until evenly incorporated.  Spread into the baking pan and bake approx. 30-35 minutes. 

Stay tuned for another yummy butterscotch recipe coming up!

Nutella Shortbread Bites

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Who doesn't love cookies?  Nobody I know.  There's something so comforting and homey about warm cookies and a glass of ice cold milk that makes everything in the world disappear for just a bit.

For as long as I can remember, my mom and I have made shortbread cookies at Christmastime.  Tiny little bites of shortbread perfumed with almond extract and then rolled in powdered sugar... so delish.  I decided to tweak the recipe and bit and turn it into a chocolatey treat.  It was a great decision, I have to say.

These Nutella shortbread cookies are little bites of Heaven.  Don't believe me?  Make 'em.  I dare you not to love them.  I rolled half of them in powdered sugar, and half of them in a combination of powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  These babies are dangerously yummy.

Nutella Shortbread Bites
| Yields: approx. 48 cookies | Prep Time: 10 mins | Bake time: 15 mins. |
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c Nutella
1/2 powdered sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
Powdered sugar
Cocoa powder

Beat butter and Nutella until light and fluffy.  Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into butter mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add in the egg yolk and vanilla, beating until smooth.  In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.  Then add to the wet mixture and mix until a soft dough is formed.  (Dough will be a bit crumbly.)  Knead the dough lightly.  Chill for several hours.

To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Form the dough into teaspoon sized balls.  Note to self: take off your wedding rings prior to ball forming.  Bake for 15 minutes.  While the cookies bake, prepare two small bowls for rolling the hot cookies.  In one bowl pour about a cup of powdered sugar and set aside.  In the other bowl, pour 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder.  Stir until completely mixed.

The hot cookies are extremely delicate.  Gently roll the cookies a couple at a time in the powdered sugars, then set the cookies out on a baking rack to cool completely.  Store cookies in an airtight container.

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New Year's Eve Peanut Butter Cookies

Pin It Now! Happy New Year!  2011 was full of so many blessings and new experiences.  I am excited to see what 2012 brings!  I think I'll usher in the new year with something yummy... because, why not??

These are not your average ho-hum peanut butter cookies.  You see, these are more than peanut butter cookies.  They are soft, chewy peanut butter cookies drizzled with Ghirardelli chocolate.  Ohhhhh yes.  I'd love to meet the genius who first thought to pair chocolate and peanut butter.  That person deserves the first Nobel prize in deliciousness.

This recipe is so simple, yet so good, and I guarantee you have all the ingredients on hand at any given time.  And hey, if you don't feel like messing around with melting chocolate and drizzling (but who wouldn't?!) toss in a cup of chocolate chips and call it a day!  And of course make sure you sample them right out of the oven when they're all melty ooey gooey...  mmmmmm....

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 3/4 c AP flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 c peanut butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat.  Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  Meanwhile, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add in peanut butter and beat until creamy.  Beat in sugars, egg and vanilla until fully blended.  Add flour mixture and slowly mix until fully incorporated.  Dough will be somewhat crumbly.

Form about 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball for each cookie.  Place a sheet of wax paper over cookies and lightly flatten with your hands.  (Alternately, you can also go the traditional route and flatten with the tines of a fork.)  Bake cookies for 9 minutes, or until just very lightly brown on the edges.  Cool for one minute on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.  Drizzle with chocolate once completely cooled.

Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies with Apple Cider Glaze

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I love fall.  I really do.  I love the orange and red leaves falling, I love the goose-bumpy mornings and evenings, I love that it gets darker earlier, I love that my beautiful scarves and boots get to come out and play... I love it all.

And did I mention I love the food?  I LOVE fall food!  Fall is squash, cinnamon, sage, pumpkin, cranberry, nutmeg, allspice.  Fall is cozy warm kitchens filled with delicious smells and the sound of family.

This year is Thanksgiving Montalvo style.  R&B will be coming in to town and us wives will be in the kitchen while the hubbies make "Noes" (Fresca with a splash of tequila - or is it the other way around??) watch football or play with Captain America.

I've decided to make cookies as part of our Thanksgiving dessert table.  Pumpkin anything is right up my alley, but I wanted to make more than just plain ol' pumpkin cookies.  Cranberries and a special glaze kicked things up a notch and were so simple to put together!  This was a trial run/recipe test and worked out beautifully.  The cookies stay very soft and moist.  For Thanksgiving I'm going to have two types: ones with cranberries, and one with walnuts.

These would also be great with chocolate chips, leaving out the glaze and cranberries.  Wanna make it quick?  Spread the batter in a greased 9x13 pan and make cookie bars!  Easy peasy!

Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies

Adapted from Very Best Baking

2 1/2 c AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I love cinnamon, so I did a heaping teaspoon)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 c butter (1 stick) at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg at room temperature (it really does make a difference)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup(ish) dried cranberries
Glaze (recipe below)

Directions for cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment or lightly grease.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.  In a large mixer bowl, beat sugars and butter until fully mixed.  Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Lastly, mix in cranberries until just beaten through.  Don't over beat.  Drop by heaping tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until edges are just firm. They won't look done, but that's how you want them.  Cool slightly on the baking sheets and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Apple Cider Glaze

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbsp apple cider

Combine all ingredients and whisk until very smooth.  Add more powdered sugar (Sift!) or cider as needed.  The consistency should be a bit syrupy.  Too thin and it will run right off the cookies.  Drizzle over the cooled cookies and let dry completely.

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Chicago Metallic.