Empirical Baker

I love baking, but I dislike how it seems that there is a lot of refined foods in it. (Ahem, cake aside.) :)

I am trying to incorporate more whole grains and fiber into my diet. And, an easy way to do that is through cookies!

Yes, cookies.

Bakers Banter at King Arthur Flour posted a blog about using White whole wheat and oatmeal to create a whole grain cookie. They also made it will all butter, so no shortening is involved.

I only had regular rolled oats, so I did blend mine a bit to get a more flour like consistency. I did not have orange juice, so I used milk. I think I will try the orange juice next time, the cookies do have a bit of “wheaty” taste to them (but not nearly as much as the cookies made from Whole Foods Whole Wheat).

In addition, the cookies have an added step of refrigerating the dough overnight. It made a remarkable amount of difference in the taste, the overnight cookie dough was smoother after a stay than the dough right after mixing. I might try doing this with cookies from now on :)

I had one batch with dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips, and one batch with mini chocolate chips. This recipe also has the added bonus of twice as much “stuff” as the typical Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, so there is a lot of chocolate in the cookies. Yum!

You can find the full recipe, without the wonderful banter, at King Arthur Flour’s Website

I am not sure where we originally found the recipe. It called for a can of chicken and rice soup, salsa, cheese, and tortilla chips.

As I am 1) sick, and 2) without canned soup, I made my own version by mixing a can of chicken broth, 1/2 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of rice. Simmer until rice is done. Add salsa to taste, cheese (I used the rest of my pepper jack), and tortilla chips.

Just spicy enough to overpower the nasal congestion, and enough carbs to get me through.

Sorry, no picture :)

I signed up to take a Cake decorating class. Saturday was our first class, which basically discussed supplies and icing. I bought a fancy “Wilton 50-Piece Tool and Caddy Decorating Set,” and of course had to come play with it.

Yet, even with knowing how to make the icing? I still have to remember to grease my silly silicone baking cups. Yeah, I didnt do it, and I think the cupcakes (from a mix, I was in a hurry) were slightly underdone. Still, it was an excuse to play with my camera, and show you the attempt. :)

(By the way, if you ever want to at least keep some semblance that cake is, well, not horrible for you, then please do not read the recipe for the decorators icing. I think salt is the “healthiest” ingredient that is there. Which, adding the pinch of salt really did cut down on the super sweetness.)

You ever have those days? The end of the night, and you want something sweet?

I originally baked the Pound Cake to make Grilled Chocolate. And, the cake was wonderful, but I burned it attempting to grill it, and the chocolate was very thick.

Still, the concept was interesting. So, I tore the last few slices of pound cake into small pieces, and topped it with marshmallows and chocolate chips.

Fancy? No. Healthy? Not at all. Yummy? Yes.

Pound Cake, Chocolate Chips, and Marshmallows