Baking! Breads & Cookie #3.

I made my 3rd batch of cookies for the year just the other night. There are unfortunately no pictures because they've somehow all disappeared since then. You'll just have to trust me that they were pretty in addition to being tasty. I was craving my old favorite, the ever unpopular oatmeal raisin. Yes, that's really one of my favorite cookies ever. What can I say? Oats and raisins are two of the greatest things on earth as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, I almost went with the recipe I usually use, but something compelled me to flip through the meager Dessert section in my New Laurel's Kitchen cookbook. Lo & behold, a slightly more nutritious version of oatmeal raisin cookies! If you're going to make 50 cookies in a year you should probably try to make some of them that aren't 100% terrible for you, right? Right.

Recipe: Oatmeal School Cookies from The New Laurel's Kitchen.

Modifications: Tragically, I only had like 2 walnuts left in my cupboard (probably because I can't stop snacking on them), so I obviously didn't get to use the full amount. Also I left out wheat germ because I didn't have any because I can never find the damn stuff at the store. (I've honestly seen it once in my life, at Target, of all places.)

Review: HEAVENLY!! One bite & I knew this recipe had replaced my old stand-by. Despite being somewhat healthier, these are definitely not any less delicious than your usual oatmeal raisin cookies. Fresh out of the oven they're especially amazing, but I have to admit they didn't keep well. That's ok, though, because they will be eaten before anyone will ever have to worry about keeping them.
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So, remember earlier when I said that I am a tremendous failure as a bread baker? No? That's ok, just trust that I said it, because up until last weekend it was true. It might still be true, actually, but there have been TWO recent instances of me making delicious bread! The first was last weekend, when I finally tried out the No-Knead Bread recipe I'd been eying for ages. The New York Times article about the recipe features a claim that it can be mastered by a four-year-old, though Mark Bittman himself revises that to an ambitious 8-year-old. I am older than both of those ages combined and at least a little ambitious with the baking, so I felt up to the task.

I mixed the dough up on a Saturday afternoon and then let it rest for a whole night, trying to contain my urge to constantly peel back the foggy plastic wrap & see what it was doing. After 18 hours of that I got to shape it & let it rise for forever before finally baking it. The patience was definitely the most difficult part of the whole equation but it was worth it because the product was my first decent loaf of non-bread-machine yeasted bread EVER! Admittedly, the crust was too tough & thick in many places, but it was still delicious, especially toasted. I'll probably play around with the recipe some more and hopefully master it someday. It's really amazing what you can do with just a few ingredients & a lot of time. For the record, I used a mixture of whole wheat and bread flours on that attempt.

Yesterday I made really good bread AGAIN! The bread machine was involved but I did some parts by hand & baked it in the oven, so it's still sort of an accomplishment. (For the record, I have nothing against the bread machine & it's actually one of the coolest things I own. But when you let it do all the work for you it's somehow less satisfying, plus the bread is never as crusty as I would like it to be.) The recipe was for oatmeal bread and it came off my bread flour bag. I used half whole wheat flour again, substituted water for the milk & olive oil for the butter, and left out the raisins because I wanted a simple toasting/sandwich bread. What I got was actually the best bread EVER! It toasts beautifully and would be perfect for grilled cheese but is also nice with just some jam or cheese or even on its own. The crust is the perfect thickness, just a little crunchy. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that this bread has been a component of all 3 meals I have eaten today, it is really that good. My family even likes it, too, so I just might have to get into the habit of making it regularly.