Today’s the day! The second and final book of my Chefs of the Five Gods series is out now in trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook. A Feast for Starving Stone continues the adventures of Ada and Solenn as they strive to bring peace to the continent, and most importantly, to their own broken family. Princess Solenn plays an even bigger role this time around. In many ways, it’s a coming of age tale against a background of war and exceptionally good food.
Buy it everywhere online where books are sold, and request it in your local brick and mortar store (especially those indie stores that always need extra love). Also, please request that your local library buy the series!
Also: this coming Saturday, January 13th, I’ll be talking books, stories, and probably cheese at the Red Wing Public Library here in Minnesota. The event starts at 10am and will be downstairs in the Foot Room. I’ll have my signature cookies, and you can buy copies of my new series and my collection.
Posted by Beth on Jan 3, 2024 in Blog, Bready or Not, cookies | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies
I’m not going to pretend these are some kind of healthy cookie for the new year just because they include oats. No, these Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies, are classic, homey, and delicious, and that’s probably because they include a heaping helping of butter and sugar.
These cookies aren’t hardcore on sweetness. The oats and the warmth of cinnamon really come through. This is a superb winter baking cookie for me. They aren’t all-out spicy in a way that makes a person think of the holidays, but they are still fragrant and cozy.
They are a breeze to make, too. No chill is required. Make and bake.
This recipe for classic cookies comes together fast, requiring no chill time or wait. These are homey, chewy cookies. Modified from Taste of Home: Best of Baking 2022.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cookies, oats
Servings: 43cookies
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
tablespoon scoop
parchment paper
Ingredients
1cupunsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
1cupwhite sugar
1cupbrown sugar packed
2large eggs room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonground cinnamon
1/2teaspoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
3cupsquick oats
Instructions
Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
In another bowl, combine with flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients in with the wet, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is mixed. Fold in the oats, stirring well to make sure they are coated.
Use a large cookie scoop or spoon to dole out dough onto baking sheet, leaving several inches of space around each; they will spread. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let set on sheet a few minutes before transferring to a rack to completely cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
Let’s end the year with an outright dreamy cookie: Cardamom-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Seriously, these things are amazing. The flavor of coffee hits the tongue first, followed by a warm kick of cardamom. The overall dough is buttery and rich.
The texture is chewy and luscious. Really, these are a pleasurable sensory bomb in the mouth.
Bready or Not: Cardamom-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
These dreamy cookies are coffee-forward in flavor, followed by a warm kick of cardamom. White chocolate chips look especially nice in the dark dough.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: cardamom, chocolate, coffee, cookies
Servings: 46cookies
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
plastic wrap
baking sheet
parchment paper
tablespoon scoop or spoon
Ingredients
3 1/4cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking powder
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonground cardamom
1/2teaspoonsalt
1cupunsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
1 1/2cupsbrown sugar packed
1/2cupwhite sugar
2large eggs room temperature
2Tablespoonsespresso powder
1Tablespoonvanilla extract
12ounceschocolate chips 1 bag, or mixed kinds to equal amount
Instructions
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add both sugars, beating until fluffy; scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the espresso powder and vanilla.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Wrap dough and chill in fridge for at least an hour, but as long as a day or two.
Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to dole out balls of dough, spaced out, on the baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cookies should look set. Let them rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store cooled cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.
Do you need a brownie recipe that will really impress people this holiday season? Try these Dulce de Leche Brownies!
This is a resurrected recipe that was originally shared on the Holy Taco Church, which I then reposted here on my site in 2015. It was a big hit back then–I had several people reach out to say they tried it and loved it.
Now, one big warning: This is a dangerous recipe, and I’m not just talking calories. Sweetened condensed milk becomes lava after mere minutes in the microwave. Make this recipe with care. I originally advised using 10-12 minutes total time to make the dulce de leche in the microwave, but when I remade it this year, I did shorter bursts and spent more like 15 minutes, and there were no scalding-hot overflows.
So, take care with this recipe, and know that the reward for your risk is sweet indeed.
(Note that you can buy canned Dulce de Leche on the Hispanic foods aisle in many grocery stores and skip this step! You can also make it in a crock pot or stove–look up these other methods online. Microwave is faster, but has some danger involved.)
Combine sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup in a LARGE microwave safe bowl. You need the bowl large because the stuff may start to boil like an erupting volcano.
Microwave on 50% power, stopping and stirring every 2 minutes. Start watching VERY CAREFULLY about the 5 minute point. It can start to boil over very quickly. Start doing 1 minute increments, stirring well in between. Somewhere from 10 to 15 minutes, it will thicken and look caramel-colored rather than white, at which point it is ready. It might look curdled but that goes away when you stir. Add in the butter and stir until it’s melted. Set aside.
To Make the Brownies
Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and butter it or apply nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, espresso powder (if using), cocoa, and salt. Add dry ingredients into creamed mixture; mix until well blended.
Spread about 1/2 of mixture in the prepared pan. This will just cover the bottom. Drop spoonfuls of Dulce de Leche evenly over this layer and smooth out with an uneven spatula. Sprinkle chocolate chips all over. Cover with remaining brownie batter using clean uneven spatula.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool and cut into squares.