Biscuits!

It's not the kind you may think of when a Southerner pulls a mass of flaky golden goodness from the oven.. It's the kind I want you to envision a Northerner pulling from the oven on a cool, Spring Day. It's golden and flaky and puffy from the yeast. It's the kind the Mother tells her daughter about while the daughter of the daughter is in labor with her 3rd child. It's the kind of recipe that gets handwritten in the laboring daughters cherished family cookbook. She comes home from the hospital, heals up and when granted energy from God once again.. She opens her cookbook and there it is! Written by her mother; passed down from her Grandmother. A treasure.

Biscuits
From the kitchen of Nanny
Written on March 9, 2001 by my precious mother while she was caring for a 4 year old Colby and 2 year old Jackie. I was in labor. Jake was eating a whopper.

Proof Yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 pkgs yeast or 4.5 tsp

In Mixer
1 and 1/2 cups lukewarm buttermilk. (do no overheat-it will separate)
1/4 cup oil
Add the yeast mixture from above
4 and 1/2 cups of flour- Level Measures
3 TBSP Sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix and let set for 10 minutes

Roll to 1 inch thickness then cut into biscuits, put on a tin. Brush tops with shortening and let rise for about 20 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they're golden brown.

Serve up with honey butter.

Traditions

We have grown to love traditions in our home. As the kids have grown some of our traditions have evolved while others have stayed the same. One of our favorite traditions which hasn't changed at all and that has no spiritual significance, is cookie making.  Decorating cookies delights the kids and in a sense is a therapy to them. There's the mixing of the dough. Then there's the rolling of dough, cutting out of the cookies, and baking them. Then the fun of dyeing and mixing the frosting so we can smear the baked cutouts and sugar them. Such fun. From the smallest to the biggest heads are down in concentration. Creating delectable little masterpieces. Such fun.

The recipe we use is one from the More-With-Less cookbook. I'll write down the recipe for you. It's perfectly safe to eat raw too, as there is no egg product.

Oatmeal Cookies with a Purpose:

Purpose: Constructive fun for children
Requirements:
1.Cookie Dough
Cream Together:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar

Add:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dry milk solids
• 1/2 cup water

Beat well. Sift together:

• 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Fold into creamed mixture and mix well. Divide into small portions and chill.
2. Clean kitchen table.
3. Pie plates and cookie pans.
4. Rolling pins from toy bake sets or small round bottles
5. Animal cookie cutters or christmas cutters
6. Aprons or old towels to protect clothing.
7. Children aged 2 and up.

Extra Requirements:
1. Patience
2. Loving kindness
3. Smiles
4. praise, given out liberally
5. Wisdom to help children share tools
6. pretend dark glasses, so you don't see the mess..

Method:
1. Sprinkle flour on table for each child.
2. Distribute dough.
3. Demonstrate how to roll pieces... or if you've been doing this long enough and the older kids know how, have them demonstrate.
4. Preheat oven to 325.
5. Put on those dark glasses and avoid seeing the trail of flour from table to flour or from table to mouth..
6. Pop pans in oven and bake 10-15 minutes.

Make icing. I use royal icing found on joyofbaking.com

Let the kids decorate their cookies and of course sprinkle with sugar and other pretty, christmasy toppings.

Results:
1. Sparkling eyes
2. Happy Faces
3. Grimy hands
4. Bulging cheeks
5. Sweet voices, saying "Mmmm, Good, yummy in my tummy."
6. Spontaneous hugs from flour-covered arms.
7. A few cookies.

Baked Oatmeal, because Shelley Asked!

Here is the recipe I use for baked oatmeal..  Normally I double this because it keeps well for leftovers. This makes a great dinner too, but you'd better serve up something salty and eggy with it or your man might grimace.

• 6 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To save money I typically sprinkle cinnamon over the top rather than measure exactly a teaspoon in the mix.  Also we love berries with this and I never make it without some kind of fruit.  You could measure 1 cup into the mix or just sprinkle berries over the top.  We use blueberries, raspberries, and sometimes I'll slice up an apple over the top.. it's so yummy.

Method:

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet in another combine the two bowls and mix well.  Pour in a 9x13 dish.

Bake in 350 degree over for about 45 minutes.

Serve it up in bowls and pour a little milk over the top.

The Question is..

Are there as many doughnuts as there are curls? I think not. I was able to get a whopping 2 dozen perfectly crisp doughnut rounds plus doughnut holes from this recipe for Apple Cider Doughnuts. Silas was eager to help eat them. Can you blame him?

Unlike the recipe insists I used vegetable oil and they turned out awesome still.

Parmesan Chicken

This one's from the Barefoot Contessa. Ina really puts out some excellent recipes. This one has become a family favorite.

Parmesan Chicken (Serves 6):

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 lrg eggs

1 1/4 cups seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

unsalted butter

olive oil

salad greens for 6

lemon vinaigrette

Pound the chicken until 1/4 inch thick.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a plate. On a 2nd plate beat eggs with 1 tbsp. water. On a 3rd plate, combine bread crumbs and cheese. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with flour mix, then dip both sides into the egg mix and dredge both sides in the bread crumb mix

Heat 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of oil in a large saute' pan and cook on medium low heat until cooked through add more butter and oil and cook remaining chicken.

Lemon Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Whisk it, set aside until ready to serve.

Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place mound of salad on each chicken breast.

Then eat it. Yummy!

I always prepare more chicken than this and subsequently need more bread crumbs, egg mix, etc.

Oh Yes!

These tasted as excellent as they look! I took this recipe from the Smitten Kitchen website. Try them, please! Another yummy treat you won't regret eating, in fact you'll be thanking me you did.. just kidding. Though you may thank the gal who published it over at Smitten Kitchen! This recipe easily doubles.

Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies
Adapted from Gourmet, June 2007

It’s true, I have made these before. Well, not these, a different recipe and they’re good, great even, but I’ve always wanted to fix it up a little. That brownie recipe is wonderful, but not simplified enough for a two-step process and there was never enough cheesecakiness (oh yes, it is a word) to balance it. Also, my mother has always made hers with chocolate chips swirled into the cream cheese and although I feel that a good brownie should not need extra chocolate in the form of frosting or chips to make it work, it sure cuts fantastically through the cream cheese swirl. Thus, three changes and a new recipe was warranted. Make these instead.

I added the aforementioned chocolate chips and more unsweetened chocolate to the brownie recipe, as commenters seemed to feel it was not chocolaty enough. I don’t think anyone could make the same argument about these.

Makes 16 2-inch square, thick brownies

Brownie batter
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Cheesecake batter
8 ounces cream cheese, well softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Plus
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Make brownie batter: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Heat butter and chocolate in a 3-quart heavy saucepan — though I did mine double-boiler style, placing the mixing bowl I was using over simmering water, thereby creating one less dirty dish and melting the chocolate more gently — over moderately low heat, whisking occasionally, just until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until well combined. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread in baking pan.

Make cheesecake batter: Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop over brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula.

[I actually like using a butter knife because the tip of it is round enough that you can use it to fold bits of the brownie batter over the cheesecake batter for a more visibly marbled effect. Try it!]

Sprinkle chocolate chips over cheesecake/brownie batter swirl. Although it might be more logical to just mix them into the cheesecake batter (and feel free to do this, it will have no ill-effect) I thought it might interrupt the swirl-ability of it.

Bake brownies: Bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Slicing tip: I like to chill my brownies until they’re almost frozen before cutting them. It makes it much easier to get a clean slice. I also like to eat my brownies super-cold, but that’s just personal taste.

Pasta, Pasta, give me Pasta!!

Tuesday Evenings are rather busy at our home.  Jackie has ballet from 4:45-7:15 and the boys have baseball practice from 5-7.  Their hobby practices take place in 2 different cities... So, the littles and I run everyone around and normally head back to our haven for an hour and a half of play.  Tonight groceries needed to be purchased, so we headed to the commissary instead.  I arrived home from shopping at 6:30, fed my kids cereal while I unloaded the groceries and took care of them... it was a great activity for instigating some pretty heavy braxton-hicks contractions. We left the house at 6:50 and picked up the boys and then headed to James City for Jack.  We came home to a mess, huge mess, grocery bags here and there, toys, dog, toilet paper, all strewn about.  We worked together and cleaned up a bit.  Mind you, the big 3 ate chow before their practices.  That left me, the cow, hungry for my own chow...

Here's what I made.  It was so good.

In a pan heat some olive oil, throw in some sliced purple onion, cook until beginning to carmelize, throw in 2 cloves of minced garlic (I smell yummy), toss in a handful of sliced baby portabella mushrooms, continue cooking until a bit soft, now toss in a diced tomato.  Season with Pepper and some salt.  Add a splash of wine if you have any and allow it to cook long enough to reduce a bit, now for the kicker a splash of heavy cream... oh yeah the good stuff.

Meanwhile cook your linguine until al dente.  Toss the linguine and your sauce together and top with fresh grated/shaved parmesan cheese.  Oh it was so good.  So, so, so good.

Serve with a tall glass of cow juice and your set.

Sauce:

olive oil

purple onion

baby bella mushrooms 

garlic

tomato

salt and pepper

splash o' wine

cream

your favorite pasta

You will not regret this.  

In case your wondering I don't feed my kids cereal that often... and I only refer to myself as a cow because of the amount of red meat and dairy products I've been consuming lately... I didn't mean to eat that half pint of ice cream in one sitting, really I didn't.

Granola Bars

This recipe is wonderful!  The kids love it and it is great to pack in lunches for the Man of the House.  (Or to send in a care-package)

I always double this.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1-9x13 Pyrex (spray with Pam lightly)

In a big bowl:

2 cups oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cup fresh milled flour or (1 cup white flour and 1/2 wheat germ)

3/4 tsp. salt

1-2 Tbsp. Flax seed or milled Flax

1/2 cup chocolate chips

shelled pumpkin/sunflower seeds (I use a small handful of whatever is on hand)

Combine your dry ingredients

In a smaller bowl:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup safflower/canola/vegetable oil ~ your preference

1 egg beaten

1-2 tsp. vanilla

Beat your wet ingredients

Pour over the dry ingredients and mix with wooden spoon.

Spread out in your Pyrex dish.  I always smoosh mine down evenly with the palm of my hand.

Bake it for 25 minutes (give or take)

Slice into 15-20 bars while still warm.

Silas is easily able to eat this...  These keep well for a couple of weeks, they are chewy, and taste great with coffee, 3 pm snack, on picnics, beach trips, car trips etc.

Smoothie, Smoothie, oh so smoooooth

The weather is still chilly and will get colder yet, but I've not been able to pass up the smoothies.  For breakfast it's been my hearts content.  This is what I do.  In the blender:  1/2 cup yogurt or a touch less, 1 banana room temp, 6-7 frozen raspberries, 2 slices of frozen pear, and 1 teaspoon honey.  Just Puree and you've got breakfast!!  If you're banana is frozen than have your other fruits up to room temp, otherwise you'll  be having a very thick smoothie. (This may not be a problem if you live in Mexico, and the weather plays in your favor..)

Yogurt's Finale

It's a bit fuzzy as the hour was early when I took it. It looked very clear to me at the moment.

My yogurt stayed in the cooler probably 6 hours last night and when I took it out was still a bit soft. It always finishes thickening in the refrigerator during the night.

Stir in ideas we use:

homemade preserves

honey

agave nectar

homemade granola

fresh fruit of course

You can also make yogurt smoothies. It's been entirely too cold to consume a cold drink for breakfast, so that will wait until summer. Just add fruit from the freezer and a bit of sweetener and you should be set.

DIY Yogurt Baby!

List of Ingrediets:

1 Gallon Milk (The more fat, the creamier the Yogurt)

1 Cup Plain Yogurt with live cultures

5 Large Mason Jars

1 Pot

1 Thermometer

1 Cooler

1 whisk

Kitchen Sink

Step 2: Pour milk in Pan and heat to 180 degrees.

Keep a whisk close by, because you don't want your milk to burn in the pot.

When milk is nearly to temp. fill up your kitchen sink with cold water.

Once milk is hot submerge pot in water to rapidly cool the milk. It needs to cool down to 130 degrees (give or take a couple of degrees.)

Step 3:

Put your 1 cup of yogurt in a bowl and add some of the cooled milk to it. Whisk it good.


Step 4:
Pour your yogurt into the big pot and thoroughly combine with the whisk. The yogurt cultures need to be scattered throughout the pot, other wise you'll have yogurt with some thick parts and other very runny parts. (Experience Talking)



Step 5:


This is fun, fill up those clean, glass mason jars with your yogurt/milk mixture. Seal them and put in your cooler.







Step 6:

Fill up your cooler, right to the neck of the jar with hot water. The key here is to have water that is between the temperatures of 122-130 degrees. Hot tap water is typically fine and on the cold days turn on the teapot and add some of that as well. Seal your cooler and leave it alone for 3-5 hours.







I'll post a picture tonight or tomorrow of the yogurt done.

Did somebody say Chowda?

Alright ladies get out your big pot and turn on the stove.  I made a New England Fish Chowder for dinner last night and it was hailed as, "Excellent."

Feeds 8 Reynolds with soup left for lunch the following day for yours truly:)

4 slices of thick bacon~cut up into bits

2 Tbsp. Butter

2 Med-Large Onions

1/2-3/4 tsp. Thyme

2 bay leaves

6-7 small-medium potatoes

water 

White coldwater fish such as Haddock (I got 2 packages from Walmart for 4.47 each)  So if you half this meal it's not quite the splurge.

2 cups of cream or a can of evaporated milk.

Go ahead and make some french bread too, because this broth is awesome!!

Heat your pan of med-low and toss in the bacon.  Cook and stir til it's golden brown, add the butter, the onions chopped, thyme, bay leaves to the pot with the bacon and its fat (don't even think about getting rid of it) and saute` stirring occasionally until the onions are soft, but not brown.

Add the potatoes and enough water to cover them up.  Turn up the heat and cook those taters til they are easily pierced and released by a fork.  Reduce heat to low and season generously with freshly ground salt and pepper.  Add the fish fillets and gently cook until white throughout, this won't take long, maybe 10 minutes, mine cooked just a bit longer because they were still partially frozen.  Lastly add cream, gently stirring in and season with more salt and pepper to taste..

This was so good, Colby just looked over my shoulder and said, "Are you posting that recipe, it's so good!"

Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Avocado (C. Steel this is for you)

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 yellow onion chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/4 plus 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro

1 -14 oz. can drained diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp. cumin

4 cups chicken stock

1 skinless boneless whole chicken breast (1/2 lb.)

salt and peppa'

4 corn tortillas stale and dry

1 avocado pitted, peeled, and diced

1/4 cup monterey jack cheese shredded.

2 teaspoons lime juice

In frying pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Add onion, minced garlic, 2 tsp. cilantro and saute' until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

In a blender or with a hand held puree' thingy combine the sauteed, veggie mix and tomatoes and process until smooth.

In same frying pan over med-high heat, warm another tablespoon of the oil.  Add the tomato mixture and cumin.  Cook stirring frequently, until thickened and darkened, 5-6 minutes.

Transfer to you large saucepan over med-low heat and add the stock.  Cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until soup is slightly thickened, about 20 min. Add chicken strips and simmer until they are just opaque, 4-5 min longer.  Season to taste with salt and peppa!

While soup is cooking, cut the tortillas in half and slice each half into thin strips.  In a frying pan over med-high heat, warm the 1/2 cup veg. oil.  Drop a strip in the oil, if it sizzles your ready.  Drop handfuls of the strips into the oil and fry, turning with tongs, until crisp and browned, about 3 minutes.  Transfer strips to a paper towel covered plate to drain.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls.  Layer strips, cilantro, avocado, cheese, and lime juice evenly over bowls and eat!

I made this for the family.  The kids raved and Jake told me it was, "Fabulous!"  

I nearly tripled it and there was just enough left for one bowl the next day...

Please -- Try this at Home!

If you know me, you know I like bread. I use the word like with every strongest affection attached to it. I came across this recipe when I was thumbing through a Williams Sonoma catalog. It's called No Knead Rosemary Lemon Bread. I doubled the recipe because I have a huge dutch oven. Only for the rising I split the dough into 2 big balls, then I threw them in the pot side by side when it came time to do so. Thus, the split across the top. This bread is fabulous dipped in an olive oil and balsamic mixture with cracked pepper on top. It finishes with a nice crust and the middle is tuggy, chewy, moist. Just like a sponge. It's awesome! Next time I make it, I'll throw in a bit of fresh garlic. Also, my first rise was something like 24 hours and it turned out fine. One more thing, you can go the williams sonoma webpage and find the recipe with helpful pictures.

This bread is almost effortless to make because it requires no kneading. Instead, the dough is allowed to slowly rise over a long period of time. Then it is baked in a preheated covered cast-iron pot, which helps produce a crispy, bakery-style crust on the finished loaf.
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. chopped lemon zest
Cornmeal as needed
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, rosemary and zest. Add 1 5/8 cups water and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and very sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at warm room temperature (about 70°F) until the surface is dotted with bubbles, 12 to 18 hours. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour and fold the dough over onto itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or your fingers, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel, preferably a flour sack towel (not terry cloth), with cornmeal. Put the dough, seam side down, on the towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise until the dough is more than double in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours. At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, put a 2 3/4-quart cast-iron pot in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over, seam side up, into the pot; it may look like a mess, but that is OK. Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the loaf is browned, 15 to 30 minutes more. Transfer the pot to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Using oven mitts, turn the pot on its side and gently turn the bread; it will release easily. Makes one 1 1/2-lb. loaf

Red Velvet Cake

Before I divulge the recipe I must express my gratitude to Myia Carreiro's mother. Thank you Mrs. Allen for sharing this recipe with me. It was my privilege to be at Graysie and Mick's party and enjoy a bite. The thought of this cake lingered with me for many days and I knew it would have to be made as part of my husbands return feast. The frosting in particular, referred to as Graysie as, "Magic frosting" is especially smooth and easy on the taste buds. Again thank you.

This cake should be stored in the Refrigerator!!
Cream together in a large bowl
1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
Add:
2 eggs and beat it good
Sift together the following, 3 times:
2 cups flour
1 TBSP Cocoa
1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl:
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 bottles red food coloring
Alternately add the dry sifted ingredients and the milk/food coloring blend to the creamed shortening mix. Once combined Fold in 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 TBSP Vinegar.
Bake in 2 prepared 9" cake pans
350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

Magic Frosting-Double This

Cook over low heat to pudding stage the following:
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup flour
dash salt
Set aside to cool
Cream Together
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
Add 1 tsp. vanilla.
Add to the pudding mixture then beat it for several minutes. It should be fluffy and not gritty.

The Best Brownies (Williams Sonoma Recipe)

Jackie proved herself as a little chef in the kitchen today. She put out a batch of brownies in under an hour. When we were at Wrightsville Beach, she and I had an opportunity to go shop at Williams Sonoma. She bought a pan with her earned allowance:

This afternoon here's what she did:

Brownies
8 Tbs. unsalted butter
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease pan.
Melt butter and chocolate. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside. In large bowl whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and whisk in the flour mixture til combined. Bake until top is shiny and toothpick inserted comes out with only a bit of crumbs attached. About 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on rack for at least 30 minutes then invert and cut into 12 yummy brownies.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Ingredients:

DRY:

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 Tbsp. Sucanat or brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt

WET:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt or half plain and half vanilla
• Cooking spray

1. Combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
2. Combine eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt in bowl. Pour into dry ingredients. Stir until moistened
3. Heat your nonstick skillet or pan. Spray with cooking spray. Medium to medium high heat is best.
4. Measure 1/4 cup for each pancake. This makes 10-12 pancakes.

Breakfast Cookies by Christie

I was given a recipe for Breakfast Cookies. Bake them, store them, and carry them with you on the go, enjoy with your coffee. Here is the recipe, modified to make it my own of course!

1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3 egg whites
1/8 cup chopped candied ginger
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups fresh ground wheat
1/2 cup bran flakes
2 Tbsp. flax seed
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine sugar, oil, and egg whites. Stir in chopped fruits and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Combine and fold in almonds. Drop on cookie sheet to make 12 large cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done. These are almost like a muffin, as they are nice and thick.

Christie's Cookies

These taste great, they're chewy, full of flavor, and healthy!

Cream these together:

2 sticks butter

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix In:

1 2/3 cups of fresh milled whole wheat flour (if using white flour use 1 1/2 cups)

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups old fashioned oats (not quick)

Chocolate Chips/Chunks (more than half a bag but not the full thing)

1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 11 minutes.