A recipe – Crunchy Delicious Oatmeal Cookies

I am not a native English speaker as you probably know, so when I come across a new term, a phrase, or even a word that I don't know, the immediate response it to translate it word-by-word to my native language (Hebrew).

Sometimes it is the right meaning, but sometimes it made a “new language” and a very funny translation.

Comfort food, for example, relates to the physical feeling and the preparation of the dish – it is prepared simply, and it is easy to eat.

But I was sure that it is related to your feelings about it, a consolation that you get from a good meal. Don't you think that is better interpretation?

These cookies are a great comfort in this weird winter. And it is also easy to make and even easier to eat…

 Ingredients yield: about 25 cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, cool room temperature (4 oz)

1/2 cup very fairly packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup Ultra-grain flour or all purpose

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped

1/3 cup mixed golden and regular raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; mix to combine. Mix in vanilla; set aside.
3. Combine flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and stir until mixed.
4. Stir in the oats, followed by the pecans and raisins.
5. Using a heaping tablespoon measure, shape dough into 24 mounds drop dough onto prepared sheets, about 2 inches apart (the cookies double their size during baking!)
6. Bake until golden and just set, about 13-15 minutes (You might want to check at 12 if you oven runs hot.

 

A recipe – Granola

Did you know that ½ cup granola with cup of yogurt contain about 50% of the daily amount of protein that we need?

My cooking is based on my mother’s recipes, friends’ recipes, cookbooks, websites and mainly – my imagination.

This recipe is based on one from bazekalim.com, with my personal edits.

Ingredients

5 cups rolled oats (not the quick cooking oats)

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup flax seeds

½ cup sesame seeds

½ cup raisins

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried figs (8-10 pieces)

½ cup dried dates (8-10 pieces)

½ cup dried apricots (8-10 pieces)

1 cup honey

4 Oz butter

1-2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

(Recipe Yield 3.3 Pounds (1.5 Kg) of granola)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: oats, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds. You can make any mix of nuts and seeds, as long the total amount will be 4 cups, like pecan, coconut chips (the big ones), wheat germ and all other kind of nuts
3. Heat for about 5 minutes in a small pot the butter, honey, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Be careful not to boil it, just heat until everything is melted and mixed. Pour mixture over the oats and stir all together until completely combined.
4.  Spread evenly over the prepared baking sheets, pressing down lightly with the back of a spoon.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven – IMPORTANT – set a timer for 5 minutes, stir and flip the mixture every 5 minutes (total baking 5 minutes X 4 times). Allow to cool completely.
6. In a large bowl (the same one from the beginning…), break the cooled granola into large chunks. Mix in the raisins, dried cranberries, dried figs, dried dates and dried apricots. Here as well, you can add or reduce dried fruits as you like.
7. Store in an airtight container.