Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Toffee Cookies

What a mouthful of ingredients!  This recipe is reminiscent of one of my favorite cookies, a Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Toffee Cookie, that I have yet to share on the blog.  I used my favorite Ghiradelli chocolate chips, though chocolate chunks from Trader Joe's Pound Plus Dark Chocolate would work well too.  This is hands-down a chewy cookie, made so from the oatmeal and toasted coconut.  It was almost difficult to distinguish the chewiness of the oatmeal from the coconut, but there is definitely a subtle coconut flavor.  The best textural component comes from the toffee bits that melt while baking, forming slightly crisp bottoms and edges.  Remember to let these cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before you transfer them to a cooling rack, otherwise the toffee bits may still stick to the baking sheet.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Toffee Cookies
Makes 2 dozen (3" diameter cookies)     

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup old fashioned oatmeal (or quick oats)
1/2 cup toffee bits
1 cup chocolate chips (dark works best in my opinion)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread shredded coconut in a thin layer.  Toast coconut in the oven for 5-7 minutes, stirring halfway through.  When coconut is lightly browned, remove from oven and set aside to cool.  Keep lined cookie sheet to use for baking the cookies.  
2. Raise oven temperature and preheat oven to 375F.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. 
3. In a large bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to cream together the butter and brown sugar until mixture is light and smooth.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.  Add egg and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth.  Add flour mixture and stir until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.  Add oatmeal, toasted coconut, and toffee bits and stir. The batter will be very thick at this point.  By hand, fold in the chocolate chips. 
4. Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons (medium OXO cookie scoop) of dough onto a lined cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart from each other.  
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes until edges are firm and cookies are lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

I had some leftover cinnamon-sugar from making snickerdoodles the other day.  I considered different ways to use it up - breakfast bars, dutch baby, more snickerdoodles - and somehow ended up making pancakes!  With an apple cinnamon topping.  This pancake recipe was great, not only because it contained oatmeal to make it healthier, but also because I only had 1/4 cup of flour left and that's all I needed!  The original recipe calls for quick-cooking oats which I did not have.  Instead, I used old fashioned oats and roughly ground them with a mortar and pestle.  A quick pulse in a food processor would work too, just enough to break down the oats but not so much that all you're left with is fine powder.  The various oat bits, big and small, add a nice textural component to the final pancakes.  The pancakes are 3" in diameter and slightly crispy when fresh from the pan.  Leftovers can be frozen or kept in the fridge for a couple days and reheated in the toaster oven.

Oatmeal Pancakes
Makes about 12 pancakes, 3" in diameter
Slightly adapted from CookingLight

1/4 cup (1.2 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup oats (quick oaks, or roughly ground old fashioned oats)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (or slightly less than 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg

1. Combine all dry ingredients together in a large bowl and stir with a whisk.
2. Combine buttermilk and egg in a smaller bowl and mix until well combined.  Add to flour mixture and add the melted butter.  Stir all ingredients together until everything is barely moist and incorporated.  Batter will be lumpy from the oatmeal.  Be careful not to over mix the batter.
3. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat.  Lightly coat pan with a small drizzle of cooking oil or spray.  Spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake onto the pan, creating pancakes with about a 3" diameter.  Flip pancakes when bubbles appear on the tops and the edges look cooked and dry.  Cook until the bottom of pancakes are lightly browned.  Serve immediately with your choice of toppings.

I don't have an exact recipe for the apple cinnamon topping.  I started with 1/2 cup cinnamon-sugar mixture, 1 chopped apple, and 1/4 cup water.  Cook everything together in a saucepan over medium heat until sauce thickens slightly and apples are soft.

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal

I've recently re-established my love for steel-cut oatmeal.  Its heartiness, creaminess, and chewy texture makes it hard for me to imagine going back to eating the mush of regular oatmeal.  With great versatility, the possibility of add-ins is endless and makes this an easy staple to whip up for breakfast using whatever I can find the kitchen.  This weekend I happened upon some frozen canned pumpkin I stored away in the freezer.  The pumpkin and spices in this recipe conjured up memories of Fall amidst the recent chilly mornings of Spring.  Baking the oatmeal was a great change since I didn't have to babysit and stir the pot the entire time.  The oatmeal is amazingly creamy right when it's finished.  Leftovers can be saved in the fridge or freezer and reheated with a splash of milk (or even coffee creamer for lack of milk) to bring back its wonderful texture.

Baked Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
Adapted from theKitchn 
Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup pumpkin or squash puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat.  When butter begins to foam, add oats and stir for about 3 minutes until toasted.
2. Push toasted oats up against one side of the pot.  In the clear space, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add pumpkin puree into the melted butter and let sit for 1 minute before stirring, leaving the oats on the side.  Add sugar and spices and stir together with the pumpkin for 3-4 minutes until the color darkens slightly.
3. Pour in the milk and whisk the oats, pumpkin mixture, and milk all together.  Whisk in water, vanilla, and salt.
4. Place the lid on the pan and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and lift lid, being careful of the rising steam.  Stir oatmeal and it will continue to thicken as it cools.  Sprinkle oatmeal with dried cranberries.  Serve immediately or let it cool to store in the fridge or freezer for later.