Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello from Houston!! We have finally moved to Houston for Dr. Sweetpea's job! To celebrate our new life, I baked up a fresh batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies for Dr. Sweetpea. No pictures this time but these were so delicious and chewy that I'll be making these again in the next few days.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 cup oats in food processor or blender and process until well ground, about 30 seconds. Transfer to large bowl and stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

With electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until well blended and lumps are gone, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add melted chocolate and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Add remaining 3/4 cup oats, chocolate chips, and nuts and beat on low speed until evenly distributed, about 10 seconds.

Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into balls and space 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake, rotating and switching position of pans halfway through baking time, until cookies are cracked and set on top but look moist within cracks, 14 to 18 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container for up to 5 days.)

Crunchy Oven-Fried Fish

Dr. Sweetpea loves deep fried fish, but I'm not a fan of them because they're always greasy and super unhealthy. I've been searching for an oven-fried fish recipe for a while so he can eat fish with a crispy coating that isn't deep fried. I recently came across this Crunchy Oven-Fried Fish recipe on America's Test Kitchen's website and immediately knew that this would be a hit! It only took one bite for Dr. Sweetpea to be blown away by how good the oven fried fish turned out! 

Crunchy Oven-Fried Fish

(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

4 large slices white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)

1/4 cup plus 5 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish (optional)

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 1/4 pounds skinless cod fillet, or haddock fillet, or other thick white fish fillet (1 to 1 1/2 inches thick), cut into 4 pieces

Lemon wedges

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse bread, melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in food processor until bread is coarsely ground, eight 1-second pulses (you should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs). Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Cool crumbs to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Transfer crumbs to pie plate; toss with parsley and shallot. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Place 1/4 cup flour in second pie plate. In third pie plate, whisk eggs, horseradish (if using), mayonnaise, paprika, cayenne pepper (if using), and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper until combined; whisk in remaining 5 tablespoons flour until smooth.

Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Dry fish thoroughly with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dredge 1 fillet in flour; shake off excess. Using hands, coat with egg mixture. Coat all sides of fillet with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to fish. Transfer breaded fish to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 fillets.

Bake fish until instant-read thermometer inserted into centers of fillets registers 140 degrees, 18 to 25 minutes. Using thin spatula, transfer fillets to individual plates and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Comeback Sauce

(Source: America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Country)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons chili sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

Process all ingredients in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls

I've always been hesitant to make Cinnamon Rolls because it's very time consuming. That said, I've been told by many people that it's totally worth the time to make them at home. Since I'm not working for the time being, I decided to try my hand at making America's Test Kitchen's recipe and I was BLOWN away by how good my Cinnamon Rolls turned out for my first attempt. Dr. Sweetpea kept telling me that they are better than what you would get at the grocery store or Cinnabon. I'll definitely be making these again during the holidays or when we have guests over for brunch.

Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls

(Source: America's Test Kitchen/ Cook's Country)

Dough

3/4 cup whole milk, heated to 110 degrees

1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast

3 large eggs, room temperature

4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened

Filling

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

For the dough: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, shut off. Line 13- by 9-inch baking pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over pan edges. Grease foil and medium bowl.

Whisk milk and yeast in liquid measuring cup until yeast dissolves, then whisk in eggs. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt until combined. With mixer on low, add warm milk mixture in steady stream and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and add butter, one piece at a time, until incorporated. Continue to mix until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes. Turn dough out onto clean surface and knead to form a smooth, round ball. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

For the filling: Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Following photos 1 and 2 in the related step-by-step, roll dough into 18-inch square, spread with butter, and sprinkle evenly with filling. Starting with the edge nearest you, roll dough into tight cylinder, pinch lightly to seal seam, and, following photo 3, cut into 8 pieces. Transfer pieces, cut-side up, to prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

For the glaze and to bake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Discard plastic wrap and bake buns until deep golden brown and filling is melted, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and top buns with ½ cup glaze; cool 30 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift buns from pan and top with remaining glaze. Serve.

Make Ahead: After transferring pieces to prepared pan in step 3, buns can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for 24 hours. When ready to bake, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Remove plastic wrap and continue with step 4 as directed.