Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dear Sunday Treats readers,

It's been three weeks since we last posted a recipe. Actually, four, if you look closely and realize that Katie's Mother's Day post didn't include a new recipe, but rather linked to recipes we've posted in the past. Sneaky, Kate, real sneaky.

It's been a busy month in the world of K&B, what with the end of the school year, 3-day weekends, allergy season (yuck), birthday parties, bridal showers, and dance rehearsals and performances. We seem to actually be busy these days. Overall, I like to consider that a good thing.

The not-good thing, of course, is that it means we've been neglecting our blogging duties. Please do not take that to mean we've been neglecting you, faithful readers! In fact, part of our busy-ness has sprung from the myriad of picnics and parties and celebrations we've been baking for. It's the post-baking posting that's eluded us.

We sincerely thank you for your patience. And, to some of you, we also express our gratitude for your persistence. It's certainly a lot easier to put your nose back to the grindstone (er, keyboard), when you have friends and coworkers reminding you in gentle yet exasperated tones that "you didn't post a recipe this week, again."

To reward you for your patience, I am about to unveil the recipe that has become a K&B signature. Drumroll please...

Presenting the famous, fantastic, fabulous...Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! Oh yeah, and they're vegan, too!

The story of these cookies starts in El Salvador - a country known for it's spectacular pupusas and pan dulce, not cookies. However, while studying abroad there in college, our fellow American student and enthusiastically vegan friend Miguel decided to prove to his housemates that a meatless, dairy-less, eggless, etc.-less existence could still be tasty by whipping up a batch of said banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Aspiring bakers that we were at the time, Miguel had to fight Katie and I out of the kitchen while he worked. When the cookies came out of the oven, he had to fight to save a cookie or two for himself. My most prized possessions from those four months abroad include my personal journals, drawings from the children I accompanied in the coffee fields each day, and the recipe for these cookies.

 

There are many, many reasons I love these cookies. 1) They are simple to throw together, with no mixer required (which was good, because in El Salvador, we didn't have one). 2) They make use of my favorite egg replacer - ripe bananas. 3) Good ol' oatmeal gives them stability, but more importantly allows you to rationalize eating one or five of them for breakfast. 4) They're great for entertaining vegan friends, but hold their own against traditional baked treats - so much so that I sometimes forget they are vegan at all. And 5) My coworkers request them, conversations are started by them (what do you mean they're vegan?!), and friends of friends remember who I am by tasting them. Muchas gracias a Miguel, they've given Kate and me our reputation as superb bakers.

For a while after discovering their power, Katie and I attempted to keep the recipe for these cookies to ourselves. Then, of course, we realized the irony and selfishness in hogging a recipe we'd in fact gotten from a friend in the first place. Now we share the recipe as often as we bake the cookies, which, I'm sure, is what Miguel would want us to do.

So there you have it. Have at 'em, amigos. And when someone asks you for the recipe, be a good friend and pass it on.

-Becky & Katie

 

Vegan Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe via friend Miguel

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour, less one tablespoon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup canola oil

1 1/3 cups unrefined (raw) sugar

One to one and a half ripe bananas (when smashed, volume should equal that of approximately two eggs)

2 tablespoons vanilla soy milk (plain or banana soy milk are fine, too)

1½ tablespoons vanilla (be generous)

3 cups quick oatmeal

12 oz. dark chocolate chips or chunks (check label to make sure chocolate does not contain milk products)

Non-vegan substitutions: When baking for a non-vegan crowd, I've often substituted regular milk for soy milk and semisweet chocolate chips for the dark chocolate. The result is still quite tasty, but in my opinion, not quite as good as the original.

Note: As quick oats tend to be smaller and less sturdy than other oatmeal varieties, I like to use half quick oats and half quick-cooking "old fashioned" oats. However, any type of quick-cooking oats will do.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
3. In large bowl, stir together oil and sugar until creamy. 
4. Using a fork, potato masher, or the bottom of a sturdy glass or plastic cup, smash bananas in a flat-bottomed bowl or tupperware until you achieve a consistent texture. There should be no large lumps. Add bananas to the sugar/oil mixture, stirring until well combined.
5. Add soy milk and vanilla and stir well.
6. Slowly add in the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
7. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips.
8. Place heaping tablespoons of batter onto cookie sheets about 3 inches apart.
9. Bake approximately 10 minutes. Cookies are done when the inside looks moist, but not too wet, i.e. when they no longer look too "shiny". Because there are no eggs in the batter, they will not brown as much as classic chocolate chip cookies. They will, however, turn a golden tan.
10. Remove cookies from oven and allow them to sit on the sheet for about two minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will be delicate when hot, but will firm up as they cool.
11. Cookies are best the day they are baked, or the following day, but can be stored in an airtight container up to five days. You’ll know when they are no longer good because the taste changes. To keep moist, loosely wrap a slice of bread or apple in a paper towel and place in airtight container with cookies.

Sin Bars

Almost eight years ago, Becky and I spent a semester studying abroad with the Casa de la Solidaridad program in El Salvador, Central America, where we were introduced to these absolutely sinful cookies.

You may be thinking at this moment that these cookies are therefore Salvadoran.

Not so.

See, we were not introduced to these cookies at a panadería or anywhere else in la comunidad, but rather at the home of our program director T when she hosted once-a-week Spirituality Nights.

For me, these weekly gatherings were a lifeline throughout the semester, for a few reasons: 1) We were encouraged to speak English rather than Spanish, 2) I needed the personal and small group reflection time to process the intense experiences I was going through, and 3) T always made baked goods.

I'm telling you - the baked goods were at least as big a draw at those Spirituality Nights as the whole God/faith thing, if not bigger.

So when the Casa program recently distributed a cookbook with some favorite program recipes, Becky and I literally squealed, then drooled, when we saw this recipe in there.

Me gustan oatmeal cookies.

Me gusta fudge.

Me definitely gusta the combination of the two.

Which makes me wonder, why, oh why, did I not ask T for this recipe sometime in the last eight years?

These are oatmeal cookie bars with a layer of oooey, gooey fudge in the middle, and are every bit as indulgent as their name implies.  They are super easy to make, too.

T- thanks for all the support and comfort you offered all those years ago, especially the kind of support made from sugar, butter, oatmeal, and chocolate.

Readers - who will you indulge with these?

Happy Sunday,

-Katie

Sin/Pecado Bars

Adapted from T's recipe

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups lightly packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 cups oatmeal (I used a combination of quick oats and original oats since that's what I had on hand)

2 cups (1 bag) chocolate chips

1 10 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a jelly roll pan (10 x 15 inches) with parchment or foil.  Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl and set aside.

2. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix until blended.

3. Add flour mixture in two batches, blending until incorporated.  Stir or blend in oats.

4. Press three quarters of mixture into bottom of pan (I found an offset spatula useful here).

5. In microwave, heat chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in 30 second intervals, stirring until chocolate chips are melted.  Spread chocolate mixture over cookie dough.

6. Drop mounds of remaining cookie dough over chocolate.

7.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until top is golden brown.  Let cool on wire rack.

8.  When bars are cool, lift entire pan of bars onto cutting board using parchment or foil.  Cut into bars. (You may find it helpful to refrigerate bars before cutting them.  It's not necessary, but makes for a cleaner cut.)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I am always amazed at how the turning of a new year motivates so many people in so many ways.

Example #1: The 60 (SIXTY!) people in my Zumba class yesterday. That was 55 minutes of trying to avoid 120 elbows.

Example #2: My intense need to clean out the freezer this afternoon.

Becky and I always do a quick purge of the fridge when we get home from the grocery store - a habit we learned from Mama B - but today I felt the need to purge more than usual, so I opened the dreaded, overpacked freezer and started chucking things into the trash can with a vengeance. Pan of cinnamon rolls from Easter time? Chucked. Test biscuits from Thanksgiving? Chucked. Frozen fruit that's been in there since...um...sometime so long ago that I don't remember buying it? Chucked.

Seriously, Beck had to jump out of the way so she didn't get hit by flying frozen food. And when that freezer was clean, it was a weight off my shoulders I didn't know I was carrying. I mean, who knew clearing away freezer clutter would be so satisfying?

Which makes me wonder...what else in my life needs cleaning out that I don't know about?

Which in turn freaks me out just a little, because cleaning out cupboards and closets and the scary mess under my bed aside, that could turn into a Big Question with Big Answers. What in my life is nourishing and good and worthwhile, and what is just freezer clutter?

It's a tricky one too, because you can bet that cleaning out your life is a lot more difficult than tossing expired cottage cheese into the trash.

But that's okay. One thing at a time. Big Questions aren't meant to be answered right away anyway.

In the meantime, you can make some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, which I baked specifically because I had a half-used jar of peanut butter and some peanuts taking up room in my cabinet.

These treats have loads of sugar and mix-ins, to the point where you can hardly call them cookies. They're more like peanut butter oatmeal chocolate candy with a little bit of egg and flour holding everything together. And boy are they delicious. I'll never have to decide whether or not to chuck leftovers of these from the freezer...because they'll never make it there in the first place.   

As for those other Big Questions, I have a new motto for the new year: It's okay to be scared - it gives me a chance to be brave.

Happy New Year,

Katie

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes approximately 6 dozen cookies

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (I used kosher salt)
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups salted whole peanuts (unsalted are fine too)
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Blend sugars, butter, and peanut butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
4. Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture, and mix until just combined. Stir in peanuts and chocolate chips. Dough will be pretty stiff.
5. Drop tablespoon-sized balls of dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You might need to roll the dough into balls to get it to stick together.
6. Bake cookies one sheet at a time, rotating sheet halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12-13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Graham Cracker Banana Raisin Bread

Photo by Uncle Worm

There are many things you can always find in the corner of mine and Becky's kitchen counter: a lemon or two, a stack of Luna Bars (Peppermint for Beck, Oatmeal Raisin for me), miscellaneous chocolate, and probably a bottle cap from Music Man's last beer.

The one thing you'll never find?

Ripe bananas.

In fact, even yellow bananas are a rarity in this house. NYC supermarkets don't sell anything other than neon green ones, and Becky and I love bananas so much, we gobble them up as soon as any bit of yellow pokes through.

But our gobbling up the bananas means we never have any left to toss into super yummy banana recipes. It's a rough life here in the K&B abode.

So you can imagine my elation when while at home in Cali recently, I discovered not one, not two, but FIVE ripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl!

I was so excited, I actually skipped to the pantry while my imagination went off on some kind of banana baking brainstorm extravaganza. Banana pancakes! Banana nut muffins! Peanut Butter Banana Biscotti! Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies!  

WHAT was I going to make?!

Well, first things first. I grabbed me some Bisquick, whipped up some banana pancakes, and had me a nice breakfast. One banana down.

Next, I called up JW House - would they mind if I baked some Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies? Nope. They sure didn't. Two bananas down.

Two bananas left. Back to the pantry I skipped. And I saw THIS staring at me:

It's a recipe for Banana Raisin Bread on the side of a graham cracker crumbs box. It was obviously speaking directly to me, saying "choose me for your last two bananas! Choose me!"

So I did. I was slightly skeptical at first, because it feels a little weird to use ground-up crackers as an ingredient in bread, but I figured I love graham crackers and I love bananas, so what's not to love about putting them together with some sugar and oil and milk and raisins?

The bread baked up beautifully, with that magnificent crack down the middle that I'm always praying for in my quick breads. It's a sturdy bread, excellent for slicing and toasting, and even more tasty with butter and honey drizzled on top. Everyone in the house kept asking me when we could slice it.

This guy even showed up asking for some:

Do you think I could have just a little?

What if I sit pretty? Huh? Huh? Look how pretty I am!

So the next time you have some ripe bananas on your counter, grab some graham cracker crumbs and work a little graham cracker banana magic. Then please send some to me and Beck, since we seem to lack the self control to buy bananas and NOT eat them before they are ripe enough to bake with. Oh, and Boomerang The Dog would probably like some too. :-)

-Katie

Graham Cracker Banana Raisin Bread

From the side of the Honey Grahams graham cracker crumb box
Makes 1 loaf (about 16 slices)
 
1 2/3 c graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/3 c vegetable oil
2 large bananas, mashed (about 1 c)
1 c seedless raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. Mix graham cracker crumbs, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl; set aside.

3. Beat eggs, milk and oil in medium bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in bananas.

4. Add to flour mixture; stir until just blended. Stir in raisins. Spoon into greased loaf pan.

5. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. Cut into 16 slices to serve.

IT'S-IT! The San Francisco Treat...

We're not talking about Rice-a-Roni here, people.

The IT'S-IT is a frozen treat that made its debut at San Francisco's Playland-at-the-Beach in 1928. Not just your regular ice cream sandwich, it combines vanilla or mint chip ice cream, soft oatmeal cookies, and an oh-so-thin chocolate coating that satisfactorily snaps in two at the first bite.

IT'S-ITs are melty and messy and make you go Mmmmmm. In short, when it comes to frozen ice cream treats, an IT'S-IT is it.

I make this bold statement as an expert on the IT'S-IT. You see, every day - every single day - of seventh grade, my good friend E and I shared a mint chip IT'S-IT. As the end of the lunch period drew closer and closer, our strength against temptation grew weaker and weaker, and with 5 or 4 or 3 minutes left before the bell, I'd run to the cafeteria, grab an IT'S-IT, and devour my half as fast as I could. I still have a mad tolerance for brain freeze.

For my friend E and I - two of the neatest, nicest, shyest kids at school - the daily IT'S-IT was our chance to get messy, be spontaneous, and share a sneaky smile. Plus, seventh grade is traumatic. I think all seventh graders deserve daily ice cream.

Alas, IT'S-ITs aren't sold on the east coast. Oh, the agony! So to celebrate National Ice Cream Sandwich Day on Monday, August 2, Katie and I decided to try our hand at creating a homemade IT'S-IT. None of the recipes we found on various blogs and food sites accurately replicated the original (you want me to dip only half the sandwich?!), so we pieced together our own.

What you'll need:
(These ingredients can be homemade or store-bought. Homemade recipes below.)
- plain oatmeal cookies
- ice cream, slightly softened
- "Magic Shell" chocolate for dipping

To assemble:

Line a baking dish with plastic wrap. Spread ice cream in the pan and let harden in the freezer. We used a 9-inch cake pan and about 1 quart of vanilla ice cream to get the desired thickness.

Get your cookies ready - match them up in pairs by size, or if you want to be really precise, use a cookie cutter to trim them into circles. We tried both and ended up liking the "rustic" look better, but if you're looking to replicate real IT'S-ITs, using a cookie cutter will produce a cleaner-looking sandwich.

When ice cream is hardened, use a cookie cutter to make circles of ice cream and place them between two cookies. Work quickly or you'll have a goopy mess!

Put the sandwiches in a baking dish and throw 'em back in the freezer to firm up.

Except maybe for this one.  This one you should eat.

When the sandwiches are firm and cold, dip them, roll them, do whatever you have to do to get them covered in chocolate.

Whatever you do, do it fast, or the ice cream will start to squish out the sides as it melts like it did in this one. Yes, that's my finger in the upper left - you try taking photos with hands covered in chocolate! Also, pay no attention to that mostly-dead basil plant in the background. I have a love-hate relationship with basil plants.

Place the sandwiches in the freezer so the chocolate hardens up completely. When you're ready to eat, make sure you have plenty of napkins! It's not a bad idea to have a bottle of stain remover handy, too.

-Becky

Ultimate Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Oprah.com
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

    •    2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
    •    1 cup packed dark brown sugar
    •    1/2 cup granulated sugar
    •    2 large eggs
    •    3/4 tsp fine salt
    •    1/2 tsp baking soda
    •    1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
    •    1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
    •    3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
    •    3/4 cup whole wheat flour
    •    2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until incorporated, scraping the bowl as necessary.
3. Add the salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla and mix at medium speed until blended. Add the flours and mix at low speed until smooth.
4. With a strong rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the oats. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least one hour, or overnight.
5. Roll dough into golf-sized balls and place three inches apart on one of the prepared sheets. (We fit only four cookies on a standard size cookie sheet - they spread quite a bit.) Flatten balls to 1/2-inch discs using a flat-bottomed glass or the palm of your hand.
6. Bake for 14-15 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through, until the cookies are nearly set and golden brown. Let cool on the sheet for one minute, and then use a metal spatula to transfer to a rack to cool completely. Keep dough in the refrigerator between batches. The more chilled it is, the easier it is to roll.

Vanilla Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
Makes about one quart

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pour one cup of the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. In a large bowl, prepare an ice bath.
3. Warm the milk, sugar, one cup of the cream, and salt in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When warm, slowly pour about one third of the milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly (this tempers - i.e. slowly warms the eggs so they don't cook too quickly). Pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture.
4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula , scraping at the bottom and sides, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula.
5. Pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Add vanilla extract, place bowl in ice bath, and stir until mixture is cool. Chill in refrigerator at least three hours or overnight.
6. Churn ice cream in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

For Mint Chip Ice Cream (Becky's fav), click here!


Homemade "Magic Shell" Chocolate Coating
From AlphaMom
Makes about 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (measured when solid)
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in heatproof bowl (tupperware works well) and microwave for one minute.
2. Let sit for 2-3 minutes, allowing hot oil to melt chocolate chips.
3. Stir with heatproof spatula until smooth. It will be runny.

Store in refrigerator (will thicken), or in summertime, at room temperature (will remain liquid). To liquefy, heat in microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between.

Note: This chocolate coating is great for dipping IT'S-ITs because it is thin and hardens quickly. However, it does have a noticeable (and yummy) coconut flavor that the original IT'S-ITs do not. Next time, we'll try substituting butter or another type of oil for part of the coconut oil to achieve a more accurate version of the original!

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

My favorite thing about New York summers are the picnics. So many picnics. True, some of them end up happening on concrete or gravel or against the sides of buildings in the pouring rain, but still - blankets and food and conversation shared among friends make me happy. Picnics are good things.

Lucky for us, picnics are also prime taste-testing opportunities. Recently, a conversation with a friend went like this:

Friend T: Want to come see this great Shakespeare company on the Hudson River? We can have a picnic beforehand!

K&B: Totally! We'll bring a treat to share! (Duh.)

Friend T: Yay!

The day before the show...

B: Kate, what should we make for the picnic tomorrow?

K: Something with chocolate?

B: No - too melt-able.

K: Oh yeah. Bummer, dude... Bar cookies?

B. Nah. We ALWAYS make bar cookies. I'm tired of making bar cookies. I mean, I love me some Peanut Butter Magic Bars. And Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. And Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars. And Oatmeal Carmelitas. And...so on and so forth. But I'm feeling like doin' somethin' different.

K: What about cupcakes?

B: No way, Jose! I ain't carrying cupcakes on the subway, AND on the train, in THIS heat. Are YOU?!

Oh, the challenges of baking in NYC. You gotta love 'em, and you gotta live with 'em. In the end, we decided on something easily transportable that sports a bit more wow-factor than your regular old bar or drop cookie: cake in cookie form.

Alone, the spiced, moist cookies that bookend these delectable sandwiches are nothing special. But squish 'em together with some cinnamon cream cheese frosting and, voila! You've got a genuine carrot cake taste in finger-food form. Just picnic-perfect!

-Becky

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies via Picky Cook
Makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies

Carrot Cake Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cups toasted chopped walnuts (I forgot to toast them, and they turned out fine!)

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 - 4 minutes). Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until well combined.

3. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. Do not overmix!

4. Stir in oats, carrots, raisins, and walnuts by hand. Chill dough for at least 1 hour.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Scoop dough by level tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. (I used a cookie scoop to do this, which worked well.) Using the bottom of a glass or the palm of your hand, flatten each cookie to approximately 1/2 inch thick.

7. Bake until browned and crisp around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Cooled cookies can be stored in airtight containers overnight. If stacking, separate layers with parchment or wax paper to prevent cookies from sticking to one another. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Place cream cheese in medium bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth.

2. Gradually add butter and continue beating until well blended.

3. Add confectioners' sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla and continue beating until smooth.

4. Spoon frosting into a large piping bag, or make your own by cutting one corner off a ziploc freezer bag.

5. Pair cookies by size, turning one upside down. Pipe one to two tablespoons of frosting onto each upturned cookie.

6. Place top cookie on frosting and gently smoosh down until frosting reaches edges of cookie.

Cookies may be stored in airtight containers for two days. If stacking, separate layers with parchment or wax paper to prevent cookies from sticking to one another. If storing overnight or if it's especially hot outside, store in refrigerator (the sugar in the cream cheese frosting should keep it fresh for about a day, but it's best to keep them in the fridge to be safe if you're not serving them that day. Let come to room temperature before serving).

Oatmeal Carmelitas

The universe wants you to make this treat.  Really.  You see, every so often, a specific recipe overwhelms the blogosphere.  Usually it's a viral thing - one popular blog posts something and suddenly everyone's making it. But this recipe was different because last fall, a few of us heard the carmelita call individually.  First, I got the recipe in my Martha Stewart "Cookie of the Day" email.  A week later, Framed posted the recipe after seeing it in Everyday Food.  A couple months later, Kelli tasted a version in a bakery on Cape Cod and loved the bar so much that she recreated the recipe from scratch. But this isn't a new recipe; versions of Oatmeal Carmelitas have been around since Erlyce Larson's recipe won the Pillsbury Bakeoff in 1967. So why the sudden resurgence last fall?  The only thing I can think of is this: the universe wanted us to know how awesome these are.  And who am I to argue with the universe?  I made one batch and knew they'd become a staple. A couple words of warning though: 1) With a buttery brown sugar crust similar to that of Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars and a rich caramel filling textured with chocolate chips, these bars pack a sugary punch. If you've been wondering if that aching tooth has a cavity, bite into one of these - you'll know right away whether or not a trip to the dentist is in your future. 2) When I took these to the office, we ended up with trails of oatmeal crumbs between the snack table and each person's cubicle.  So unless you're wearing lederhosen and hoping to find your way out of the forest without getting eaten by a witch, make sure you have a napkin handy to catch those buttery crumbs! On behalf of all the other bloggers who heard the carmelita call last fall, I'd like to thank the universe. We appreciate your help in finding crowd-pleasing, self-indulgent recipes.  Keep 'em coming, please. -Katie


Oatmeal Carmelitasadapted from Martha Stewart

• 48 soft caramel-candy cubes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each short side.

2. Put caramels and cream in a small saucepan; melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

3. Stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal; press half of mixture onto bottom of lined pan.

4. Bake until just set and starting to color around edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes.

5. Sprinkle crust with chocolate chips; drizzle with caramel mixture. Top with remaining crumb mixture. Bake until pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before lifting bars out onto cutting board and cutting into squares.  For easier cutting, after bars have cooled, place in refrigerator until firm, then cut into bars.  Let come to room temperature before serving.