Monster Cookies

How the month sneaks by so quickly, I don't know.  But it's already time for the latest installment of Secret Recipe Club. This month I was assigned Moms Crazy Cooking.  Tina has a really fun blog with a lot of little craziness in the mix. ;) Between cooking for her family of six, her twin girl's competitive cheer schedule and participating in several online cooking/baking groups I don't think there is a dull moment at Tina's house.  Tina even hosts a monthly themed cooking challenge online called the "Crazy Cooking Challenge" where other bloggers make their take on the assigned theme, link up their posts and then everyone votes for the "Ultimate Recipe".  The last Crazy Cooking Challenge theme was Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  There were some pretty good looking recipes in there!  Check out Tina's blog when you get a chance. 

As usual I flagged a number of recipes while perusing Moms Crazy Cooking.  In fact I even made two of her recipes this week.  The first was Au Gratin Potatoes in a crock pot.  First of all, that's a genius idea.  Second of all, it's stinkin delicious.  It was a huge hit at our Mother's Day lunch last weekend.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures because we were too busy fighting over these tasty potatoes.  Yes I said fighting.  There was a little scuffle at the table when my mom's fork suddenly nose dived into my aunt's plate to swipe the oh so coveted, browned crispy parts of the potatoes.  I guess sisters can do that.  My family takes potatoes very seriously! Needless to say, I will be making these again, and I hope have a clear enough mind to actually take a picture or two. 

Thankfully I did take photos of these Monster Cookies.  I have made dozens of different kinds of cookies through the years, but never a monster cookie.  Tina's blog had two versions, one with and without peanut butter.  I went with the non peanut butter version, but will have to try the peanut butter version at some point too. 

This monster cookie is a cross between a chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie with 3 cups of anything and everything mixed in. You can customize your monster cookie to your taste by stirring in nuts, candy, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, raisins, pretzels...whatever you can think of really. I kept mine pretty simple, mixing in pretzel M&M's and chocolate chips. The oatmeal brings a very homey texture to the cookie.  I am putting monster cookies on the baking list next time my nieces and nephews are over. 

Enjoy!

Monster Cookies
from Mom's Crazy Cooking

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup margarine (I used all butter)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats
3 cups of your favorite mixins - such as nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, toffee, M&M's, chopped up candy, marshmallows, pretzels, etc. (I used 2 cups of pretzel M&M's and 1 cup of chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and oats and whisk to combine. 

In the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter, margarine and sugars on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time and vanilla, mixing until just blended.  With mixer on low add the flour mixture in three batches until just combined.  Add your 3 cups of mixins and mix on low to combine.

For truly monster size cookies, use a full size ice cream scoop with a release mechanism and bake 6 cookies per sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown on the edges (mine took 14 minutes).  Makes 24 extra large monstrous cookies!

Blueberry Oat Bars

Have you ever had a Blueberry Oat Bar from Starbucks?  They are my favorite sweet treat from the coffee house giant.  I don't even drink coffee, but will make a stop occasionally for a black iced tea (unsweetened) or a chai tea latte and a blueberry oat bar.  It tastes like a homemade treat with a delicious oat crust base, a blueberry filling with a bright fresh blueberry taste and a tender oat crumble topping. If you are a blueberry fan, you should try one next time you stop at Starbucks.

I decided I wanted to try making them at home, so I went in search of recipes.  I found a recipe on food.com that claimed to be like the delicious Starbucks treat, if not better!  So I put it to the test.  It's not quite like the original. Seems like this recipe has more oats and a different blueberry to  crust/crumble ratio.   I also read online that other folks recommended adding cinnamon to the crust/crumble mixture.  I meant to add cinnamon, but forgot.  The finished product would definitely be enhanced with a little kiss of cinnamon.  Next time!

Even though this recipe isn't an exact replica of the original, it is very tasty and definitely holds its own and makes a great snack or breakfast.  Katrina from Baking and Boys has a blueberry cream cheese oat bar on her blog that looks amazing.  Next time I will try Katrina's version. The cream cheese layer looks like it would take these bars to the next level.

Some of these blueberry oat bars will be my breakfast for the next few days and the rest will serve as a gift to my Grandpa who is turning 94 years old this week.  Happy Birthday Grandpa!   


Blueberry Oat Bars
adapted from food.com

3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups oats
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

In small saucepan combine blueberries, sugar and lemon juice and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking for 10 minutes.  Whisk in the cornstarch and boil until thickened about 1 minute.  Transfer to a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until cooled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with foil to come up over all four sides of the dish for easy removal after the bars are baked.  Spray the foil with non stick cooking spray. 

Make the base/crumble topping by combining  oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon (if using). Cut the butter into small pieces and combine in the flour mixture.  Using your hands mix the butter into the flour mixture to form a crumble. 

Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and press the remaining mixture evenly into the prepared pan.  Top with the cooled blueberry filling.  Sprinkle reserved crumble evenly over the top.  Bake for 40-45 until lightly golden brown.  Let cool completely before cutting.