Adventures in Thyme

Our adventures in food

Christmas Oatmeal Cookies

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oatmeal cookies by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

oatmeal cookies

If you’re reading this post you’ve survived the holidays, congratulations!  We have emerged from our food comas too to share with you one of our Christmas family traditions – baking a “goodie”.  We bake lots of goodies going into the Christmas season, and this one is a favorite that combines healthy oats with dried fruits and nuts.  Oh there’s chocolate of course, what would it be without that?!

Our recipe started as Quaker Oats “Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” recipe at http://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipe/vanishing-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.aspx ,  we tweaked it a bit to put a little tingle in your kingle.  Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Granulated Sugar
4 Eggs
2 teaspoons Real Vanilla Extract
3 cups All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Salt
6 cups Quick Quaker® Oats
2 cups Dried Cranberries
1 10 oz package Dark Chocolate Chips
1 12 oz package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 cups chopped Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Use your mixer to cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs (1 at a time) and then the vanilla. Beat until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix well the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. (You can also sift this together if you like.)

Slowly, a little at a time, add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. (At this point, the batch was too big for our mixer, so we had to move to a large metal mixing bowl and finish mixing by hand).

Now add the oats, cranberries, chocolate chips and pecans. Mix until evenly combined. (This part took both of us, one to hold the bowl and one to mix.)

Drop by round teaspoonsful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Use your fingers or a spoon to press them into flat disks. These will not flatten out on their own. Bake until golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two. Move to a cooling rack and let cool.

We made just over 10 dozen small cookies with this recipe – enough to hand out for unexpected guests and of course a few to leave for Santa Claus.

 

Roasted Cornish Game Hens

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Cornish Game Hens stuffed with a cranberry and cheese stuffing by D Fenwick, http://dfenwickphotography.com

Cornish Game Hens

Perhaps today’s post will encourage you to think “outside the chicken coop” to the Cornish Game Hen.  Admittedly, this is not a wild game bird, there’s only a 50-50 chance it’s an actual hen and to be perfectly honest it’s a hybrid chicken!  Nevertheless, let’s take a trip down a culinary country lane and whip together this delicious roasted bird:

2 to 4 Cornish Game Hens

1 pound soft, white goat cheese
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon ground Black Pepper
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

Seasoning:
1 tablespoon Seasoned Salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Olive oil
tooth picks
kitchen twine

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Wash and clean the game hens and pat dry with paper towels.  Pay extra attention to the cavity if you are opposed to any bits of organ meat.

To make the stuffing: combine the goat cheese, cranberries, rosemary, salt, pepper and cinnamon.  Blend gently with a fork.

The seasoning for the game hens is made by combining the seasoned salt, paprika and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Blend with a fork or your fingers.

Stuff the body cavity of each game hen with the cheese mixture.  Fill them completely.  There should be enough stuffing for 4 game hens.  Once the game hens are stuffed, use the toothpicks to hold the body cavity closed and tie the legs together with the kitchen twine.  You can use the twine to help hold the cavity closed as well.  Turn the wingtips behind the bird so they won’t burn while it is cooking.  Gently coat the game hens with olive oil and liberally sprinkle with the seasoning-salt mixture.

Place the game hens, breast up, on a cooking rack and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer in the middle of the stuffing reads 165 degrees.  Let the game hens rest for about 15 minutes and serve.

If the game hens are very small, you can serve one per person.  If they are larger, cut them in half and serve half a game hen per person.

Note:  When handling poultry, be sure to wash your hands often and discard any partially used ingredients that might have been touched after you have touched the poultry without washing.  Be sure to thoroughly wash your cutting boards and any utensils used with the raw poulty.  We use a clorox solution for extra peace of mind.