Oatmeal "Cookie"

I have never had much of a sweet tooth - not even as a child. But, every once in a while, I get a craving for something a little bit sweet. I have a few recipes that I make when the sweet tooth hits - which is not often.

First off - Oatmeal "Cookies". I put the word Cookies in brackets because these are not cookies in the strictest sense. The way I cook them they tend more toward granola as they end up being very crumbly and do not hold up well as cookies and I have tried making them as squares which did to work either.

"These "cookies" tend to spread a little during cooking so it is best baked in a baking sheet with sides." That is a direct quote from the original recipe. Tend to spread a little is an understatement. They practically melt. I cannot imagine the mess if I tried to make these on a baking sheet without sides. The clean up would be horrendous.

I keep telling myself that the next time I make these I might add a little flour. They are tasty but very light and flaky - and very delicate.

Secondly - Mug cake. These are seriously easy to whip up and it can be a little dangerous knowing that at any given time I am less than five minutes away from chocolate cake.

Ingredients - Oatmeal Cookies

1/2c Butter or margarine - I used margarine and even though the recipe says that margarine can be used I think this is why the cookies spread so much during cooking. I will try with butter and see what happens.

1/6c Sugar - I used regular white sugar but it might be interesting to try brown sugar as I find it has a more earthy taste than regular white sugar.

1/2c Oats - I used gluten free quick oats as there is not much in the way of options. It would be interesting to see how they would turn out with steel cut oats or something that is not quick cooking.

1c Flour - Any all purpose blend will do.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar together.

Stir in the oats and flour and mix well.

The original recipe called for the dough to be scooped by teaspoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking tray. I tried this but they spread something fierce the first time I made this so the next time I decided to put the dough in an even layer down the centre of the tray. If it was going to spread anyways, why bother making ore work and trying to section to dough evenly into mounds on the sheet. I would not skip the parchment paper and remember to use a baking sheet with sides.

Pop the tray into the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes.

Instead of cookies this makes a thin sheet of "cookie" that I usually just break up into small peices and put into a bowl. Its really delicious and does well to satisfy a craving for somethign sweet without being overly sweet.

For variety you could also add a pinch of cinnamon, maybe some cocoa. Its a basic recipe that leaves itself open to experimenting.

Ingredients - Mug Cake (per person)

1/4C Flour

1/4C Sugar

2T flour

1 - 2 T Cocoa

salt

Cinnamon

1/4c water

2T oil

1 mug

Directions

Mix the dry ingredients in the mug.

Add the wet ingredients. Stir and mix well

Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 60 seconds. put a fork into the middle of the cake. If it comes out wet, cook for an addition 10 seconds at a time until the cake is cooked. As there is no raw egg in this recipe, it can be a little undercooked if you prefer your mug cake moister.

Allow to cool before eating as it can be very hot when you take it out of the microwave. No one likes a burnt tongue :P

So there you have it - my two go to recipes for when I have a craving for something sweet. Enjoy :)