Cream-Filled Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies with a Twist

The twist. Ahh the twist is the addition of Maple Extract. I don't bake with it often enough, and it's the perfect addition to so many fall and winter dishes (both sweet and savory).

I know some people are not fond of maple anything, and then some go wild over maple everything. Both my parents were fanatics about maple walnut ice cream and maple walnut coffee cake. So that was my inspiration when I decided to put this experiment together last night. There are a few steps to making these little darlings, but the results are so worth it. And as usual, I've tried to cut some calories and sugar. There might be some future tweaking, but for now...this is a yummy cookie your maple lovers will adore.

Cream-Filled Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies
makes approximately 20-22 sandwich cookies

Filling
8 oz Neufchatel cheese softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (1 stick)
1/2-3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 2 T regular brown sugar)
1 tsp natural maple extract
1/3 cup finely chopped or ground walnuts

Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
1 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (same amount if you're using granulated sugar)
1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 1 cup regular brown sugar)
2 large eggs at room temp
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp natural maple extract
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1cup rolled oats
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped or ground walnuts

I like to make my filling first. In medium size bowl, combine your butter and Neufchatel. I use a hand mixer. Now add your sugars and maple extract.

And fold in your ground nuts.

Wrap filling in plastic wrap and set aside in your refrigerator to set up and let the flavors meld.

Let's make the cookies. Pre heat your oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment. In medium size bowl, combine salt, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk with a fork or spoon to incorporate. No need for any sifting. Set aside.

On to the batter. Place butter and sugars in a large bowl. With hand mixer combine sugars and butter until smooth. Add eggs and both extracts and incorporate.

 
Now add the flour mixture in two batches to the wet ingredients and combine. And fold in the oats, raisins and chopped walnuts.

I usually just plop my oatmeal dough by teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper, but since I was filling these little beauties, I decided to make them into 1 inch to 1-1/2 inch balls, so they would all be pretty uniform in size.

Bake each cookie sheet 9 minutes. Let cool on cooling rack and remove cookies to paper towels to finish setting up. And amazingly enough, the cookies are all pretty much the same size. I lucked out on that one.

While cookies are cooling, remove the filling from the fridge, let it come to almost room temp so filling the cookies will be a snap. Lovingly pile a teaspoon to a tablespoon of the maple infused filling on to the bottom (flat side) of one cookie and top with a second. Keep going, and be sure to sample at least one (or two). They really are yummy.

Cherry Cobbler with Oats

This is a quick post to let you know that the peach cobbler I made a while back can be re-mixed with frozen cherries and some oats for a marvelous crunch. Love when I can add a few oats in my desserts! Here's the recipe:

Cherry Cobbler
serves six

12 oz frozen pitted cherries, drained of juice and defrosted
1 stick unsalted butter melted
1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup Splenda no calorie sweetener
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1 tsp vanila extract
1/4 cup Splenda no calorie sweetener for topping

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8 x 8 inch pan with cooking spray. Melt butter and set aside to cool. Mix your dry ingredients together with a whisk (flour through the one cup of Splenda). Now add your buttermilk, vanilla and butter and stir to combine. Top with the cherries and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Splenda. Breakfast or dessert will be done in 1 hour. Easy and super yummy. Hope you give this a try!  

Crunchy Chewy Granola Bars

I've been making granola bars for years because I just can't eat the packaged ones found in the grocery store. Either they're too sweet, too crunchy, or taste like tree bark. And as much as I try to be a nature lover, tree bark is not something I'd like to ingest.

A few months ago I bought a baking pan with square indentations, and last night when I was mixing up the batter for some peanut butter raisin granola bars, the light went off in my head- Use the new pan for the bars, you'll get 4 sides of crunchy crust and a chewy middle in each and every bar.

Peanut Butter Raisin Granola Bars
Makes 8 individual 2-1/2 inch square bars

Cooking spray
1/2 stick butter
2 egg whites
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup Splenda no calorie sweetener
1/4 cup honey
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Prep pan with cooking spray. Melt butter and set aside to cool. In large mixing bowl beat egg whites until frothy. Mix in peanut butter, sugar and honey. Here's a nice tip: spray your measuring cups with cooking spray before adding peanut butter and honey and they won't stick, they'll slide right out. Now add the butter and mix. You'll have a very smooth mixture at this point. Now it's time to add the oats and cinnamon. Sometimes I add the oats whole. But last night I took 3/4 cup of oats and pulverized them in my spice grinder. I like the end result better this way, but if you're too lazy to do this, go ahead and add the oats without the grinding step. Now add the raisins.

If you're using a pan like mine, you'll get 8 bars that are between 3/4 inch to 1 inch deep. Place batter into square indentations and smooth with your clean hands. You're now ready for a quick bake.

Bake 12-15 minutes in middle rack until edges begin to slightly brown. Do not overcook.

Let cool about a half hour and enjoy!

Re-Mix: There are so many variations for this recipe and I don't believe I've tried them all yet, but here are some ideas. Instead of the raisins add mini chocolate chips and a little vanilla extract. Crushed roasted peanuts are always a welcome addition, and I have even added macademia nuts and candied pineapple, which is really a treat. And even better than the Splenda sweetener, is brown sugar. Oh, and if you are a fan of dried fruit, add some dried apricots for some zing. Go through your fridge and freezer, I bet you've got ingredients for your own custom made granola bars. Just remember that cinnamon is a strong spice and it might have to be eliminated with certain combinations.

If you don't have a pan like mine, this recipe will work in an 8 x 8 inch pan, baked for 20 minutes. I would cut the bars into 12 pieces (4 x 3) not quite square.

Sometimes you feel like a nut

I normally wouldn't post a re-mix of my simple chocolate chip cookie recipe but I'm absolutely nuts about this revision. It's loaded with macademia nuts, has lots of oatmeal and is simply delicious. The cookies are rich. And chewy. And crunchy. And decadent. I suggest you try them if you're a nut like me.

Macademia Nut Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter softened
1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
1 cup granulated sugar (I used Splenda no calorie)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup macademia nuts chopped
1 cup white chocolate and/or semi sweet chocolate chips-optional
Sea salt

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In large bowl combine the butter and sugars with hand mixer. Mix about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract and set aside.

In medium size bowl add flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Mix with a whisk to incorporate. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the oats, nuts and chips (if using). Spoon tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets, sprinkle with sea salt and bake until lightly browned on the edges. My oven takes about 10 minutes, but check the cookies after 8 minutes to be sure you don't over cook them. Let cookies cool a minute or two before transferring to wire rack or paper towels. Repeat with any remaing dough. This recipe makes about 45 cookies.

I've made this recipe with and without the chocolate chips. Either way they are delightful. If you decide to omit the chips, you can add an additional 1/2 cup of macademia nuts.

Apple Crisp

I hate saying goodbye to summer, but what makes the goodbye somewhat bearable is the abundance of fall fruits and vegetables available in the market. That's why I went to my local farm stand yesterday and picked up three pounds of Cortland apples to make an apple crisp. This recipe is simple and not over-the-top in calories. Plus it's hearty and satisfying and a great way to welcome the season.

Apple Crisp

Filling
3 pounds tart apples (I used Cortland)
1/4 cup sugar (I used Splenda no calorie)
Juice of one lemon
2 T AP flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Crisp
1 cup AP flour
1-1/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used 1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into small pieces

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the filling, peel, core and slice apples into 1/4 inch slices. Toss with sugar, lemon, flour and cinnamon. Place in prepared baking dish misted with cooking spray. I used a souffle pan but a 9 x 12 glass baking dish would be great too.



To prepare topping, mix all ingredients and sprinkle over apples. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool slightly and serve with ice cream. I didn't have any ice cream in the house so I poured some fat free half and half around the perimeter of the dish and it was delicious. And by the way, it was fabulous for breakfast the next morning.

Nutty for Oats, Bananas and Peanut Butter

I love my peanut butter granola bar recipe as is, but decided to take it a step further by adding 2 ripe bananas to the mix. The bananas add another dimension of goodness, not to mention their healthy benefits. Did you know bananas protect your heart, strengthen bones, and control blood pressure? Good stuff they are! So if you haven't tried the original granola bars yet, go directly to phase 2 and bake these good-for-you, tasty, easy to make little darlings. You won't be disappointed.

Peanut Butter and Banana Granola Bars

Vegetable cooking spray

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 egg whites

1/2 cup peanut butter- I use creamy, but chunky would work fine

2 small ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup Splenda no calorie sweetner

1/4 cup honey

pinch of salt

2 cups old fashioned oats-1 cup ground in spice mill or food processor, the other cup left whole

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Prep an 8 x 8 inch pan (I use disposable aluminum) with vegetable spray. Melt butter on stovetop and set aside to cool. In large mixing bowl beat egg whites until frothy. Add peanut butter, Splenda, bananas and honey to the frothy eggs and combine well. Here's a hint I always give- spray the measuring cups that you're using for the honey and the peanut butter with non-stick spray and the contents will slide right out. Next add the cooled butter. Combine everything and you're ready to add the oats. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and some elbow grease, combine oats with all the other ingredients. When incorporated, add the mini chocolate chips. Pour batter (it's kind of thick) into prepared pan, smooth with spatula so it's evenly distributed and bake 25 minutes on middle rack until edges begin to brown. Remove from oven and let cool one hour. They really do need time to set up. Slice into any size pieces you like. I make 12 slices per batch, and as you can see, they disappear fast.

Cookie Heaven

I spent a good part of last weekend baking cookies for my friend Jonathan's birthday. He requested my Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Birthday Cookies which I was delighted to make. But I wasn't going to stop there so I baked up some Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies as well. A bit of a chocolate fest, so you know I was happy. I used my trinity flour mix in every batch I made, and NO WAY can you detect the ground oatmeal and whole wheat flour in these cookies. And, what's even better is that these recipes are no fuss, no fail and delicious.

Here are the proportions for the flour mixture again in case you missed it the first time.

Trinity Flour Mix

• 4 cups AP flour
• 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal ground in a food processor or spice mill
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

In large bowl combine ingredients. I don't sift or do anything besides use a whisk to incorporate. Then I pour the flour into a large re-sealable bag and it's ready when I'm ready. Okay... on to the cookies.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
This is a Giada recipe that I've been making for a few years now. She originally made these for a Halloween episode and rolled the uncooked dough in orange turbanado sugar. I have done this using plain old Sugar in the Raw and it's nice- offering great crunch and eye appeal. I didn't do it this time though.

3 1/2 cups trinity flour mix

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 sticks softened unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar (I used no calorie Splenda)

1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda Blend brown sugar for baking)

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup Nutella

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (my addition)

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. In medium size bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix well. Then add the Nutella. When everything looks yummy and incorporated add the dry ingredients. I don't add it all at once, maybe in two or three stages. Now fold in the chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Leave a good few inches between cookies because these babies spread. Also-if you want to coat the cookies in raw sugar, do it before you bake them. Bake 10 minutes. The cookies might not look done at 10 minutes, but they are.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is an Ina recipe. What can I say? The woman rocks and hasn't led me astray yet. Her original recipe called for toasted pecans and raisins. I've made that. Delicious. But I'm a chocolate gal and took the walnut/chocolate route. I think I now use more brown sugar and less granulated than her original recipe, and the end result is chewy and crunchy and simply heaven. And by the way, this makes a lot of cookies. I think I got close to 4 dozen.

2 sticks softened butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I used 3/4 cup Splenda Blend brown sugar for baking)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used Splenda no calorie sugar)

2 eggs- Ina uses extra large eggs but I use large and I haven't had a problem- I guess either size will do

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups trinity flour mix

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp Kosher salt- Ina specified Kosher salt, so that's what I do. If you don't have any- use 3/4 tsp table salt (I'm guessing)

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Now this next step may sound a bit unorthodox, but add baking powder, cinnamon and Kosher salt to the egg/sugar mixture and combine. These are not Ina's directions, but they're easy and they work just fine. Now add the trinity flour mixture in batches and mix. Stir in the oats. Add chips and walnuts. With a large spoon scoop out about 1 tablespoon of batter per cookie and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Ina says to flatten the cookies with damp fingers. I have forgotten to do this many times, and it hasn't made too much of a difference in the end result, so if you forget, you'll still be okay. Bake 12 to 14 minutes.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Nutty for Oats

I've been working on another comfort dish (South Beach inspired Shepherd's Pie) but it's become a problem child at the moment and needs another test run. So in the meantime I thought I'd share a sweet new find with you.

It's a Giada recipe for Peanut Butter Granola Bars from the food network web site. I love that site because, as I've mentioned before, home cooks and enthusiasts offer helpful hints to improve the dish if there seems to be a problem. It's always amazing to me how some recipes get posted in the first place, but looking on the bright side, the comments work for me. Hey- I always like to know the good, the bad and the ugly before I try a recipe for the first time.

So here we go. First off, this is an easy recipe. You probably have all the ingredients on hand. Giada makes her bars in a 7 x 10 inch pan. I don't have one and used the old faithful 8 x 8 inch disposable aluminum. She also lines her pan with parchment paper. I don't since I'm using the flexible aluminum. The biggest problem the commenters/reviewers had was that the bars kept crumbling. The general consensus was that the one stick of butter recommended was too much. Baking time was an issue too. But all ovens are different and I watched mine very closely the first time. I also added an additional egg white to the mixture and can't remember why I did that. Maybe it was to prevent crumbling as well. Giada uses toasted slivered almonds . They were delicious in my recipe, but I have a huge jar of dry roasted peanuts in my freezer that I used on my second go-round. Equally as good and I didn't have to toast them. She also uses brown sugar, but I wanted to stick with zero calorie Splenda, so I used white. I'm sure it's better with the brown. The recipe calls for 2 cups of old fashioned oats. With the first batch I made, I used the oats directly from the container. With the second batch, I ground half the oats in my spice grinder and the end result was a lighter, less dense bar. It depends how oaty and earthy you feel at the time. Either way they were good.



Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Adapted from Giada De Laurentis

Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 stick butter
2 egg whites
1/2 cup peanut butter - I used creamy, Giada used chunky
1/3 cup brown sugar - I used white Splenda
1/4 cup honey
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup crushed dry roasted peanuts- I crush them between 2 sheets of plastic wrap with a heavy pan (they still fly all over the place)
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Prep pan with vegetable spray. Melt butter and set aside to cool. In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Mix in peanut butter, sugar and honey. Tip: spray measuring cups with veg spray before measuring peanut butter and honey and they'll slide right out of the cups. Add the butter and mix. You'll have a very smooth mixture at this point. Add the oats, peanuts and chocolate chips. Stir to combine. Spread into prepared pan. Bake on middle rack in oven 20 minutes (that worked for me) until edges begin to browm. Let cool at least one hour before slicing. I cut my bars into 12 pieces (4 x 3), not quite square.

Re-Mix: Whenever I find a good recipe with peanut butter I try it using Nutella. You'll need to change the amount of sugar. I used 2 T of sugar instead of the 1/4 cup. You'll also want to sift 1/4 cup of baking cocoa into the Nutella, honey, sugar and butter mixture and incorporate well. I didn't add any nuts, but kept in the mini chocolate chips. These were pretty rich, and not as healthy as the others. And gooier. Much gooier.

Back to healthy-My next re-mix of these bars will be to eliminate the chocolate chips and add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and either raisins or dried apricots to the peanut butter mixture. I haven't tried this yet, but when I do, there'll be an update on the results.

The Trinity

I've been a busy gal this holiday season. At least three times a week this month I've had a date after work. Well, a date with my oven that is. I've been competing in my self-declared yearly cookie baking marathon and have now finally come into the home stretch.

One of the things I did differently this year was make up my own All Purpose Flour. As you know, I like to include a little oatmeal and a little whole wheat along with my white flour when I bake. And this little trinity seems to do the trick. It's simply 1 part AP flour, 1/2 part old fashioned oats ground in a spice mill and 1/4 part whole wheat flour. I made a big batch of this and it turned out to be a great time saver and produced some fabulous baked goodies.

Linda's All Purpose Flour
4 cups white flour- I used organic but any will do
2 cups ground old fashioned oats
1 cup traditional whole wheat flour
Sift all 3 flours into a large bowl, stir with a whisk or fork and store in a covered container

I used this mix in my standard chocolate chip cookes and Giada's chocolate hazelnut cookies and they came out great. Better than I expected. So I kept going. It then made an appearance in Erika's Schweddy Balls, my last few ricotta cakes, and a liquored-up version of my pumpkin bread. So if you're looking for more than white flour in your baked goods, and don't know where to begin, give this a try. Any recipe that calls for all purpose flour should adapt very nicely to this blend. And as I love to say, that's one smart reason to have a second helping.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar or 1/4 cup plus 2T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

1/4 cup granulated sugar or 2T Splenda Blend

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 large egg

2 cups Linda 's AP flour mix

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.In large bowl using electric mixer, combine butter, sugars, vanilla, salt and baking soda until mixture is smooth. Add egg and mix until incorporated. Add flour and when blended, add chips. Drop by heaping tablespoons on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Say Cheese Part 2

Well, I found the picture. Now doesn't that look yummy?

Say Cheese

Since I have a camera now, I was hoping to display here a glorious picture of my chocolate ricotta cake and I'm disappointed that it's just not going to happen. First off- dark, dense chocolate does not really make a beautiful picture- using kitchen lighting no less. But I worked that problem out and got two decent shots. Now it's locating my photos (that are uploaded somewhere) in my Picasa file that's been giving me a problem. Before I started this blog, I bought a book called Google Blogger for Dummies and it helped me get started. I may have to invest in one for Picasa (for dummies) if they actually have one.

On to the cake. I was recently cleaning out my fridge and had a few lemons and a container of ricotta cheese that needed attention. I went to Mike's Table and found his recipe for lemon ricotta pound cake. It was easy. And it was yummy. So then I began experimenting with a chocolate version. I am apologizing in advance for the two sticks of butter, but it just isn't the same without them. And it does make me feel a bit better that this recipe makes a very large cake. So pull out your biggest loaf pan, like the one for Nigella's chocolate cake, and treat yourself to a little chocolate decadence.

Chocolate Ricotta Pound Cake

2/3 cup AP flour
2/3 cup old fashioned oats ground in spice grinder
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar (1/2 cup Splenda Blend)
1/2 cup brown sugar (1/4 cup Splenda Brwon Sugar Blend)
15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup brewed cold coffee
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare large loaf pan with cooking spray
In medium size bowl, combine flour, cocoa, ground oats, baking powder and salt. Stir with whisk or fork to incorporate. Set aside
In large bowl mix butter, sugars, ricotta, coffee and vanilla
Add the eggs
Add the dry ingredients
Fold in the chips
Pour into prepared pan
Bake 15 minutes, lower temp to 325 and bake 45 minutes more
Let cool before removing cake from the pan
Dust with powdered sugar

A little background- I tried sifting the dry ingredients. Not necessary. I also dusted the loaf pan with cocoa one time and flour another. The cake was actually easier to remove from the pan when I used only cooking spray. I did take the eggs and ricotta out of the fridge ahead of time and let them come to room temperature. The original recipe suggested you rotate the pan 180 degrees before you lower the temp. I never did that. And I've been tempted to bake it at 350 the whole time, but haven't tried that yet. I've been omitting the powdered sugar, but it is a very good option.

The Re-Mix: I think this is as good, if not better than the original. If you like orange and chocolate together then you'll like this re-mix. Zest one large orange and extract the juice. You'll get about three tablespoons of liquid. Add these to the butter/sugar mixture and eliminate the brewed coffee. I made this last night and it's really a winner.

Decadent

A few weeks ago I watched Nigella Lawson prepare a quadruple chocolate loaf cake on TV. Yes. Quadruple. She's always a hoot to watch and that luscious chocolate scenario sucked me right in. I've never made a recipe of hers before but this one had my name on it. I went immediately to the web site, copied down the recipe and read the reviews, something I'm learning to do more often these days. The extra time spent reading about other baker's pratfalls can be quite time consuming, but it does give you tips and general guidelines that eventually save you time and heartache when it comes to preparing the dish on your own. I often don't listen to my own advice and jump right into a recipe without reading it properly, not even knowing if I have all the ingredients on hand. Well this time I read what others had to say and ended up with a splendid chocolate loaf cake. But I did not make a quadruple chocolate cake per se. I made a double chocolate cake with a double chocolate garnish. Yes, I am lazy. My other excuse is, it seemed like over-kill and just too messy. And with the fabulous results I got, I'll probably never do it Nigella's way. So the original recipe is here.

The feedback: Some of the commenters had trouble with the size of their loaf pans and found their cakes oozing over the rims. I got nervous about that so the first time I made the recipe I did what some suggested- I used two small loaf pans. There was no bubbling over, but also not enough rise in the cakes. The recipe calls for a 9 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 inch pan. I'm thinking some people didn't measure their pans (that would be me, because I don't know where to measure). Top or bottom? Anybody know? Fannie Farmer doesn't say. Anyway, I dug around my supply of pots and pans and found a very large loaf pan, the kind you'd use for meatloaf if you wanted to feed your neighbor's teenage sons. It's 9 x 5 1/4 x 2 1/2 measured on top. And this worked. Nigella also made her cake in a food processor. I used a hand mixer. She didn't use salt. I added some. And she baked in a 325 degree oven. Many reviewers couldn't buy that concept so they did the regular 350. I stuck with the 325. I also used brown sugar and granulated sugar. And instead of boiling water, I added hot/warm coffee. Ina Garten does it all the time so I figured I'd take a tip from her as well. Oh, and the baking time was an issue for some- they thought not long enough. And the large chocolate chips became a sinking issue for others. Anyway, I think I've ironed out most of the problems presented and came up with a cake you'll be happy to make and share with others.

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake
adapted from Nigella Lawson

Cooking spray
1 T cocoa powder (for dusting loaf pan)

1 cup old fashioned oats ground in food processor or spice mill
2/3 cup AP flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (for cooking and baking) softened- first time I ever tried this product
1/2 stick unsalted butter softened
1 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup Splenda Sugar Blend)
1/3 cup brown sugar (or 3 T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
2 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1/2 cup warm coffee
1 cup semi sweet chocolate mini chips

1 cup Hershey's Lite Syrup
2 oz dark chocolate bar shaved

Pre heat oven to 325 degrees. Nigella suggests you put a baking sheet in the oven at this time. I haven't figured out why, but I did it anyway.
Take everything you need out of the refrigerator so all ingredients can come to room temp. Prepare loaf pan with cooking spray and dust with 1 T of cocoa powder. Shake out excess.
In medium size bowl sift flour, ground oats, cocoa, salt and baking soda. You will probably have some small pieces of oat bran left over that didn't blend, just discard them. Set bowl aside.
In large mixing bowl combine butter, butter substitute and sugars. I like to mix this for about 3 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla extract and sour cream and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to insure ingredients are blended. Add dry ingredients and combine. Now add the warm coffee and mix, then fold in the semi sweet chips. Pour into prepared pan and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Test with toothpick for doneness. Remember there are chocolate chips in the cake, so don't mistake dark, runny chocolate for an underdone cake. If the crumbs are damp, the cake is not done and needs a few more minutes. My cake was fine at 1 hour exactly. Cool cake in pan for 20-30 minutes and remove to serving platter.

The double garnish: If you think your chocolate meter can handle this, drizzle chocolate syrup over your slice of cake and top with chocolate shavings. And without sounding too decadent, I believe a dollop of whipped cream on top would be divine.

Genesis

About 4 years ago an acquaintance gave me the infamous $250 Neiman Marcus cookie recipe with the warning that it was the best cookie she'd ever tasted. She referred to it as an "adult cookie" (whatever that means) and it sounded intriguing. So of course I made them. And yes! they were delicious, quite possibly one of the best cookies this adult had ever eaten too. But what was most intriguing to me was the ground oats in the recipe. Prior to this I had only used oats in traditional oatmeal cookies, which I adore. I remember eating the cookies and thinking how light and airy they were. Could it be the ground oats? With this question in mind, I incorporated them into my standard pumpkin bread recipe and it was a success. And then they worked just as well in my chocolate hazelnut cookies, blueberry cake and so on and so on. I was on to something. So here's a tip on getting some whole grain goodness into your baking: Replace 1/2 to 3/4 of the AP flour in your recipes with ground oats (I grind Old Fashioned Oats or Quick Oats in my spice mill). You've just given yourself a healthy excuse to have another cookie or slice of cake.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread
adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (my bible)
Makes 2 loaves (medium size loaf pans)

Cooking spray
2 tsp flour

2 cups oats, ground in spice mill
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup Splenda Blend (or 2 cups granulated sugar)
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs (or 2 eggs plus 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Topping:
1/2 cup ground oats
1/4 cup Splenda Blend (or 1/2 cup granulated sugar)
4 T softened butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare loaf pans with cooking spray and flour
In small bowl, prepare topping by combining all ingredients. Set aside
In medium size bowl, combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Set aside
In mixing bowl, combine oil, Splenda Blend, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and water. Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Pour evenly into prepared pans and sprinkle topping over batter. I press the topping down a bit, so it's not too crumbly when I remove the breads from their baking pans. Bake 55-60 minutes until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Cool a bit and remove from pans.

Re-Mix: If you like this recipe, how about adding a touch of chocolate to your pumpkin creation? It's easy. After combining all ingredients, remove 1 cup of batter to a separate bowl and stir in 1/2 cup Hershey's Lite chocolate syrup and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Pour or ladle half of the original pumpkin batter into 2 loaf pans. Top with the chocolate mixture, and finish with the remaining pumpkin batter. Insert a knife into the batter and make swirling motions through the mixture. Eliminate the topping and bake 55-60 minutes.