Great Coffee Cake Flop of '10

I fancy myself to be quite accomplished in the kitchen, rarely turning out something that is not beautiful to look at and tasty to eat. (Thanks Mom for letting me make messes in your kitchen all those years growing up!)

The last true culinary disaster was the Flaming Roll Incident of '97 (not counting the Curry Catastrophe of '05 - that one wasn't my fault!). I had been broiling some chicken and needed to pop the rolls in the oven. I forgot to turn the oven down. Ten minutes later, there was smoke billowing from my oven, smoke detectors screaming at me, and rolls that were literally flaming on top and gooey on the bottom.

It was hilarious once I got the flames put out. Not too funny until then.

Tonight I tried a new recipe from The Pioneer Woman's website, "The Best Coffee Cake. Ever." Every single recipe I have tried from her site has been a huge hit with the men in my family and I was fully expecting to have the same level achievement with this recipe. 

Let's just say my 13 year string of success has been broken.

In the recipe, Rhee says you can use a smaller pan to make "thicker slices." I used the 8 x 11 pan and this is what I ended up with.  (Trust me, it was even more comical in real life! Tasty, but comical)

Don't get me wrong - it still tasted incredible (as evidenced by the fact the men around here inhaled half of it before it had the chance to even cool down - I am sure they will polish off the rest of it tomorrow).  Let's face it - anything with that much butter and sugar in it is going to be tasty!!! Fortunately, my super-spidey baking sense told me that there might be "some" overflow and so I put the coffee cake on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat mat. Ha. Some overflow, eh?

I am so glad I did. And so is my oven.

Smooches and happy eats to all of you -

M.

Orange-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Hand dipped in White Chocolate

 Around these parts, no family gathering during the holidays is complete without these cookies.  My siblings don't care if I make it, as long as the cookies do.  I think I got the basics from a magazine about 12 years ago and then tweaked it to my liking because you know me, I can't just follow follow a recipe.

The secret to these cookies is making sure they have enough "body" to them before you bake them.  If they don't, they will spread out and not have enough character to hold together once you start dipping them in the white chocolate. I don't know how else to describe the certain je ne se qua the dough needs to have, but the texture should be more firm than the typical oatmeal cookie recipe.  Don't be afraid to add a couple of tablespoons of flour at the end, if needed.

Happy baking & love & all that stuff -

M.

(P.S. Pictures will follow, as soon as I can stand being in the kitchen again! Darn this "morning sickness" stuff).

Cast of characters:

1 1/2 c. raisins (or my new favorite, Craisins)
1 c. orange juice
1 c. butter, room temperature
1 ½ c. sugar
2 large eggs
¼ c. grated orange peel
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. cloves
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 c. rolled oats
16 oz. white chocolate baking chips
2 t. vegetable oil

Directions:

• Combine orange juice & raisins; let stand overnight.
• Cream butter & sugar together.
• Beat in eggs, orange peel, & spices until light and fluffy.
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into butter mixture.
• Add raisins, any soaking liquid, and oats; mix well.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.
• Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
• Cool completely on cooling racks.
• In a small, deep bowl, melt the white chocolate & oil (put in microwave for 2-3 minutes on LOW power, stirring once. If it needs longer, microwave in 1 minute intervals, stirring well between each one.)
• Dip one-third of the cool cookie into the white chocolate.
• Place on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets and chill until white chocolate is firm. Warning: the probability that several of these will go MIA before the rest are completed is fairly high. Plan accordingly.
  
• Makes about 3 dozen, depending on how many people have been snitching from the cookie dough bowl.