Deviously Delicious Iced Oat Sugar Cookies

I wanted to make colorful cookies that would be fun for the kids to eat, yet would secretly be filling them up with omega 3 fatty acids, protein, and whole grains. And I'm happy to announce that my plan worked.

My kids loved rolling out the dough and using the cookie cutters. This was my very first time making cookies with cookie cutters and icing them, hence the sloppy cookie decorating. That being said, I was pretty proud because the end result seemed to have far exceeded my artistic ability. I guess icing makes everything look good. :)

The cookies tasted amazing, they tasted like a sugar cookie with a hint of oatmeal. And the icing was soft with a semi hard exterior-- we thought it was the perfect combination and will definitely make these often.

Once again, my children have fallen for my deceitful treats.


Iced Oat Sugar Cookies:

Tip: You can make your own oat flour by putting rolled oats in the blender or food processor until finely ground. Or you can buy it at many natural food stores.
You can also not use the oat flour and/or ground flaxseed and simply replace it with all purpose flour.

Prep Time: 15 minute prep time, 1 hour to chill dough, 15 minutes cookie cutting,
Cook Time: Bakes for 7-9 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar, known in Australia as "icing sugar")
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup oat flour (or finely ground rolled oats-- see Tip above)
• 1/4 cups ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

The Method:

1. In a large bowl cream together the confectioners sugar and butter until smooth.
2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oat flour, ground flaxseed, and baking soda.
4. Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture. Mix until thoroughly combines, but do not overmix.
   
5. Cover the dough and chill for about 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
   
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness.
8. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters and place cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
10. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. When cool, eat plain or make the following icing to top with.

Simple Cookie Icing Recipe:

Tip: The less milk you use per bowl the thicker the icing will be. Use thicker icing to make eyes, buttons, or any detail work. Use thinner icing to coat entire cookies, and the thicker on top to add details. That being said, you may want to choose two colors to make thin, and two to make thick.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups confectioners sugar, with one cup of sugar in four separate bowls to make different colors
  
• 2 tablespoons milk per bowl (or less for a thicker icing to add details to the cookies like eyes, smiles, etc.)
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract per bowl
• 3 or food coloring colors -- if you want white icing, don't add any color to one bowl

The Method:

1. Place 1 cup of sugar 4 separate bowls.
   
2. Add 2 tbsp milk (or less), 1/2 tsp vanilla and a few drops of your desired food color to each bowl.
   
3. Mix thoroughly with a fork until icing is very smooth and a good consistency.
4. Scrape each color into a small zip-lock plastic bag.
5. Snip the corner of the bag to produce a point (make the point as tiny as possible) and ice cookies as desired. Use a spreader to evenly spread icing all over cookies. Carefully use thicker icings to make details on cookies. Icing will dry to a delicious semi-hard coating.
   
6. Variation: use lemon or orange juice instead of milk for flavored icing.

Simple Healthy Delicious Hummus

Hummus is a simple and delicious dip which can be a snack, a meal, or an appetizer. I make it pretty often and my kids love that I serve it to them atop a plate full of fun stuff to dip it in. Hummus is a great time to try out giving kids a muffin tin meal; you put the hummus in one muffin hole and a variety of dipping items in the others.

Other things I like to do with hummus in house:

• Make wraps with hummus and various salad items.
• Use hummus instead of mayonnaise on various sandwiches.
• Serve it with: tortilla chips, carrots, raw broccoli, raw green beans, apple slices, wheat thins, pita bread warmed in the microwave with a moist papertowel on top.

It makes a great portable snack for a long day out with kids (or hungry adults for that matter). I put a little clear wrap over that hummus dipping bowl, and threw it our our bag to go to the playground with.

My Simple and Versatile Hummus Recipe:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 can chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans)- drained from can and rinsed with cold water
  
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup tahini (optional) Tahini is ground sesame seeds, packaged in jar that looks similar to peanut butter-- sometimes found in the organic or health food aisle. I highly recommend using it if you can.
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• A couple squeezes of a lemon, or a few drops of lemon juice from the bottle
• A small cup of cold water to add if necessary

The Method:

1. Put drained chick peas, garlic cloves, tahini (optional), salt, and a little lemon juice, and 1-2 teaspoons water into a food processor, blender, or mini food processor and go, go, go.
2. Scape the sides and give it another whirl, if too stiff add another couple teaspoons of water and repeat. I would compare the desired consistency to soft serve ice cream-- thin enough to not need a spreader but thick enough to not look soupy.
3. If you want to dress it up a little sprinkle a pinch of paprika or parsley on top. I don't do that when I'm serving it to my preschoolers-- but do it as you see fit :).
   

Broccoli Parmesan Risotto

I had never made risotto before and was totally shocked at how great this came out. The goal with risotto is to keep it from being crunchy/undercooked while also avoiding mushy, bland, or too salty-- these seem to be the normal concerns when making risotto. This risotto was creamy, flavorful, and not too heavy.

I served this risotto with a piece of salmon perched on top of it.

The real key to making risotto the right consistency is the method of adding simmering broth (and wine in so inclined) to the risotto rice one ladle at a time while constantly stirring and replenishing absorbed liquid.

The video below displays the proper technique to make your risotto the right consistency. What we're looking at for in the video is the method and visuals of the desired consistency, I 'm using completely different ingredients-- but the method remains the same. The video chef made a mushroom risotto (which my husband won't eat) which sounds good too, or I've chocked my risotto full of spinach and broccoli, adding vitamins and flavor of the green variety.





Tip: As with all the recipes I post, you can change the ingredients based on your preferences or what you've got hanging around the house. The most important thing about adding ingredients is making sure you add them at the appropriate time. for example- broccoli should be added the last 5-7 minutes of cook time, or spinach should be added the last minute or two of cook time.

Let's make risotto:

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Tips: A wooden spoon is best for cooking risotto with if you have one. Also, this recipe is best done when you have about 25 minutes to available to allow for stirring the risotto every minute or two.

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 onions diced
  
• 2-4 cloves garlic crushed
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, or salted is fine too
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
  
• 1 1/2 cups risotto rice rinsed in a colander, and looked through to make sure there's no foreign objects in it (I used Arborio)
• About 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth-- if using stock instead of broth dilute 1/2 water & 1/2 stock
• 1 or 2 cups fresh or frozen chopped broccoli (I use fresh)
  
• 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach (or rocket if you prefer)
  
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, or up to 1 cup if you like more

The method:

1. Heat the broth/stock in a saucepan until almost boiling, then lower heat to keep it lightly simmering.
2. In a large saute pan or heavy pot, heat the butter and oil on medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until clear, do not let them brown.
   
3. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
4. Add the rice and stir to coat rice until shiny, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add one ladle of hot broth to the risotto and stir until absorbed.
6. Repeat step #5, adding broth one ladle at a time, stirring until absorbed, then add another ladle at a time, for the next 18-20 minutes until most or all of the broth is used, when there's about 5 minutes left add the chopped broccoli and continue stirring.
7. After 18-20 minutes taste a spoonful to make sure it's cooked (and not crunchy)-- DO NOT OVERCOOK, if it's not crunchy-- it's done!
8. Turn off the heat and add the spinach (or rocket), blue cheese (optional), and Parmesan cheese, leaving a little to put on top when serving. Stir thoroughly and cover for two minutes to let rest.
9. Serve in immediately, topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Yum.