Hello again!
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! I feel like 2016 is already running away from me!
I’m not a big Valentine’s nut, but when I thought of these cookies I knew they would be the perfect Valentine’s gift for your sweetie (or yourself, no judgement!). Continue reading
Hello again!
I hope you like mustard!
Because I LOVE mustard. I love to eat it on sausage, chicken, pork, burgers, fries… the list goes on!
Cut to me earlier this month when the hubs and I visited my parents. We went to a few markets, and I found a bottle of horseradish mustard. Continue reading
Hello again!
It’s great to be back! Last week I got so wrapped up in my yearly planning that I ended up taking an impromptu break. But I’m back and ready to go with this wonderful pasta recipe. Continue reading
Hi all!
For all of you that have been here a while this post won’t be news to you, but I’d like to take a minute today to discuss Messy Counters and Floured Paperbacks, why I’m here, and what I’m about.
Lets start with part one: Messy Counters. I love to cook. I love trying new recipes, but it’s more about the feeling of eating a meal I took time to make, and seeing the happiness it brings to those sharing it with me. Food really does bring people together, and I’m not sure I’ve enjoyed anything as much as someone telling me they loved my food.
I started this blog with the intention of sharing recipes I’ve tried from around the web, and have since started posting my own recipes. Working on my own recipes is a completely different experience. It’s so fun thinking up recipes, and then having to figure out how to make them the way I imagine, to balance the flavors and make it delicious in reality, not just concept. Sometimes the recipes just don’t work out the way I want them to, and I have to go back to the drawing board. This process makes me think both more critically and more creatively about my cooking, and I believe it is expanding my skill set more than simply making other recipes ever could.
So, let’s move onto the second part: Floured Paperbacks. I’ve loved reading as long as I can remember. Because of this I added in Novel Mondays, where I post reviews on the book I read that week. I wanted to talk about the books I’m reading, to help myself think about them in terms of my own enjoyment, and to be mindful of the efforts these authors took to get that book into my hands. Reading is a wonderful experience, and I hope my review will interest a few more people to pick up a book, or introduce people to new books.
So, for all of you that have been here a while, thank you. Thanks for checking out my posts, and thanks for sticking with me. I would love to hear any suggestions you have for the blog (recipes you want me to try, books you want me to check out). Feel free to message me through Facebook or tweet me using the icons in the sidebar.
For anyone new, thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll check out some of my posts, and feel free to subscribe. Have a great week!
Hello again!
Happy New Year you guys! I feel like 2015 flew by. So much has happened, and I’m looking forward to more good things in the future.
Did you make any resolutions? Did one of them maybe involve dropping a little holiday weight? I know mine always does, so I had a chat with myself (everyone does this right? When you need an expert opinion, who better to ask than yourself?).
Self: We should kick off with a healthy recipe.
Me (still self?): Healthy? Yea, that could work. Or we could eat cookies…
Self: Cookies are good.
So here we are: Cookies! Specifically, Moon Cookies.
What are Moon Cookies, you may be asking?
Well my lovelies, Moon Cookies are what I call my great-grandmothers Swedish Oatmeal cookies.
Look, doesn’t it look kind of like the moon? All round and crater-y? Yes? No? Well, play along anyway.
These are my mothers favorite cookies, and I have to say they are extremely good for such a simple cookie. They are so delightfully crispy on the edges, but still just a little soft in the middle. They have a light vanilla flavor, and the oatmeal is just softened enough it’s not tough or chewy, but it hasn’t gone gluey. I can’t get enough!
You’ll notice below that the recipe calls for margarine. You might be tempted to use butter, because isn’t butter better, more natural? Well, yes, on most things butter is better, but in this case do not, and I mean DO NOT, use butter. The cookies don’t come out the same at all.
Trust me, many a failed cookie happened before we figured this out.
I hope you’ll try these wonderful cookies. If you do, please snap a photo and hashtag it #messycountersfp. I’d love to see what you make!
¾ lb margarine (3 sticks)
1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
4 tsp vanilla
3 cups quick oats
2 cups flour
1-1/8 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Preheat oven to 375°.
Cream together sugar and margarine, then add in vanilla until well combined. Mix in the dry ingredients.
Using a large cookie scoop (mine is almost 2 inches, about 5 cm, across), scoop dough onto a cookie sheet covered with a silpat or parchment paper. Using a greased spatula or the bottom of a glass, press the cookies to flatten so they are even.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy! Makes about 24 cookies.
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Messy Counters and Floured Paperbacks 