Danielle's Monster Cookies

This recipe makes a TON! I baked about a dozen good-sized cookies, and I still have a large tupperware full of dough in the fridge. But it seems like the dough will keep well in the fridge/freezer so this batch will last us awhile.

These are very tasty cookies. I was a little skeptical when I read the recipe, but they came out really well. The texture of the cookie is just like I like it -- a little crispy on the outside (although they didn't really stay crispy) but chewy in the middle. And I love the oats, peanut butter, and chocolate together.

Max thinks these would be better with just M&Ms (replacing the chocolate chips with M&Ms), but I don't really care if it's chocolate chips or M&Ms as long as there's plenty of chocolate! I personally like chocolate chips because I can buy better quality chocolate, but one advantage of the M&Ms is that they don't melt and spread all over.

I baked a few cookies before I chilled the dough because I'm usually not patient enough to wait for dough to be chilled. The non-chilled cookies didn't have as uniform of a shape, but I didn't think there was any noticeable difference between the chilled and un-chilled dough. So if you can't wait, you can definitely get away with baking these before you chill the dough.

With the batches I made with chilled dough, I smashed the cookies down with a spatula about halfway through baking because the cookies were not spreading. I wanted bigger flatter cookies instead of big tall mounded cookies.

Cami's Homemade Granola

I've been wanting to try this for a long time but just never got around to it. I don't think I'll ever buy granola again! This is so delicious. I am moving soon and have been trying to get rid of the food in my pantry. I threw in some coconut and dark chocolate chunks. Yummy. It was a bit sweet for breakfast but I enjoyed having it as a snack. I can't wait to play around and make many different types. I think this tasted best with plain yogurt since it was so sweet.

This is definitely a top 5 recipe from Baked for me. I just love it.

Danielle's Homemade Granola

I've been hoping someone would pick this recipe because I love it! I've made it a number of times, and lately I've been making it weekly in double batches. I love eating it for breakfast and Max likes to take it to work to snack on or eat for lunch.

This granola is so fast and easy to make, and you can totally customize it to your tastes. I've tried it with different kinds of dried fruit (craisins, dried cherries, dried apricots, dried mango), with whole and slivered almonds, and with chopped up chocolate chunks.

My favorite combination so far has been craisins, dried apricots, and slivered almonds. It's delicious with the chocolate chunks, but I've been leaving that out lately because I figure I just don't need that extra bit of fat and sugar in my daily breakfast.

Other than swapping out the fruit and nuts, I haven't made too many changes to the recipe. I've been adding more oats than it calls for because you can get away with less oil, sugar, and honey and it still tastes really good (although it's probably not as clumpy). I've also tried replacing half of the honey with pure maple syrup. I liked it that way, but again, it's less clumpy because the syrup isn't as sticky as honey. The maple flavor was not very noticeable, so I'm not sure if I'll make it that way again.

Cami's Pear Plum Tart

As everyone has said before, this is really tasty, quick and easy. It would be good for large gatherings and I feel like it would be good with a wide variety of fruit. Of course apple would be good but blackberry and peach are on my list of things to try. This definitely serves more than 4. I would say more like 6-8. Of course, it depends on serving size but that was a lot of fruit. I added just a tiny bit more cinnamon and nutmeg because I love the flavor of both. It was great.

My husband doesn't generally appreciate baked fruit but he said this wasn't bad. That's saying something, I promise.

I would make this again.

Danielle's Pear Plum Crisp

I actually saw this listed as the upcoming recipe last week, and I made it yesterday because I wanted to have it before Max left for LA (to take the bar, yay!).

If Melanie hadn't picked this recipe, I probably would've never made it. I'm not really drawn to cooked fruit type of desserts. But this was fantastic! The crisp topping was better than any I've had. The sugar was carmelized and perfectly crunchy. And the lemon and orange along with the cinnamon added a very nice flavor.

I couldn't find nutmeg, so I just left it out. I'm sure it would've been good with nutmeg, but I thought it was still perfect. I want to try this with other fruits, but if I make this with pears again, I think I'll peel off the skins. I didn't really like the texture of the pear skins in the finished dessert, and let's face it, I'm not really going for healthy here even with this fruit based dessert.

Overall, this is an excellent dessert and I think one that will come up again in my dessert rotation. And it was definitely one of the easier recipes we've tried. You can't really screw it up. It's a winner!

Pear Plum Crisp

This week's recipe is going to be Pear Plum Crisp from the Baked cookbook, pg. 113. I haven't made it yet so no picture.

I've only had my cookbook for about a week now and have only been able to glance through it, and this is one recipe that stuck in my mind. I know crisp-type recipes are traditionally saved for autumn time, but I think it will make for a light, sweet, and tasty summer dessert! Plus, it looks really really easy and I'm all for yummy foods that are really easy. :)


Do you have any pet peeves?
Something that really bothered me while I was living in Ecuador were strangers coming up to me and telling me their opinion about or what to do with my baby. The most annoying was when they'd tell me he was cold, particularly because it was rarely ever cold there! It might be 60 degrees and they'd be bundled up in puffy winter jackets and hats. They just don't know real cold. I dared not leave the house without him wearing socks and shoes and a jacket or else I was guaranteed to get comments from people about him being cold!


Any other hobbies besides being an amazing cook?
Let's see...I enjoy going for walks, jogging, a little crafting here and there, and of course spending too much time on the interent.

What is your favorite summer activity?
In Chicago, it's spending as much time outside as possible. Lots of walks and parks. Can't do that in Arizona summers though, so growing up it was spending as much time inside or at the pool as possible.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Definitely a morning person. I'm no fun at night because I get so tired so quickly. It's no fun for my husband when we try to watch a good movie and I fall asleep! And then my days feels so much more accomplished when I can get a good early start on the morning.

Are you a go-go-go sight-seeing kind of vacationer or lie-on-the-beach-all-day kind of vacationer?
I seem to always take go-go-go sight-seeing vacations. When I visit a new place I don't want to miss anything! There are just too many cool things and places in this world to miss them!

What is your favorite store?
Target. Love that store.

What is your favorite beverage?
Strawberry lemonade, the kind with real fresh strawberries in it.

If you had to go back to school, what would your major be?
Not really sure. I always thought it would be fun to be an optometrist, I don't know why.

-Melanie W.