Butterscotch Molasses No Bake Cookies

Ingredients/Directions:

In a medium saucepan melt 1/2 cup Butter, 1/2 cup Milk, 1/2 cup Molasses, and 1 1/4 cups Sugar together. Once mixture has come together remove from heat and stir in 1 bag of Butterscotch Chips until melted. Stir in 1 tsp. Vanilla and a dash of Ginger. Add about 3 cups of Rolled Oats, add additional oats until mixture is thick and each oat is covered. Drop by the teaspoon or tablespoon full onto wax paper covered cookie sheets, refrigerate overnight or for 1-2 hours. Enjoy!

Overnight Oats Variation: Carrot Cake

If you're running out of ideas for your bowl of overnight oats - why not boil up some carrots, throw them in a food processor with some brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to use as a 'carrot cake condiment' for your bowl of oats? Great way to get a boost of beta carotene and turn your generally white bowl of oats a nice refreshing orange color ^^

Overnight Oats Variation: Strawberry and Banana

Classic and Delicious.

Overnight Oats Variation: Banana, Peanut Butter and Honey

I bet you're thinking of a sandwich right now.

A peanut-buttery, sweet, sticky, honey and banana sandwich.

It'd be delicious. And so would this variation on Overnight Oats.

Overnight Oats + Fresh Bananas + Honey + Slightly melted Peanut Butter.
Sprinkle a little flaxseed on top.

Breakfast perfection.

Overnight Oats Variation: Banana Bread Inspired

One of the latest Overnight Oats variations that was hit at the Harrington's breakfast table was a Banana Bread Inspired mix of fresh bananas, walnuts, a shake of brown sugar and shake of cinnamon!

Overnight Oats will never disappoint.

Overnight Oats Variation: Orange Curd and Banana

Excuse the horrible picture, I just wanted to let you know that Overnight Oats, topped with a sliced banana and a spoonful or two of Orange Curd is a fantastic way to start the morning.

Enjoy!

Overnight Oats Variation: Cookies and Cream

Overnight oats have quickly become a go-to breakfast in our home - they are insanely easy and versatile, take for example these Cookies and Cream Overnight Oats. Not necessaryily something you would make on a regular basis, however, when it's your favorite man's birthday and you want him to know you love him and his incessant sweet tooth, you might as well crush 2-3 Oreos into his oats, swirl on some chocolate sauce and top with sprinkles, because it's breakfast and it's a birthday!

No Bake Oats and Spent Grain Bars

I saw these No Bake Granola Bars on Pinterest recently and was confident I needed to give them a shot using up some spent grains. As is common with spent grains, they add a lot of moisture. I didn't perfect this, and should have actually prepared the Granola Bars without making so many substitutes so I could get a better feel for their texture/consistency and would have a better idea on how to adjust the recipe upon adding spent grains. However, I think were I to try again, I'd just add a bit more oatmeal - probably actually what the original recipe calls for and just add spent grains as if they were flaxseed, so a couple tablespoons or so - rather than trying to make a primarily spent grain bar - but then again, who knows, spent grains are more common in our household than oats.

Ingredients/Directions: (this is how I plan to try it the next time!)

In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups of oats, 1 cup of popped rice (or rice crispies other puffy cereal) and 2-4 Tbsp. Spent Grains. In a small pot, melt 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup Honey and 1/3 cup Brown Sugar over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce heat and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. Vanilla. Pour this mixture over oats, grains and cereal, mix well. Pour into jelly roll pan and pack it in TIGHT! Cool at room temperature 2 hours, wrap in plastic and continue to store at room temperature - the refrigerator will supposedly make them hard as a rock, no good.

Overnight Oats with Spent Grains

If you spend any time at all on Pinterest, sure as anything, you have seen Overnight Oats in adorable Mason Jars being posted all-over the place, and for good reason!

In an attempt to keep up with eating hearty, healthy, filling breakfasts, I decided to jump on the train and am incredibly thankful I did because this is quite possibly one of the easiest breakfasts I've made yet.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a jar or small tuperware bowl, mix together 1/2 cup Rolled Oats, 2 Tbsp. Spent Grains, Sprinkle of Flaxseed, 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt and 2/3 cups milk. Let set overnight (or I've read a minimum of 30 minutes). In the morning serve with your choice of fruits, jams, spices, honey, peanut butter, etc. Make additional jars/bowls per mouth to feed. (Spent grains and flaxseed not required, most basic oats can be made with jut oats, yogurt and milk!)

No Bake Cookies

(Apologies for such a lame picture...I was so anxious to get these suckers made and devoured that I forgot to take a photo!)

In an attempt to further win over my winter camp students and increase my chances at an early release through subtle bribing, I whipped these no-bake cookies up which always impress my Korean co-workers and friends who are quite unfamiliar with the wide-world of baking and cookies.

Ingredients/Directions:

Bring to boil 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup milk , 1 3/4 cups White Sugar, and 4 Tbsp. Cocoa in a sauce pan or pot.  Boil for about a minute, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup Peanut Butter followed by 1 tsp Vanilla and 3 cups Oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets (or cardboard covered w/ wax paper) and place in the fridge or on your Korean verandah in the winter and let set a couple of hours before serving!

Choco-Chip Spent Grain Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin during fall and especially as Thanksgiving approaches is homey and perfect, especially when you're feeling a little too distant from the friends and family you love.

I was of course inspired by a Pinterest find and was so thrilled with the way these turned out, as were my co-workers and friends whom I 'reluctantly' shared them with.  The original recipe at Petite Kitchenesse doesn't involve spent grain, rather it just calls for oatmeal.  However, I used some spent grain in these, which worked out brilliantly and I'm quite confident I could use even more and still have a delicious cookie. I'm hoping to play around with the recipe soon, maybe foregoing pumpkin and throwing in some peanut butter or bananas or Nutella - anything really to use up all these spent grains (leftover grains from my husband's brewing process) we've been producing.

Ingredients/Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (177 Celsius) Combine 2 sticks butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cups white sugar until fluffy (or combined if you accidentally melt the butter, not that I would know from experience). Add 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (or a full cup if that's what you thawed from the freezer), 2 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla and beat until combined. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cloves and a dash of nutmeg.  Stir in 2 cups of oats and 1 cup of spent grain. If the dough is too wet and sticky at this point (because generally spent grains hold a bit of moisture) add some flour and mix until you acquire a dough that can hold it's shape and isn't too wet. Finally add 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, plop dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown and beautiful.

Nutella Oatmeal Banana Bread

Remember this?

Well...I wanted banana bread. Wanted the joy of Nutella IN my banana bread. AND wanted to make a recipe from one of my Kindle Cookbooks...because it makes me feel cool, and happy to have a Kindle with Cookbooks.  Because I love Cookbooks.  And every cookbook on my Kindle was free.  And I really love free.

So from the 'pages' of the Gooseberry Patch Thanksgiving Cookbook (cooklet) comes Banana and Walnut Bread minus the Walnuts and Blueberries, plus Nutella.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a large bowl cream together 1/2 cup Butter and 1 cup Sugar.  Add 2 Eggs, one at a time and mix well after each addition; stir in 1 cup of Mashed Banana.  In separate bowl (or not, depending on your perfectionist streak) sift together 1 1/2 cups Flour, 1 tsp. Baking Soda, 1/4 tsp. Salt and 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon.  Fold in 1/2 cup Quick-Cooking Oats (uncooked).  Mix dry with wet if necessary, just until moistened.  Pour half the batter into a greased bread loaf pan, plop in 2-3 spoonfuls of Nutella, swirl, pour in rest of batter, plop in 2-3 more spoonfuls of Nutella, swirl and bake. 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes until center is done. Enjoy with a glass of milk, for breakfast and/or dessert and/or after-school snack.

Cookies and Cream No-Bake Cookies

Out of all the no-bake cookie experimenting that took place most recently, this particular recipe is the number one winner which will be explored and improved upon time and time again as it was far from disappointing and incredibly satisfying!

Ingredients/Directions:
In a saucepan bring to boil: 1/3 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and 8-10 Cookies and Cream Hershey's Kisses. Add to sauce (roughly) 2 cups of Oatmeal and a minimum of 1 cup Oreo cookie crumbs. Add enough grains to soak up the majority of the sauce as to prevent a particularly sticky no-bake cookie. Dollop onto wax paper and refrigerate for one-two hours until cookies are set. Enjoy with a couple of good friends at your favorite coffee shop. Consider doubling the recipe - you will love these, I'm Positive you will!

Peanut Butter and Almond No Bake Cookies

A continuation of (well, in actuality, the first of three cookie experiements) a night of cookie experimentation yielded a more traditional sort of no-bake cookie with only a few substitutes.

Ingredients/Directions:
In a saucepan bring to boil: 1/3 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup Peanut Butter, 1 handful of chopped Almonds, 1 Tbsp. Coco Powder and (roughly) 2 Tbsp. Milk chocolate pieces. Boil for about one minute and remove from heat. Add to sauce 3 cups of Oatmeal or combination of Oatmeal and Corn Flakes depending on availability. Add enough grains to soak up the majority of the sauce as to prevent a particularly sticky no-bake cookie.

Matcha No-Bake Cookies

In an effort to enjoy a little time with myself and my creative juices - I chose a night in the kitchen over a night out with friends. It was an important and crucial choice which yielded many delicious outcomes.  One such delicious outcome were these earthy and green Matcha No-Bake Cookies.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a saucepan bring to boil: 1/3 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 2 Tbsp. Matcha Tea Powder and (roughly) 2 Tbsp. White chocolate - I used half of a white chocolate bar and guesstimate that it'd be about 2 Tbsp. Boil for about one minute and remove from heat. Add to sauce 3 cups of Oatmeal or combination of Oatmeal and Corn Flakes depending on availability. Add enough grains to soak up the majority of the sauce as to prevent a particularly sticky no-bake cookie. Dollop onto wax paper and refrigerate for one-two hours until cookies are set. Enjoy with a couple of good friends at your favorite coffee shop.