Thursday Recipe - Chinese 5-Spice Mix and 5-Spice Cookies

More playing with spices. Looking for new ways to mix together the flavors I've already got. I've tried a few 5-spice blends from the store but wasn't impressed. With this one, using some whole spices makes a huge difference in the flavor. Not sure how to grind them up? Invest in a little cheap coffee grinder. They cost $10-$20. Just make sure you label it "spice grinder" and use it only for spices. It works wonders.

Another tip for getting great flavors out of whole spices is to toast them before you grind them. To do that, warm up a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the whole spices and cook just for a minute or two until they get really fragrant. Pull them off the heat and let them cool down just a little before you grind them. The flavors will be more intense but be warned, they won't keep as long once you grind them so use this tip only for things you'll be using in the next day or two.

Just a note on whole spices - you can usually find them at any grocery store. If they aren't in the baking aisle, try looking in the hispanic or ethnic section. I found a nice size bag of star anise for a really good price in the Hispanic section. Look around, spend some time exploring what your local stores have to offer. Don't be afraid to try new things. The worst that will happen is you'll end up with something inedible and have to start over. Which really isn't that big of a deal. Don't be afraid of failing. Even if the cookies are ugly, they may still taste great.

On to the recipes!

Chinese 5-Spice Mix

3 star anise
12 whole cloves
2 t. whole black pepper
1 t. fennel seeds
1 t. ground cinnamon

Measure everything into a spice grinder. Pulse on high until the mix is a fine powder. Store in an airtight container for up to a month. Makes about 1 1/2 T.

For more flavor, try toasting the whole spices first.

Chinese 5-Spice Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
2 t. Chinese 5-spice mix
2 eggs
2 c. quick-cooking oats
1 c. whole wheat flour

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, baking powder, 5-spice mix, and eggs. Cream until very smooth and light. Stir in oats and whole wheat flour. Mix together. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the oats soften and absorb any extra liquids.

Scoop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 9-10 minutes.

If you want more spice in your spice cookies, feel free to add extra cinnamon or ground black pepper.

Thursday Recipe - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is from my trusty old church cookbook. At least the original version is. I've changed things up a bit. They call it Mrs. Fields' Chocolate Chip Cookies. The story is that someone wrote to Mrs. Fields and asked for her recipe. She sent it along with a bill for $10,000. So the woman shared the recipe with everyone, figuring if she was going to pay that much for it, she was going to make sure everyone got their money's worth. The story probably isn't true, but this is still a very tasty version of chocolate chip cookies.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. white sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. white all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 c. oatmeal, instant or quick-cooking are best for this recipe
2 c. chocolate chips

Cream butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add salt, baking powder, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until very creamy. Stir in flours, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for 8-9 minutes, until barely browned on the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.

Thursday Recipe - No-Bake Cookies, or Gorilla Poops

I started cooking when I was nine. I distinctly remember my first batch of cupcakes from scratch. They looked odd and tasted funny, but I was so proud of them. My family grumbled a bit but ate them anyway. Later, I realized I'd mistaken 3 t. to mean 3 tablespoons. Three times too much baking soda equals not good cupcakes. Hey, I was nine.

Adventures in cooking continued. As a teen, I went on a weird cookie spree, trying out any and every recipe I had. Food coloring was my friend. The one cookie I've never really mastered? No-bake cookies. Despite careful measuring and stirring and cooking, I have no idea if they'll turn out soft and chewy or hard and crumbly. After one particularly crumbly, messy batch, I gave up trying to make it form cookies and just dumped the entire pot onto a cookie sheet in one big pile.

"What kind of cookie is that?" my sister asked.

"Elephant poop." And so the line of poop cookies were born.

(BTW, when these cookies turn out dry and crumbly, they make excellent ice cream topping or the basis of chocolate oatmeal for breakfast, just add some water and microwave for a minute or two.)

Gorilla poops are normal no-bake cookies. Elephant poops are when you're tired of scooping or it doesn't work so you dump the entire batch in one enormous cookie. Monkey poops are the peanut butter variety. Orangutan poops are chocolate AND peanut butter. Chimpanzee poops have extra goodies added. Are you sensing a theme here? Good, go make some gorilla poops for your kids.

Gorilla Poops

3 c. oatmeal, quick cooking if you've got it
1/2 c. coconut
1/2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk or water
1/3 c. cocoa
1 t. vanilla

Mix oatmeal and coconut in a large mixing bowl, set aside. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add sugar, milk, and cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. We're talking a rolling boil here that you can't stir down. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, then pour over oatmeal mixture. Stir quickly to coat the oatmeal. Scoop by teaspoons onto waxed paper. Cool for at least 15 minutes. If it's way too sticky, serve it on a spoon and call it spoon cookies. If it crumbles, make it into an elephant poop and serve over ice cream. If it turns out right, pat yourself on the back.

Monkey Poops - Omit cocoa. Reduce butter to 1/4 c. Add 1/2 c. peanut butter with the vanilla.

Orangutan Poops - Make Monkey Poops but leave in the cocoa.

Chimpanzee Poops - Reduce oatmeal to 2 c. Add 1 to 1 1/2 c. of whatever you want to the oatmeal mix. Suggestions - dried cranberries or cherries, mini-marshmallows, nuts, m&m's, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, crispy rice cereal, cheerios, fruity pebbles, captain crunch berry cereal, chow mein noodles, etc.