No fumbling.

Sorry about my cheesy title--I simply could not think of what to title this post. This may come as a surprise to some, but I love football. I know very little about the rules and strategy and all that (pretty sure I got touchdowns and field goals down), but I love the enthusiasm it creates in players and fans rooting for their team, and I love the white noise in the background as I fall asleep on the sofa when a game is on. I do really enjoy watching football games (especially teams that I care about), but sometimes, on a Sunday afternoon, the crowd noise, crunching sounds from the tackles and the refs' whistle just lulls me to sleep. It's a pretty close-to-perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon. Someone once said they should come up with an iPhone app with "football game white noise"--maybe there's already one that has it. That said, I am looking forward to watching the upcoming Super Bowl (and not napping through it), especially since I like the Mannings.

Now that I've set this all up, I have to tell you that my recipe for today probably wouldn't be considered tailgating-worthy by any means. While every foodie is putting together their Super Bowl party menus and food sites are channeling Super Bowl party tips with the big game just days away, today I am posting something completely irrelevant and a little...boring. I don't think people eat muffins while watching the Super Bowl, but I don't have any baking tailgating recipes. There also isn't anything particularly fancy about these muffins, but I like them because the recipe is fool-proof and easy to build upon depending on what you like (e.g. you can use wheat flour if you're more health conscious, add raisins, apple chunks, chocolate chips, different spices). You could probably use this for your next tea party or brunch. But if you're looking for a Super Bowl recipe, I'm pretty sure if you go to marthastewart.com, she'll have you covered.


Applesauce Spice Muffins
Adapted from epicurious.com
Makes about a dozen regular-sized muffins

Grease or line muffin pan. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

1. Stir together in a bowl:
- 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (or substitute 1/2 or 1 cup with whole wheat flour)
- 1-1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 t. ground allspice
- 1/4 t. grated nutmeg
- 1/4 t. salt

2. Using and electric mixer on low or by hand, whisk in a separate bowl until combined:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar

3. Add to the mixture in #2, one at a time:
- 1 stick + 3 T. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce

4. Fold into the apple sauce mixture, one at a time:
- flour mixture from #1
- 1 cup pecans or other chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds)

5. Divide batter evenly among the muffin wells. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes in the pan, then cool muffins completely on a rack.

(Epicurious includes a topping, which I forgot to use when I made this. It consisted of sugar, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Some reviewers of the recipe suggested using granola, which you can sprinkle on the top of each muffin before baking.)

A new believer?

I think I am back on my oatmeal kick. Yes, again. I can't seem to help it. Every time I make cookies, I just want to add oatmeal to it. There's something about the texture I can't get enough of. And lately, I've been in a sort of cookie mood which gets me back into the oatmeal mood. For a while I was eating brownies and a lot of chocolate anything, but maybe I needed a little break from the decadence. I know, impossible, right? Who ever needs a break from chocolate?

My coworkers organized a potluck for today, which meant an opportunity to try another cookie recipe. This is how much I needed a break from chocolate--I made oatmeal cookies with white chocolate. I have never really understood the appeal of white chocolate. White chocolate is real chocolate stripped of everything that makes it irresistible, the lesser distant relative to the granddaddy of all confection, the wannabe in the cocoa butter sphere...you get the picture. In my past experience with white chocolate desserts (and by that, I just mean eating desserts with white chocolate), I always thought its sweetness outweighed and overshadowed any real flavor--there was no real flavor to white chocolate except sweet.

I adapted a recipe from foodnetwork.com that called for dried peaches. Dried apricots are easier to find, and with this new element to the oatmeal cookie repertoire, I thought white chocolate really could be the better complement in something like this combination. After trying out one of the cookies, it was the right creamy texture and sweetness to bring out the oatmeal, walnuts and dried apricots. I may be a new believer in white chocolate just yet, and there really can be a use for white chocolate--at least when it comes to cookies. I think I may even elevate it to first cousin or something like that to real chocolate.


Apricots and Cream Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Sunny Anderson's recipe on foodnetwork.com
Makes about 1-1/2 dozen 3" cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

1. Whisk together in a bowl with a wire whisk:
- 3/4 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt

2. Cream together in another bowl with an electric mixer:
- 1/2 cup (or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar

3. Gradually mix in to the the butter mixture from #2, each of the following in order:
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 t. vanilla
- flour mixture from #1
- 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

4. Form the cookie dough into approximately 18 balls, spacing each one about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Press each ball down with your fingers or palm to about 1/2 inch thick disks.

5. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the tops turn golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.