How To Make Chocolate Oatmeal

My daughter and I love oatmeal, especially in the winter. She really enjoys it when it's chocolate oatmeal! Here are 3 ways I have made it:

1. Use chocolate milk instead of white milk to "cook" the oatmeal.

2. Add milk and chocolate syrup to uncooked oats, then "cook."

3. Add milk, 1 tablespoon of powder cocoa, and 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar substitute to uncooked oats, then "cook." (adjust measurement to suit your taste.)

It's pretty tasty. If you try it, let me know what you think. Any other ways to spruce up oatmeal?

Cookie of the Month Club: Quick Cookie

My grandma is known for her Quick Cookie. This is her go-to recipe when she wants to share a dessert with others. Not only is it easy (quick), but also delicious!

1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter (melted)
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans, with extra for topping
1/2 cup chocolate chips, with extra for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients, except eggs. Beat eggs then add to previous mixture. Stir, but don't over-mix. (This is the trick with this recipe so the dish isn't gooey.) Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Top with extra chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Umm, c'est bon!

Easy King Cake

One thing I love about Mardi Gras season is the King Cake. There are many ways to have your King Cake, and I like them all! This method uses packaged cinnamon roll dough so it comes out as such. I used an 8-roll pack which makes a 7" cake. (Frosting was included.) For a bigger cake, use more than one package.

Open the canister so that you have a log of dough. I floured my cutting surface just in case the dough was sticky. I think it would have been fine without the flour. Cut the dough into three sections lengthwise.

Take each section and form one long log of dough. To do this, I had to form a ball with the dough, then roll and pull to form the log.

Pinch the three logs together at the top and begin braiding all the way to the end.

Transfer to a baking sheet. Connect the top of the braid with the bottom in a ring. Pinch the ends together well to make sure they do not disconnect in the oven. I followed the baking instructions on the package which said 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes. I had to bake mine for 14 minutes.

The cinnamon rolls came with regular white frosting. To make this step easy, I squeezed the white frosting in a sandwich bag and used a glass for support. (I divided the frosting into three--yellow, green, purple.) Food coloring was added, then I sealed the bag to mix.

Once all the colors were ready, I made a small cut in a bottom corner of the bag. My daughter and I took one color at a time going around the cake.

Voila...our King Cake. It's pretty easy and a fun activity for the kids.

Cookie of the Month Club: Peanut Butter Cookies

For Christmas, I gave my dad a 12-month "membership" into the Cookie of the Month Club. As a member, he will receive homemade cookies from my kitchen. (This gives me an excuse to bake and eat different kinds of cookies.) This month he received peanut butter cookies. The cookies are soft and delicious with a hint of peanut butter. The recipe, which follows, came from Betty Crocker.

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Granulated sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat sugar, peanut butter, butter, and egg in large bowl with electric mixer or spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Dip tops of balls into granulated sugar, but do not flatten.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool 5 minutes then remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Enjoy! If you like peanut butter, these won't last long.