Secret Recipe Club: Oatmeal, M&M and Peanut Butter cookies

It's time for another secret recipe reveal day! The secret recipe club was started by Amanda from Amanda's Cookin' It has become very popular and there is currently a waiting list to join! I am in Group D and will be blogging a secret recipe post at the end of each month. The idea is simple - each month you are assigned a blog which you keep secret hence the name and make a recipe from that blog. Someone else will have your blog too. All posts are revealed at the same time on a set date. As Amanda says, its a fun way to discover new blogs, make new friends and step outside of our comfort zones.

This month, I have been assigned lifeandkitchen as my secret blog and I absolutely love it. There are so many recipes there that appeal to me particularly the baker in me :) I have to admit I'm always slightly worried that I will be assigned a blog that has no baking in it but have not come across that yet. There is a clear recipe index on her blog with gorgeous photos for each post.  The recipes are easy to follow and I've already bookmarked a few other recipes to try. 

For this challenge I chose these oatmeal, M&M and peanut butter cookies - I don't think you even need to ask why if you are a frequent visitor to my blog! Coincidentally, I chose peanut butter chip pillows for my first secret recipe post. Do you see a trend here? :) 

 I decided to use peanut M&Ms for extra nuttiness :) 

 love the colour of the M&Ms 

Recipe adapted from lifeandkitchen

225g butter
100g brown sugar
90g caster sugar
390g peanut butter
2 eggs
185g flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
135g oats
185g peanut M&Ms

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
• Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
• Add in the peanut butter and then the eggs, one at a time. 
• Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and oats.
• Finally, add the m&m's.
• Scoop small scoops of cookie dough on to the baking sheet spaced apart.
• Bake for approximately 10 minutes until golden brown. 

Oatmeal Scotchies

Yet another Toll House recipe, this time with butterscotch morsels. Again, I followed the recipe on the back of the pack and they turned out quite well. The oats make them seem healthier :) Any ideas for what I can make with my remaining pack? 

205g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
227g butter
100g brown sugar
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups oats
312g butterscotch flavored morsels

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl,
• Beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl.
• Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
• Stir in oats and morsels.
• Drop by rounded tablespoon into ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake for 7-8 minutes for chewy cookies; 9-10 minutes for crisp cookies.
• Cook on baking sheets for 2 minutes before removing to cool on wire racks completely.

Banana oatmeal cookies

I saw this recipe sometime ago on Cookie Sleuth's blog and have been meaning to try it but never quite got round to it until now. I've never had banana in a cookie before so I thought it would be interesting to try. The cookie is quite soft and chewy. The wholewheat flour and oats makes it feel healthy which is an added bonus :)

Makes 27
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
80g butter
2 ripe bananas
1 eggs white
100g chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 180C and line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper. 
• In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add mashed bananas and egg white.
• Fold in flour mixture and the chocolate chips. 
• Place heaped tablespoons of dough (I used an ice cream scoop) on to the sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes.

Oatmeal, Raisin and Chocolate Chip Cookies

The cookie monster continues its forage into the world of cookies and what a wonderful world it is. Cookies are definitely one of my favourite snacks and I find it hard to resist especially a nice homemade cookie. Not a very original idea this time, just a combination of the different cookies I've been making recently. Having all these ingredients to hand might have a small part to play in the choice of cookies :) I roughly made up the recipe myself based on all the cookies I've been baking recently.

So how do you make some of these?

Beat butter, sugars and vanilla extract

until it's pale and creamy

Add in 2 eggs

Then fold in flour, baking powder and salt

Mix well until you get a soft, smooth batter

Stir in oats, raisins and chocolate chips

Cookie dough

Place on baking sheet

Delicious cookies

Close-up

Ingredients

225g butter, softened

160g brown sugar

30g white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

230g plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

265g rolled oats

150g raisins

200g dark chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cream butter, sugars and vanilla extract until pale and creamy.
• Add in 2 eggs and mix well.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well to form a soft, smooth batter.
• Stir in oats, raisins and chocolate chips.
• Drop teaspoonfuls (or tablespoonfuls) of cookie dough onto a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes on sheet before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.

Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies

The cookie binge continues... this time with a slightly healthier version. They are really quick and simple to make and I think raisins count towards your five a day? (Probably have to eat all the cookies though!)

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 + 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (I reduced the sugar as I prefer it less sweet)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup raisins

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Mix flours and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Whisk together oil, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. 
• Add the flour mixture and stir to combine.
• Add in oats and raisins.
• Place balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15-17 minutes.
• Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.

Triple Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

The cookie monster has landed! Nothing beats a good cookie especially a chocolatey one. After my brownie feast, I moved on to cookies. This is the first of my 'cookie monster adventure' I found this great recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker. Again I reduced the sugar in the recipe and it was still a little too sweet for me. I used to have a very sweet tooth but that seems to have changed recently. Having said that, it was so delicious, I couldn't stop eating them!

Cream butter and sugar, then beat eggs one at a time.

Add in flour mixture

Stir in rolled oats

Add the chocolate chips

Cookie dough

Ready to go in the oven

Straight out of the oven

The first batch (ones on top) were slightly undercooked

Yummy :)

The anaemic 1st batch!

Recipe
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
340g butter
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time and mix in the vanilla extract.
• Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Do not overmix.
• Stir in rolled oats, followed by the chocolate chips.
• Drop cookies on to a baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes until it's slightly browned and set on the outside but still soft and puffy in the middle.
• Allow to cool completely on baking sheets.