Cowboy Cookies

These are some really good cookies if you like a lot of chips and bits- Personally, I find that they've got just the right amount of stuff going on without going overboard. They're definitely easy to make and homey (ideal with a glass of milk!) but the sheer amount of chocolate, nuts and coconuts accentuated with the hint of spice and oaty backdrop makes them special. 

Surprisingly, despite the relatively large amount of leavener, these turned out thin and chewy, the way I like 'em. I think that using pastry flour, which is lower in gluten, helped me get them this way, though I'd need to try with all purpose and pastry flour for comparison. 

Possible adaptations that I would try include adding instant coffee granules, using chocolate covered peanuts instead of chips, or using milk chocolate chips. While I can't say why they're called "cowboy" cookies, I can say that these are definitely worth making.

Cowboy Cookies

1 C. Flour (I used pastry flour, all purpose is fine too)
1 Tsp. Baking powder
1 Tsp. Baking soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Cinnamon (I used mixed cake spice)
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 C. (113 g.) Butter, room temperature
1/2 C. Brown sugar
1/2 C. Sugar
1 Egg
1 C. Rolled oats (not instant)
1 C. Chocolate chips (I used bittersweet)
1 C. Walnut or pecan pieces
1 C. Unsweetened desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 180℃.

Beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon until fluffy and homogenous. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated.

Add the baking powder and soda and beat in, then add the flour and beat until just combined. Using a big spoon, spatula, or you hands, mix in the oats, chocolate, nuts and coconut.

Divide into 12-18 balls and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just slightly browned. Let cool on the tray.

Ginger-Walnut-Date Granola

I'm not a granola person... at all. I love oats, and I love muesli, and those crunchy bars with the oats and nuts... but granola itself has always disappointed me in the past. It's too sweet, too bland, with not nearly enough of the mix ins, and usually too expensive. Still, the idea of sweet, crunchy clusters of flavoured oats with dried fruit and nuts is a very welcome one, so I figured that a homemade granola might be better. And indeed, it was.

This granola was probably the first that I've ever really, really liked. It's sweet and crunchy, but not too oily or sweet. The spices and vanilla make it almost cookie-like, but not too rich. And the combination of walnuts, dates and ginger is just right- the dates add some fruity sweetness and chewiness, the ginger is both sweet and zingy, and the nuts are toasty and crunchy in a perfectly complementary way. Walnuts and dates are well-known to go well together, but they make a wonderful menage-a-trois with ginger as well.

It's very satisfying to make granola- and easy. All you need to to is mix your dry ingredients- I added some oat flour to help cement my clusters together- and pour on the wet ones, mix the whole affair up well, and spread it on a baking pan. Once it smells ready, you just let it set, add the fruits, and break up your nice oaty chunks. This recipe is a little unusual in its inclusion of egg whites, but since I've always got a few left over from some custard or pudding, and it adds a little protein, I don't mind. You can just as easily leave them out, but they do help to make the granola clustery. The golden syrup is easy enough to find if there's a British products section in your local supermarket, but can also be substituted with agave nectar or, probably, corn syrup. I like golden syrup because it isn't too sweet, and has a unique raw-sugar flavour. It's definitely worth looking for.

Because of the sweet dates and crystallized ginger, no further sweetness is needed, so this granola is best eaten with plain yogourt or milk. It retains its crunchy character for well over a week, but shouldn't be kept out indefinitely (I froze half of my batch for later) and needs to be in an airtight container all the while. It also can be eaten all on its own as a snack.

And thus, I dream of the possibilities for many more granola variants over a bowlful...

Ginger-Walnut-Date Granola
Adapted from Food in Jars, by Marisa McClellan

3 1/2 C. (300 g.) Old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 C. (40 g.) Oat flour (or 1/2 C. rolled oats ground finely in a food processor)
1 Tsp. Ground ginger
1 Tsp. Cinnamon (optional)
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
1 TBSP Flaxseed meal (optional)
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1/4 C. (60 ml) Neutral oil, e.g. sunflower or canola
1/2 C. (120 ml) Golden syrup, or agave nectar
2 Egg whites, stirred until frothy
1 C. (140 g.) Crystallized ginger, diced
100 g. Pitted dates, diced
1 C. (130 g.) walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 160℃.

Mix salt, spices, flaxseed (if using), walnuts, oats and flour. Add oil, vanilla and syrup and mix until well-coated, then add egg whites. 

Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, mixing well every 10 minutes.

Sprinkle ginger and date pieces onto the granola and mix in quickly while still warm, then leave to set in a dry place overnight.

Break up the cooled, dried granola into little clusters. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze for several months.

Sourdough Toasted Oat Bread

There are many things I love to rant about, but few so much as bread. When I was kid, most of my school sandwiches were made with whole wheat "sandwich bread" from the grocery store- maybe that's what sparked my lifelong loathing. It was too sweet, too squishy and pasty, and invariably tasted stale. Chances are whatever preservatives tided over the regular loaves for their ridiculous shelf lives just couldn't keep the oils in the whole wheat bran from going rancid. I'm convinced that a lot of people think they dislike whole grain products because they're so used to these rancid flavours- trust me, a real whole grain bread tastes nothing like the miserable grocery store stuff.

Ever since, I've dreamed of becoming a sort of bread missionary, spreading the kind of bread that I want to see beyond central Europe. The first time I went to a German bakery was probably the tipping point- imagine wooden shelves stacked high with all manner of grainy, dense and light breads alike, enhanced with everything from grated carrots to yogurt. In the GTA, there's a few common brands that sell reasonable bread in a fix (Rudolph's and Dimpflmeier's come to mind) as well as the light, sandwich-ready rye loaves of the Starsky supermarket chain. Apart from that, I'm pretty much on my own if I want to recreate the really, really good breads I remember from Europe.

These type of breads almost always require a sourdough starter, which helps give them structure and lightness despite containing heavier, low-gluten flours like rye and whole wheat. The acidity of a sourdough also helps to limit the breakdown of starches that give the bread structure- something that rye flours inherently do if left unchecked. That's why if you find a recipe for rye bread without sourdough, chances are that another souring agent will be used. This particular recipe only features rye flour as the base of the sourdough starter, but this effect is much more important in more rye-intensive breads. Though there are many good tutorials on creating a sourdough starter from scratch already online, I'll eventually dig up the formula that I used and write a bit on how to culture and maintain a starter.

One more thing- you'll need a kitchen scale. I give the measurements that I got from the original recipe, and while you can use a conversion site to reasonably estimate the amounts in cups, it's a lot more reliable and accurate if you get a simple scale for twenty dollars or so. I use this thirty dollar model, which has served me reliably for at least four years. It's a very worthy investment if you like to bake.

I modified the recipe a bit from the original, adding oat flour and a bit of extra vital wheat gluten to add elasticity (and make up for that gluten free oat flour). I also added some golden flax seeds, both because they look pretty and because they taste exceptionally good with oats. You can also use regular flax seeds, or omit them entirely.

A "crumb shot" for the density and porousness of the bread- it's
sandwich-suitable!

Sourdough Toasted Oat Bread
Source: Moje Wypieki
My modifications and choices are in italics on the side.

For the sourdough:
55 g. Whole rye flour
55 g. Distilled water
10 g. Sourdough starter

Mix together and leave at room temperature around 12-16 hours.

For the bread:
450 g. Bread flour
150 g. Whole wheat flour (I used 100 g. oat flour and 50 g. whole wheat, plus about 10 g. vital wheat gluten.)
15 g. Fresh yeast, or 7 g. active dry yeast (I used dry yeast)
2 Tsp. Golden syrup or honey (I used honey)
450 g. Water
1 TBSP Salt
40 g. Rolled oats, non-instant
1-2 TBSP Golden flaxseeds (optional)

Toast the oats over medium heat in a frying pan until just beginning to become golden and fragrant. Transfer immediately to a cool plate to stop cooking.

Mix the flours, yeast, syrup/honey and water with the sourdough prepared beforehand. Either knead by hand until smooth or use a dough hook in a mixer on medium speed for about 7-8 minutes, then let rest covered for 10 minutes. Add the oats, salt and flaxseed (if using). Knead until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Leave the dough covered for about 2 hours. Knead briefly on a floured surface and shape into a loaf (or two smaller ones, though I made one large one), then sprinkle with additional oats and flaxseed (if desired). You can place it into a  Leave for another 1-2 hours, until doubled in bulk. (you can use a bread form/Garkorb, but I didn't.)

Preheat the oven to 250 ℃. Place a heatproof pan on the bottom rack of the oven. When putting the loaf into the oven, fill this pan with a cup of boiling water to add steam. Immediately lower the temperature to 225 ℃ (I used 230 ℃) and bake for 30-35 minutes, then another 10-20 minutes at 220 ℃, or until 190 ℉ inside.

Let cool completely before cutting!