The most AMAZING buttermilk chocolate cake EVER

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Vanishing Oatmeal M&M Cookies

My absolute favorite cookie recipe of all time is found beneath the lid on canisters of Quaker Oats, called Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. The only difference is I omit the 1 cup of raisins and instead use two cups of M&Ms. Scrumptious! I remember making these as a teenager with a friend from church. I still make them at least once or twice a year… a perfect comfort food.

Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins (or 1-2 cups M&Ms!)

Preparation
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Servings: ABOUT 4 DOZEN

Baking Spree

I made this marble pound cake from scratch out of our old Better Homes and Gardens “New Cookbook.” A little slice of cake with a cup of hot tea sounded so good to me right then. Sadly, the cake was unexceptional, as have some of the other recipes I’ve used out of this cookbook lately. It used to be a staple reference, but now I’m wondering if the flavors are just too out of date. Even the chocolate chip cookie recipe wasn’t very good. Also, it’s strange, but I don’t like nutmeg. I used a 1/2 teaspoon instead of the full in the pound cake, but even that was too much.

A Modern Gingerbread House

This is the coolest gingerbread house, ever! Hard to believe that no one has thought of it before (at least that I’ve ever seen). I came across it here while perusing Redenvelope.com – “Every bit as edible as the original, this isn’t your grandma’s gingerbread house. We gave the classic holiday treat a mid-century makeover, complete with garage and rock garden. A unique gift and sure-fire conversation piece, it comes assembled and ready to enjoy.”

It’s a little spendy at $78 (for an extra $10 you can add personalization, like in the photo above) and it makes me a little sad that you can’t assemble it yourself. Isn’t that the fun part? Seeing this makes me think about trying to re-create one of my favorite modern houses, maybe Michelle Kaufmann’s Sunset Breezehouse or maybe an iconic Portland-area Rummer home, complete with melted hard candy glass windows (see recipe here). Wouldn’t that be so awesome?!