A Chocolate Chip Cookie infused with Fall

Now why didn't I think of this before? Take all that is good about every fall/Thanksgiving dessert you've ever had... cinnamon, spices, citrus, oats, pecans.... and throw them into a chocolate chip cookie. This cookie really just made me happy. It felt like fall. Now, I might have had football on and it might be a dark, cool Sunday here in LA (rare, so I'm relishing the moment) - but nonetheless, the holidays just seem that much closer w/ this cookie in hand.


Easily the best tasting dough I've ever had. Come on, you know you eat more of the dough than you should too. But if you can force yourself to bake a few cookies, pure bliss. Now, I've got a new knack for freezing things, and what I'm loving about this recipe is that you can freeze the dough balls and throw them in the oven when you're craving a bit of fall over the next few weeks. Good for elongating the joy of fall, and not the waistline ;)
Enjoy! ~Jill

Spiced Oatmeal, Pecan & Chocolate Chip Cookie
adapted from SmittenKitchen

Based on reviews and my personal preference, I upped the spices, lessened the white sugar, evened out the pecan/chocolate ratio and was cautious of the orange zest. Note: the dough is so good, you're going to have trouble actually making the cookies, just saying... (it's kinda like one of those fancy dark chocolate morsels infused w/ orange) aka: real good.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground all-spice
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a Silpat (nonstick baking mat). Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla, and beat until well mixed, about three minutes. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove in a separate bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter with the mixer on low speed. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the second half. Stir in the oats, pecans, orange zest, and chocolate chips. Chill dough for 10-20 min. Drop the dough, by the tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on a rack. Store at room temperature in a cookie jar or other airtight container. (or flash-freeze dough balls on a tray and then store for fresh cookies later!)

Flash-freeze for a few minutes so you can throw the dough balls into a freezer bag for later! See to the right, I wasn't joking about this new freezing leftovers "phenomenon" I've taken on... chili, corn bread, meat, coffee in ice cube trays for non-watered down iced coffee... really just learning how to take advantage of my freezer, I do realize this... but better late than never!

Then chop open that orange and relish in some quality Vitamin C while you bake these bad boys ;)

Mastering the Cheese Platter

There's just nothing so elegant, sophisticated and downright delicious as a first-class cheese platter. Living out here in California, I've grown to appreciate the wine culture and one thing they love just about as much as their wines... an ensemble of cheese. 


Slightly intimidated by some of the platters I've encountered and as a newbie to the kitchen, I've been on the quest for tips on assembling the perfect selection of cheese, crackers, fruits, condiments, etc... all in hopes of mastering the craft as well... and I'm not talking about the store-bought cubed collection of tasteless cheeses w/ Ritz ;)


I'll share as I find the gems of information, here's the first great little video I've found, it's from Matt Bites, a wonderful food blogger/photographer that I check in on here and there. Followed by tips from The Barefoot Contessa. Enjoy! ~ Jill

MattBites.com/Cheese-Plate-Tips

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, by Ina Garten also shares a few tips for assembling the platter:
Barefoot Tip #1: Choose an interesting assortment of cheeses—hard sharp cheeses, soft creamy ones and pungent blue cheeses. Look for an interesting mix of flavors, textures and colors. Most experts suggest limiting your number of cheeses (choose three to five) and picking a theme (i.e. Spanish cheeses, French cheeses, one cow’s milk/one goat’s milk/one sheep’s milk), but it’s still easy to get overwhelmed with the options. 

Barefoot Tip #2: Be sure to have a platter or wooden board large enough to hold the cheeses without crowding them. Arrange the cheeses with the cut sides facing out and with several small cheese knives. But before you plate the cheeses, you’ll want to unwrap them and let them come to room temperature. This should take about an hour.

Barefoot Tip #3: To finish the platter, add sliced breads or crackers and green leaves. Whether you choose plain, multigrain or otherwise flavored breads or crackers is up to you. Many cheese experts recommend plain crusty breads and crackers, so they don’t interfere with the taste of the cheese. But if you can’t imagine eating cheese without a stack of Breton Multigrain crackers, by all means, bring the crackers hither.

Barefoot Tip #4: Overall, the simpler the design, the better the platter looks. Group each kind of cheese together and add one large bunch of green or red grapes in the center to create a visual focal point. Fill in the spaces with lots of crackers or small slices of bread. 

Other popular accompaniments include nuts, figs (fresh, preserved or baked in a cake), apple or pear slices, olives, quince paste, fruit preserves and honey.