Oatmeal Raisin cookies with spices

This summer me and my kids have decided to do lot of baking. Its been just 2 weeks since my kids summer vacation started and we already made Banana bread a couple of times, made cupcakes and 2-3 kinds of cookies :)

Baking with kids is the most enjoyable way to spend summer afternoons.

We recently tried Beth's Oatmeal Raisin cookies recipe. These cookies came out wonderful and my kids loved them.

In my previous post, I mentioned the importance of cloves. This Oatmeal cookie recipe calls for 2 spices (clove & cinnamon) and is an excellent way to introduce kids to spices.

Here is the recipe with my slight variations.

• 1 cup butter, softened ( I know, its lot of butter. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening. )
  
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3-4 drops of cinnamon extract
  
• 3-4 drops clove extract
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon extract, clove extract, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not over bake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container.
   

This is a good change from the Chocolate chip cookies. These cookies came out chewy and were ready to eat in less that an hour.

Cloves

Did you know that Cloves help boost digestive functioning and contain antioxidants ?
Can you think of a simple and yummy way to get cloves into your kids tummy?

Cardamom Lemonade

Have you ever tried Cardamom Lemonade ?

The addition of Cardamom makes this lemonade amazingly refreshing and gives a surprising twist to this plain and simple beverage.

1 glass cold water
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 drop of Cardamom extract
sugar and salt to taste

In a glass of cold water, squeeze lemon juice, add salt and sugar to taste and 1 drop of Cardamom extract. Stir well till sugar dissolves. Garnish with mint leaves.

Adding salt is the Indian way of making lemonade :)
Salt balances the sweetness of sugar and sourness of lemon. Also, most importantly, adding salt replenishes the sodium lost through sweating during summer days.

Supreme Spice Giveaway

Photo credit : CupCakeProject.com

Stef of CupCakeProject has changed my perspective about cupcakes. I never thought that cupcakes could be made with such interesting variations and are a art form in itself. A tiny and sweet canvas that can be eaten :)

I am excited about the Giveaway of 3 Supreme Spice extracts on CupCakeProject.com
Do check out Stef's site to get more information and also to get interesting ideas, recipes for cupcakes.

Enjoy!!