6-2-10 **RECIPES INCLUDED**

AWESOME APRON

OATMEAL, RAISIN, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Adapted from smittenkitchen.com
Yield: 36 small-ish cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed (called for granulated sugar, but there wasn't any here)
2 home laid, day old eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (said to use all-purpose, but we chose whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate morsels (more if available)

Start a fire in the wood stove about 4 hours before you want to bake. Be sure to stoke it properly during this time in order for the oven to ever get as hot as necessary.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. In a smaller separate bowl, whisk the whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in small batches. Allow each batch to thoroughly combine and be sure to scrape down the sides before each addition. Stir in the oats, raisins, and chocolate morsels and combine.

Chill the dough for a little while in the fridge...we did it for about an hour. More or less is fine. If you don't do this at all, it's also fine. We wanted to try to roll them out and shape them with cookie cutters, but this is not a good batter to do so with. Although Jen thought this might be the case, she wanted to try anyway.

When the shapes don't work out, drop big scoops of batter onto a cookie sheet. Give them enough space to grow in the oven, about two inches.

Baking time varies depending on how hot the oven remains. We checked ours about every 10 minutes, and they were done in about 20 minutes. When they appear firm on top and have golden edges, they are done. Remove from the oven and let sit five minutes on the trays. Let cool the rest of the way on cooling racks.

ZUCCHINI MUFFINS

Adapted from smittenkitchen.com
This made us exactly 24 muffins...yours may vary by the size of your muffin tin.

3 home laid, day old eggs
1 cup homemade applesauce

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

2 cups diced, homegrown frozen zucchini-excess water and frozen bits squeezed out

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups whole wheat flour

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/ 4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Start a fire in the wood stove about 4 hours before you want to bake. Be sure to add a mixture of soft and hard wood, alternating, in order to get it as hot as necessary. Grease your cast iron muffin tins with butter.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the eggs, along with the applesauce and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached. Mix on medium-low for a few minutes until combined. This may be liquidy and loose. Add zucchini and vanilla. Mix to combine.

In a large separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together.

Slowly add the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture, in small batches with the mixer at a low speed. Be sure to scrape down the sides between batches.

Scoop heaping tablespoons into prepared tins. Bake at whatever temperature the oven has reached for about 10 minutes and check. If baking two muffin tins at once, switch their positions now. Bake for another 10 minutes and check again. Let them rise for 10 more minutes and remove from the oven. Let cool in tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

Enjoy.