Baking

I do a lot of baking.  It is something that I find relaxing, and I love to see the enjoyment that other people get from eating something that I've made.  

When I was offered the opportunity to start working from home back in 2005 it was with one stipulation-that I would continue to bake the cakes and bring them in for the monthly birthday celebration.  Back then we had less than 20 employees, and I was usually making two cakes (just for variety).  Now, almost four years later, when I bake for the monthly birthday celebration I average 7-9 cakes (and various other desserts) for the 100+ employees in our local office.  I get requests for certain things that I have baked over the years, and I always try to include something new, too.  

At home I bake at least 1-2 times each week for Sean, Bren and Erin (mostly for lunch and after school snacks).  They've been raised on homemade baked goods, and they are learning to love to bake, too.  Sean and Erin are almost always in the kitchen with me when I bake.  Brendan is just coming around to the idea.  I love that we all get in the kitchen together, make a mess, and create something delicious that we'll be able to enjoy.  

So I've decided to start sharing pictures of the desserts that we bake, and I'll include the recipes as well.  The first one that I'll share is a recipe that actually came in a forwarded email from my mom, and the kids and I made them this past Saturday.  They were listed as "Neiman Marcus" cookies, but this is not the recipe that they use (I checked their website).  However, these are quite possibly the best cookies I have ever eaten.  The full recipe does make over 100 cookies, and the amount of dough was way too large for even my Kitchen-Aid mixer, so either half the recipe or be prepared to mix the dough by hand in a very large bowl (like I did).

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
Cream the butter and both sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda.
Add chocolate chips, hershey bar, and nuts.
Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.