Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

On this lazy Sunday we were looking for something scrumptious to bake. We had just bought some oatmeal, so we decided to try out oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! They are so delicious and more filling than normal cookies, so (hopefully) they’ll help to curb your cookie appetite. The original recipe we found was the traditional Quaker Oats cookie recipe (found on the inside lid of Quaker Oats canisters). I changed the recipe slightly, just because we wanted to use chocolate chips instead of raisins (although I think these would be delicious with dried cranberries!).

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4  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 Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1  cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until creamy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

4. Add oats and chocolate chips; mix well.

5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Enjoy!!

Hair Tie Chain Bracelet

This bracelet/hair tie is super simple to make! I personally like to wear it as a bracelet, but it would look great as a hair tie too. All you need are two materials and some pliers! Here is where I got the idea from: http://www.ispydiy.com.  They have a TON of awesome ideas on their site, so you should definitely check them out!

Here is a link to my Etsy site where you can purchase these bracelets: etsy.com/shop/PaperCutsAndPliers

Materials:

Chunky Chain – I got mine from Michaels, about 2 ft for a couple bucks!

Pliers – Iused needle nose pliers and just a basic pair from Ikea

Hair Ties – Bought these at Walmart for $3, pick any color you want!

Directions:

1. Measure out the number of chain links you will need. For mine I used 10-11.

2. Using the pliers, hold either side of the end link and pry it open wide enough to slip the hair tie through.

3. Attach Hair tie to either end of the chain to make a loop.

4. Ta-da! You’re all done. How easy was that?

 

Studded iPhone Case

This is a simple project that takes about 30 minutes and you only need 3 materials! You can choose any color case and studs you like. I chose a black case with square silver studs, but you can also use beads, pearls, sequins, etc…the possibilities are endless! These make great gifts since you can personalize it any way you want. I made sure to get studs that were completely flat on the back (they’re actually ‘iron-on’ studs), so if you want to use different types of studs or beads, just make sure they have a fairly flat back to them, that way they will adhere better to the case and they won’t stick out as much.

Materials:

Basic plastic phone case (make sure you get the right one for your phone!)

Super glue (can be any kind, I like E6000 too)

Studs of any shape/size/color (I used square silver ones)

Instructions:

1. I first played around with the studs, creating a pattern that I liked on the back of my case. Make sure to lay out all of the studs, just so you know exactly how your pattern should look.

2. Leaving the studs resting in place on the back of the case, pick up one stud at a time and squeeze a tiny (and I mean really tiny) dab of super glue onto the back of the stud. Place it back in it’s spot on the case. You can use a toothpick to help straighten it once you get it placed.

3. Repeat this process until you have secured each stud in your pattern. Make sure all of the studs are exactly where you want them before you move on to the next one (super glue dries very quickly).

4. Leave the case out to dry on a flat surface where it won’t get bumped.

5. After leaving it for a few hours to dry, pop it on your phone and you’re good to go!

Enjoy!

Salted Butterscotch Cookies

I love to bake, mostly cupcakes, but recently I wanted to try out a butterscotch cookie recipe I found. Sam just had a birthday, so I decided I would make them for him, since he is unable to resist baked goods in any form. True to his nature, he devoured approximately 6 cookies when he got home. I think it’s safe to say they were a hit!

I found the original recipe here, this girl has a million recipes to try, I’ve already saved about 10 of them.

While the original instructions call for a mixer, I just hand-mixed the dough and everything turned out great!

Salted Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
• 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 – 2 cups butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave for one minute. Let cool slightly (about 4-5 minutes).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugar until well combined. The butter should be completely absorbed by the sugar and the mixture should look uniform in gritty texture.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 1 full minute to incorporate. The mixture should be light, somewhat fluffy, and satiny.
5. Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed. This process should take no more than a minute and a half. Do not overbeat or you will end up with tough, bread-like cookies. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times to ensure the batter has no pockets of unmixed flour.
6. Mix in the butterscotch chips. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP AND THE KEY TO THE CHEWIEST COOKIE: Cover and refrigerate the cookie dough for up to 48 hours. The longer you let the dough rest in the refrigerator, the chewier and better tasting they’ll be. Even thirty minutes makes a marked difference.
7. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325°. Remove the dough from the fridge. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. You do not need to use parchment, the cookies will not stick, but it does make for a quick and easy removal. To make sure that you’re forming large dough balls that are all uniform in size (for even cooking), I suggest forming all of the balls before beginning to bake them. In your palm, roll heaping  tablespoon-sized amounts of dough. Place 9-10 on a cookie sheet. Do not overcrowd the pan or the cookies will bump into each other and won’t cook as well.
8. Using two fingers, gently press the dough onto the cookie sheet. If you do not slightly flatten the cookies, the edges thin too quickly as they bake in the oven and that results in an overly crispy edge and undercooked center.
9. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until the cookies are shiny on top and just beginning to turn a golden brown. I like to take them out on the very early side. Always err on the side of underbaking them, as you can always just let them sit on the cookie sheet out of the oven for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool. Since the cookie sheet retains its heat for a short while after it comes out of the oven, it will continue to bake the cookies and set the centers.

I will definitely be making these again soon.

If you try them, let me know how they turn out!