Brown Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies With Cinnamon Bourbon Ice Cream

Labor Day Weekend.

For foodies and fashionistas.......me, being the former not the latter...due to 20 extra pounds and 2 expensive kids......the next few weeks can be frustrating.

I am not brave enough to wear white after this weekend.....or to declare with certainty whether the squash I just bought is summer squash or winter squash.

No worries....I have a coping strategy for both wardrobe and appetite......Keep it neutral.....stay calm.....and layer.

Like this dessert.....two layers of chewy brown butter oatmeal cookies and one layer of dreamy, creamy cinnamon bourbon ice cream.

The inspiration was a recent visit to OwowCow Creamery in Ottsville.  It was around lunch time.  The boys and I were hungry.

We each had our own cup of ice cream:  One coconut, one mocha latte, and one mint chocolate chip.  It was unanimous.....it was the best lunch we ever had!  I realize that I must forfeit any future nominations for mother of the year, but this artisanal ice cream was out of this world good!  My oldest son commented on how the mint chocolate chip ice cream was not dyed green with artificial food coloring.  My youngest son, the one with enough pep to rival the Energizer bunny, mistakenly had the mocha latte ice cream.  He did more laps on his bike than the Tour de France that day.

 

OwowCow has an ever changing menu of delicious small batch ice cream featuring locally sourced ingredients.  The flavors are creative and bold.

I was so smitten that I took home a few pints of Cinnamon Bourbon ice cream.  It was the inspiration for my ice cream sandwiches.

 To make the cookies, place one stick of unsalted butter in a saucepan, preferably not nonstick....visual clues are important when browning butter......

Cook over medium heat until melted......but don't stop yet.....it's time to push the envelope.......

Keep cooking......you will start to see a rim of brown forming around the edges of the pan:

Before you know it, you will see solid bits of brown goodness at the bottom of the pan as you swirl it:

and finally, after about 10 minutes, the butter will turn a very nice shade of amber.  It's time.  Remove the butter from the heat and enjoy the wonderful scent of eau de brown butter.

Brown butter adds a nice depth of flavor to oatmeal cookies.  Bake.  Fill.  Indulge.

 

Brown Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies With Cinnamon Bourbon Ice Cream 

Print This Recipe! 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 egg, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 pints Cinnamon Bourbon Ice Cream from OwowCow, cold but softened slightly Place flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and oats in a bowl. Stir. Set aside. Brown butter in a small saucepan and pour into a medium bowl. Add sugar and brown sugar. Mix until combined and mixture looks like fluffy wet sand. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add flour. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Form dough into 16 walnut size balls. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake cookies on parchment lined baking sheets for 10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Cool. Divide ice cream among half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies. Wrap and freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Makes 8 ice cream sandwiches.

Mixed Melon Bellini With Basil Syrup

Some people look at fresh summer melon, like this watermelon from Blooming Glen Farm

Or this cantaloupe from Shady Brook Farm

And have a vision of a refreshing fruit salad with a sprig or two of fresh mint, and a sprinkling of feta....while dining al fresco.....
 
Not me.  It has been a long summer.  My boys are restless.  They have turned our home into a giant wrestling ring with enough drama to make the WWE take notice.
 
My train of thought is considerably different during the final phase of summer break.
 
My melon vision involves a blender and a chilled bottle of Prosecco;

And basil from Blooming Glen Farm.

Which I steeped in hot sugar syrup......then chilled.

I tossed the watermelon, cantaloupe, and a good squeeze of lemon juice in a blender, along with the chilled basil syrup.  In a few minutes it was a delicious smoothie worthy of my children's approval and one adult guest who wanted a virgin drink.

I filled champagne glasses half way up with the puree......well, really just one champagne flute.....I don't know where the other glasses are...but I suspect it may have something to do with my rambunctious offspring......and then topped it off with the Prosecco.

The Bellini was delicious......It makes approximately 6 servings.

Cheers!

Mixed Melon Bellini With Basil Syrup
Print This Recipe!

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

½ cup basil leaves

1 ½ cups watermelon

1 ½ cups cantaloupe

a squeeze of lemon juice (about 2 teaspoons)

1 bottle chilled Prosecco 

• Place sugar and water in a small saucepan.Stir. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.Reduce heat to simmer.
• Add basil leaves. Cover.Simmer for 10 minutes.Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
• Strain basil leaves and chill syrup.
• Place watermelon, cantaloupe, lemon juice, and basil syrup in a blender. Puree until smooth.
• Place melon puree in champagne or wine glasses filling a quarter to one half of each glass, depending on the sweetness of the drink you want to achieve.
• Top it off with Prosecco.

Makes 6-8 drinks, depending on the size of the glasses and the amount of puree used.

Crispy Red Potatoes With Cheddar and Chives

I am a sucker for carbs...

Especially the spud variety.....

So when I saw this lovely display at the Wrightstown Farmers' Market,  I was like a kid in a carbohydrate candy store.  The potatoes are from Promised Land Natural Farm in Yardley, PA.

This farm does not use pesticides or chemicals, which is a good thing.....because nothing ruins a meal more than a dose of pesticide.

I washed and quartered the potatoes into 2 inch pieces.

Now here is where I take the super shortcut as written in the parent handbook of food prep.......I placed the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I nuked the spuds for 10 minutes until almost fork tender but not all the way done. 

If use of the microwave bothers you in any way....forget I said the "m" word and continue on to the next step.  Just cook your potatoes a little longer than the rest of us. 

Toss the partially cooked potatoes in a hot pan with a little olive oil.  Season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Cook for about 20 minutes until your potatoes turn all golden brown and delicious.....

Sprinkle the potatoes with cheddar cheese......the kind that is sharp enough to bite you back.....

and throw in some freshly snipped chives for good measure....that's it.  Just 6 ingredients.  

Promised Land Natural Farm does not have a website but they do have an apt name. .....they grow a heavenly potato. 

 

Crispy Red Potatoes With Cheddar and Chives

Print This Recipe!

2 ½ pounds red potatoes

2 teaspoons plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

¼ to ½ cup good quality cheddar cheese, grated

1 Tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

• Wash potatoes and cut into 2 inch pieces.
• Place in a microwave safe bowl with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook 10 minutes or until almost fork tender.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat for a few minutes. Add remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.
• Taste potatoes to see if they require more seasoning. Add potatoes to hot skillet. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Cook until golden brown and crispy, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes.
• Toss potatoes with cheddar cheese and chives. Serves 4

Lazy Summer Peach Jam

My jam making does not involve sterilized jars,

or store bought pectin,

or a lot of time.

My peach jam is ridiculously easy to make.  It's embarrassing really, especially since I am heading to the Middletown Grange Fair this week where the locals put up a mean jam with names like heirloom tomato or plum ginger.

I picked up peaches at Bobwhite Acres in Coopersburg. This is an old school farm.  No website.  They have a variety of fruits, vegetables, honey and fruit butters at the farmstand, as well as pick your own produce.  This year's sweet corn is beyond delicious.

The peaches are sweet and juicy and half did not survive the trip home as evidenced by the peach pit debris in the back of my car.

Just for the record, it is perfectly acceptable to shun social etiquette and wipe the peach juice from your chin with the back of your hand.  

Let's get jammin'....

Cut an 'x' at the bottom of each peach.  I am only using 6 peaches as that is all that I have left.  Place them in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute.

Have a bowl of icy cold water waiting and dunk the peaches to stop the cooking process. 

The peels are already starting to fall off.

Chop the peeled peaches and toss them in a large skillet with some sugar, a grated apple, lemon juice, lemon zest and a few peels from the apple.  The apple and lemon are naturally high in pectin and will thicken the jam without the use of commercial pectin.

Cook over medium/high heat, covered, for 15 minutes.  Now remove the lid.  See the little glob of pectin on the spoon?  It's already starting to gel.

Crank the heat to medium/high and let the jam thicken for another 10 minutes.  Remove the apple peels and start breaking up the peaches with a spoon or give it a few pulses with a stick blender......or leave it chunky if that's your thing.

Cook for another 5 minutes and your jam is done!

The jam will keep in the fridge for a few weeks, not that it will last that long.  

Sometimes I put my jam in jars and wrap the lid in fabric and ribbon and give the illusion that I spent all day putting up jam....

but not today....

I am just going to kick back and enjoy the fruits of my labor (insert eye roll here).

Lazy Summer Peach Jam
Print This Recipe!

6 peaches, peeled and chopped (about 2 1/2 pounds)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Granny Smith apple, grated (save some of the peel)

2 or 3 pieces of apple peel

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)

• Place all ingredients except butter in a large skillet with 3 inch sides. Cover and cook over medium/high heat for 15 minutes.
• Remove lid.
• Reduce heat to medium/low. Cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Jam will start to thicken. Remove apple peels.
• Continue to cook, breaking up an large chunks of peach with a spoon or stick blender. Cook for approximately 5 minutes longer or until desired thickness.
• Add butter. Stir until incorprated.
• Let jam cool then cover an refrigerate for 2-3 weeks.
• Makes 1 1/2 pints of jam.