My “flair” begin to show when I was five. This was when HBO first started as a brown box on top of the TV. It played only two movies which you changed with the switch on top of the box and there the whole thing began, Urban Cowboy. Day in and day out, I sat on the arm of sofa pretending to ride that mechanical bull. As the year went on so did my “flair”, I would only wear jeans, a plaid, ruffle shirt and cowboy boots…everyday, all day. My dad told me he was going on a business trip to Houston and I begged him to bring me a Gilley’s tank top. That year, my photo with Santa featured yours truly dressed like Sissy (Debra Winger). 

On Friday nights, my parents would settle in to watch Dallas and I would sit on the stairs, peering through the railing and watch Pam go to work at ‘The Store’ in that little red Mercedes. One Christmas, when I was in college, I asked for Sue Ellen glasses. She drank her cocktails out of tall skinny glasses, it was fabulous. Some would say this was a fascination more than “flair” but it grew. I loved all things Texas, Dallas, Southfork, Neiman Marcus, Gilley’s and Urban Cowboy, which to this day I can recite line by line.

So I followed my flair and after college, moved to Texas. It was like seeing the ocean for the first time, magic! I soaked it up and cultivated my “flair”. I made friends that I still consider family, learned about true Texas food and made my trips to ‘The Store’, of course only in Texas could Neiman Marcus be referred to as ‘The Store’. Texans take pride in being bigger and better in everything they do. So, in the biggest, best store why would you not find the most perfect cookie? 

Here’s my version of the Neiman Marcus cookie:

The Famous (not Amos) Cookie

2013-12-15 08:54:34

My version of the Neiman Marcus cookie. Oatmeal, pecans, dark and semi-sweet chocolate.

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Ingredients

1. 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup oatmeal, coarsely ground
3. 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
4. 1 tsp salt
5. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6. 3/4 cup sugar
7. 3/4 cup light brown sugar
8. 2 eggs
9. 1 tsp vanilla
10. 1 tsp espresso powder
11. 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
12. 1 cup dark or bittersweet chocolate chips
13. 1 cup pecan pieces

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine flour, coarsely ground oatmeal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, use a mixer, to cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in two eggs, vanilla and espresso powder.
3. Pour the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients and gently mix until ingredients are combined.
4. Stir in pecan pieces and chocolate chips.
5. Place dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up the dough.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Form about a one inch ball for each cookies and place on cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 12-14 minutes. I like a softer cookie so I take them out around 12 minutes. If you like a crunchier cookie just bake a bit longer.
9. Transfer baked cookies onto a wire rack to cool.

Notes

1. Chilling the dough makes a bit thicker cookie and they seem to hold their shape better. I always use parchment paper for cookie baking. It helps the bottom of the cookie from getting too brown and clean-up is way easier!

http://lolleighcooks.com/

 And one last thing…

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? I’ve been working on updating lolleighcooks! It seems when you go through major life changes, you want everything to look different…brighter and better. There’s still some work to be done here, well really everywhere, but I just couldn’t wait to get back to cooking, writing and reconnecting with my roots. Take a look around, read about me, the hilariously true stories and really good food (that is most of the time on the healthy side).

Take a gander, if you missed the latest…The Pie To End All Pies

“It’s not that chocolates are a substitute for love, love is a substitute for chocolate. Chocolate is, let’s face it, more reliable than a man.”

- Miranda Ingram

For better or worse, in sickness and in health, these little gems are tops on my list of comfort foods. Since I can remember, a batch of this 5 minute miracle can make even the worst day seem a bit more bearable.

Next time you are faced with a broken heart or a bad case of PMS, head straight to the kitchen and in 5 minutes you’ll be on your way to a happier place!

Recipe:

2 tbsp butter, unsalted

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 1/4 cup oatmeal, quick cooking

Over medium-high heat, combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir well until butter is melted. Stirring occasionally, allow to come to a rolling boil. Once a rolling boil starts, let cook for exactly 2 minutes.

After the mixture has boiled for 2 minutes, remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla, peanut butter and oatmeal.

Quickly drop spoonfuls of mixture onto wax paper. The cookies will harden as they cool.

Notes:

In the event of a chocolate emergency, don’t even bother dropping onto wax paper, just dive in with a spoon.

If you can wait until the cookies cool, top one with a spoonful of peanut butter.

Need more chocolate, this recipe can easily be doubled.

Elaine had a million dollar idea when she became obsessed with muffin tops on an episode of Seinfeld. She insisted that you had to bake the whole muffin and break the top off the stump to get the muffin top. Little did she know that muffin tops would take on a whole new meaning.

A few years ago I mentioned that my jeans were giving me a muffin top and one of my male friends gave me bewildered look. I had to explain just exactly what that was – you see the jean makers of the world got together with the personal trainers of the world and came up with the crazy idea to sell really low-rise  jeans. The result, no matter how flat of a stomach you have those low riders are gonna push that extra fluff right up over that waistband!

So muffin top and all, I decided to make a healthy muffin that won’t add too much fluff to the waistline!

Recipe:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup oatmeal (quick cook oats), rough cut in a blender

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/4 cup applesauce, no sugar added

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

3 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a blender or food processor, pulse oatmeal a few times for a rough cut – not to0 fine. Combine flours, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, mash bananas. Then add the egg, sugar, buttermilk, applesauce, oil, vanilla and stir together.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together. Do not over stir.

Fill muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes. This will make 12-15 medium-sized muffins.

Notes:

I made extra-large muffins using Panettone paper baking molds from Sur La Table. The cook time for an extra-large muffin will be about 20-25 minutes.

When I punched in this recipe to My food diary’s recipe builder. The calorie count per muffin was around 170 calories with 5 grams of fat.