Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies 2.0

One of my favorite fall recipes are the Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies that I've been making since 2013. I originally borrowed the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction with some minor tweaks, but now, three years later, I've made some more tweaks. So here are my favorite Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies 2.0, back and better than ever!

2 cups + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin allspice

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons vanilla whey protein powder
1 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and protein powder together.  Fold in the oats. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium size bowl.  Whisk in the molasses, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.  Once combined, whisk in the egg.  Add the pumpkin and vanilla and whisk until thick and combined completely. Pour into dry ingredients and gently mix.  The dough will be very thick, heavy, and sticky,  Keep mixing until just combined, no more.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.  About 2 or 3 Tablespoons of dough per cookie. Slightly flatten the help the cookies spread in the oven.  Do not flatten completely.  If desired, press a few of chocolate chips onto the top of the cookie dough balls for looks.

Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes until very lightly browned on the edges, and still appearing soft in the centers.  (My cookies always take 14 minutes.)  Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets. The cookies' flavor is best on day 2. Cookies remain fresh and soft stored in an airtight container for 10 days.

I've always put in more spices into this recipe, so I thought I'd record it. Recently, I've been putting in less sugar and chocolate chips. (I don't like as many chocolate chips because they can be overbearing with the chewy pumpkin cookie goodness! I also added protein powder and you couldn't even tell!

3rd Annual Academy Awards Party

Well this post is about three weeks late, but let's pretend that it's not.

I've been looking forward to the 87th Academy Awards for months, but mostly because I would be hosting my third Oscars party! Last year, I wrote that I had a lot of ideas for the next party, but if I wrote them down, I have no idea where I put them. Hopefully some of the new things we did this year were my ideas from last year. Who knows!

This year, I took to Facebook to send out the invite since almost everyone who was invited was on Facebook, so I didn't do another cool invite like last year. But we stuck with the same idea for food as last year: food inspired by the 9 Best Picture nominees.

American Sniper

hummus with pita & veggies

Much of the movie takes place in the Middle East and hummus seems to be our go-to for the last three years of movies about conflict in the Middle East.

Birdman

bird-shaped sugar cookies

The only food shown in the movie (to my recollection) was deli meat dipped in mayo and since we needed another dessert, I just went with sugar cookies.

Boyhood

mac & cheese

The perfect side dish that evokes memories from everyone's childhood.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

petit fours

Agatha bakes lots of pretty cakes throughout the movie.

The Imitation Game

cucumber sandwiches

Alan states early in the movie that he doesn't like sandwiches, so later on a coworker steals his cucumber sandwich from his picnic.

Selma

shrimp & grits

We needed some down-home southern cookin'!

The Theory of Everything

steak with potatoes & broccoli

Many scenes revolve around dinner, where Stephen struggles to feed himself or must be fed by someone else.

Whiplash

drumsticks

Duh, it's a movie about drumming.

I also had chocolate Oscar statues as favors again this year, but instead of buying them, I made them using a mold (from here).

We had a giant ballot (printable from here) and ballots for guests to fill out. If you wanted a chance to win, you could buy a ballot for $2 and the winner took home the pot. I ended up winning.

We had acceptance speech mad libs and photobooth props (from here) to pass the time since most people don't want to sit down and watch a 3+ hour award show!

I also bought a black and gold tassle garland (from here) and we went to the local fabric store to get some red fabric--on sale--to serve as our red carpet!

My picks for Best Dressed:

Anna Kendrick in Thakoon

Zoe Saldana in Versace

Jennifer Lopez in Elie Saab

Rosamund Pike in Givenchy

Reese Witherspoon in Tom Ford

2nd Annual Academy Awards Party

Last year, my mom and I threw an Oscars Viewing Party for the first time. We decided to create a spread based on the films nominated for Best Picture and it ended up being a lot of fun. Ever since our first party, I've been looking forward to this year's party. We kept the same idea food and drink inspired by the nominated films and it was a lot of fun to find something tasty and fitting for all nine films.

I started with the invitation, which I designed myself in PicMonkey. I was inspired by a pin I found and made it look like an event ticket. Unfortunately, I had the times off by an hour and had to contact everyone about the time change, but oh well!

12 Years a Slave 
blackberry cobbler
Solomon attempts to use blackberry juice as ink to write to his wife.

American Hustle
clams casino
Irving and Carmine bond of clams.

Captain Phillips
shrimp
The pirates hail from Somolia, a coastal country in Africa.

Dallas Buyers club
green juice
Ron travels the globe to find natural treatments for HIV, including aloe.

Gravity
moon & star cheese crackers
 The entire film takes place in space and no food is consumed, but the moon is made of cheese, right?

Her
margherita pizza
Theodore orders a slice of pizza at Samantha's request.

Nebraska
corn fed buffalo wings
They mostly drink, but they do enjoy some football snacks.

Philomena
waffle bites with raspberries, blueberries, and brandy sauce
A key scene takes place over breakfast and Philomenia is quite a fan of brandy.

The Wolf of Wall Street
sugar cookies with lemon frosting and powdered sugar
Jordan loves cocaine and Quaaludes, a powerful form of which is nicknamed "lemons"

I created a Pinterest board in the weeks leading up to the party to organize my ideas and get even more good ideas. This was key in planning the party because I found some great decorations and favors. I got these chocolate Oscars to send home with the guests.  I also purchased an Oscar statue from Hollywood Mega Store online. 

I created a garland with this Academy Awards printable and hung it over the fireplace, as well as hanging fun facts about the Oscars from gold balloons over the food table. (I had to tape the balloons to the ceiling with packaging tape to keep them up, even with helium.)  

We also had a cute print-out of every dress worn by the Best Actress winners, dating back to 1929. Of course we printed out ballots for our guests to fill out. My mom got the most correct answers with 15. I got 13 correct. Finally, we played a game with this graphic of the Best Picture winners where we had guests guess which movie it was. We provided an alphabetical list of all 85 winners and it served as a lot of fun during commercial breaks and (sorry to say) some of the smaller awards.

As for the ceremony: I figured Gravity would win everything it did. Visually, that movie was fantastic and I think the director did a fantastic job. The I only acting award I correctly predicted Jared Leto. I hoped Lupita Nyong'o would win, but I figured the Academy was just too enamored with Jennifer Lawrence to not give her the statue again. I didn't see Blue Jasmine, but I thought it would be Amy Adams year. She was great in American Hustle! And finally, I'm not please that Matthew McConaughey won. I saw Dallas Buyers Club and I wasn't too pleased with the movie either. From what I read, the real Ron Woodruff wasn't homophobic and was actually bisexual or homosexual. If they wanted to make a movie about a straight man getting HIV when most people thought only gay men could get it, then they should have made up a story about it! Also, I don't think McConaughey can act. I think he just plays himself whether it be muscular or sickly thin, whether it be in leather pants or a swim suit. I thought it might have been Leo's time to shine. (Don't worry, I'm not one of those crazies that gets too caught up in why Leo hasn't won an Oscar.) And the biggest question of the night: Why was Lady Gaga there?

My picks for Best Dressed:

Kerry Washington in Jason Wu
Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen
Lupita Nyong'o in Prada
Kate Hudson in Atelier Versace 
Jenna Dewan in Reem Acra

I have so many more ideas for next year, so hopefully the annual bash will keep getting bigger and better!

What did you all think of the Oscars this year?
Who were your picks for best dressed and worst dressed?

Craft Night

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Over the weekend, I had a casual craft night with Stephy -- my first craft night ever! I'm not sure how most gals run their craft nights, but Stephy and I did our own crafts instead of both doing the same thing. But actually, I did borrow one of her craft ideas from earlier in the week.

Anyway, I made candy covered pretzel thins for us to snack on and we spiked some mulled apple cider with salted caramel vodka. Yum!

 Here's what you need: 

1 bag of pretzel crisps

Wilton's candy melts (2 bags)

sprinkles

I want to stress, these are not chocolate covered pretzels. These are not yogurt covered pretzels. They're candy covered pretzels and they're amazing. I used white candy and red/white/green sprinkles to be festive, but Michael's has a huge variety of colors and of course they make just about any color and combination of sprinkles ever.

Follow the directions on the Wilton's bag to melt the chips. I used a double boiler because my microwave was broken at the time. It was incredibly easy and the candy melted fast! I dipped the pretzel crisps into the pot (and kept the water on the bottom simmering to keep the candy warm) and then fished them out with a fork. I only used the whole pretzels to make it look nicer and more uniform and because they're easier to fish out. I let the excess candy drip off the pretzel and then placed it on wax paper to dry. They dry within an hour, so add sprinkles relatively quickly so they stick!

I decided to do two projects, the first of which was to decorate a wreath. I picked one up from Michael's for about $8 and then just fluffed it up a bit. I found the thinnest part of the wreath and added a burlap bow to make it the bottom. I used {this} tutorial to make the perfect bow. The rest of the wreath, I filled with gift tags. I found some in the $1 section that read "joy" in glitter letters and I found another set that were glittery and had a stocking, a tree, a snowman, and a candy cane

For a first time crafter, it was pretty easy and doable.

 

Here's a few close-ups:

My other project was inspired by Stephy's craft, seen below.

I cut six-inch strips from my burlap and added a triangle shape to the bottom of each strip. Stephy had some four-inch stencils she let me borrow for the letters and I alternated red and green acrylic paint for each. I added the white ampersand and then used a snowflake printable from some random website as a stencil for either end.

I'm so happy with it, especially the snowflakes! I want to do more already! For now, I hung it on the mantle, but I rehung the stockings and they're covering the bunting right now. 

And don't forget New Year's is just two weeks away. Do you have your NYE essentials yet?

Christmas Cookies Gift Box

This Christmas, I'm trying to be a little more Pinteresty.  I already debuted my hot chocolate bar {here} and I had the best time putting it together.  When my family told me how touched they were that I did that for them, I wanted do it again!  It feels good to do nice things for other people and Pinterest is chalk full of ideas for just that.  Also, I'm a little over this gift card craze and wanted to give special gifts with homemade touches, even things that people could enjoy together.

One of the gifts I put together and have already given twice is this Christmas cookies gift box.  Since people usually do their holiday baking before the 25th, I delivered the box to my aunt, uncle, and cousin over the weekend when I babysat.  My hope is that they can spend an afternoon together baking and decorating cookies and create great memories with their loved ones in the process.

The great thing about this gift is that you can dress it up or dress it down.  I was able to do a slightly simplified version for a nice White Elephant exchange (meaning not joke gifts) that had a price limit.  I'm a big fan of baking myself and every year, I look forward to decorating holiday cookies with my family, so hopefully people can enjoy the same thing since it's literally wrapped up in a bow for them!  This year I tried to focus on creating the Spirit of Christmas for people, rather than buying cliche, obligatory gifts, because Christmas is more than that!

For my aunt and uncle, I added an extra roll of gluten free cookie dough and three cookie cutters: a holly leaf, a Christmas bow, and a snowflake.

I filled the box (from Hobby Lobby) with shredded paper (Michael's) to hold everything in place and make it look nicer. I got plastic crafting ornaments from Michael's and filled them with different Christmas sprinkles. (Use a funnel!)  For the cookie dough, I rolled it into a log and made sure it had a light dusting of flour (not flour for the GF roll) so it wouldn't stick to plastic wrap. I rolled it into some wrapping paper and used baker's twine to tie off the ends.

Unfortunately I didn't manage my time before leaving the house either time and didn't get to get the pictures I wanted, but you can find the original pin {here}.

Be sure to add some baking directions. I also included the royal icing I use for my melting snowman cookies. And keep the dough refrigerated until delivery.

Follow me on Pinterest @HannahLarson42.

Hot Chocolate Bar

Earlier this week, Kym at Travel Babbles posted a picture of the hot chocolate bar she made for her kitchen {here}.  It was so adorable, I had to do it myself and since it's so easy and pretty cheap, I figured I'd share with y'all.  P.S. You have to check out that post because she has so many Pinterest-worthy ideas, like a "25 reasons why I love you" advent calendar for her hubby and mini apple pies...in apples!

Kym used the cutest apothecary jars, but I went by what was on sale at Hobby Lobby.  Her jars give it a more whimsical and Christmas-y feel I think.  ;)  Also, the one thing I keep forgetting to get at Michael's/Hobby Lobby is chalk, so I added the number for the countdown board.

Christmas countdown board - $1 at Target (dollar section)

Medium glass canister - $6.99 at Hobby Lobby, 50% off

Small glass canisters - $5.99 each at Hobby Lobby, 50% off

Irish coffee cups - $2.49 each at King Soopers, 30% off

Red & white string - $2.99 at Hobby Lobby, 50% off

Mini glitter ornaments - $1 at Target (dollar section)

We already had the tray, I just laid down a white dish towel on it to make it look a little nicer and give it some texture.

I dumped out a can of hot chocolate mix into the largest canister (and it was just the right amount).  I got a large bag of mini marshmallows and a 40-count box of mini green and red candy canes.  I have extra of everything in the pantry to restock when we're low!

We're not the biggest lovers of hot chocolate or sweets at my house, but it brightens up the room quite a bit and it will be great for guests who come over during the holiday season.  Plus, this week is all about the single-digit temperatures and snowfall, so it's perfect for keeping cozy by the fire!

By the way, here's what we're workin' with in Colorado today: 5 inches of snow and 10 degrees.  What better day to enjoy a hot chocolate bar is there?

 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

This week's pumpkin recipe is pumpkin oatmeal recipes (YUM!) with minor tweaks on Sally's Baking Addiction's recipe.  Her pictures are definitely better than mine, so go check out her site.

2 cups + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup dark molasses
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 + 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together.  Fold in the oats. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium size bowl.  Whisk in the molasses, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.  Once combined, whisk in the egg.  Add the pumpkin and vanilla and whisk until thick and combined completely. Pour into dry ingredients and gently mix.  The dough will be very thick, heavy, and sticky,  Keep mixing until just combined, no more.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.  About 2 or 3 Tablespoons of dough per cookie. Slightly flatten the help the cookies spread in the oven.  Do not flatten completely.  If desired, press a few of your add-ins onto the top of the cookie dough balls for looks.

Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes until very lightly browned on the edges, and still appearing soft in the centers.  My cookies took 14 minutes.  Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets. The cookies' flavor is best on day 2. Cookies remain fresh and soft stored in an airtight container for 10 days.

Pumpkin Waffles

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Since it's October, that means pumpkin is in everything.  And today at Hannah, Here!, there's pumpkin in your waffles.  Thanks Pinterest for the recipe!  The original recipe is from No. 2 Pencil, here, but I modified it slightly.  {The photo is hers as well.}

2 cups of all-purpose flour  

2 tablespoons of firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 cup of canned 100% pure pumpkin
1 egg yolk plus 3 egg whites
4 tablespoons of melted cooled butter
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
Combine milk, pumpkin, butter, egg yolk and vinegar in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Gently fold in egg whites.
Use batter immediately in waffle maker. 

Are you a pancake person or a waffle person?

Pumpkin Bread

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On Sunday morning, I made some pumpkin bread from scratch and it was delicious, so I figured I'd share my recipe (again--with some modifications) with you all.  The recipe makes 2 loaves of bread, but be sure to lick the bowl too.

 

1 15-oz can of canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

 

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, and eggs.  Beat until well-mixed.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.  Stir until combined.  Slowly add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth.  Spray 2 9x5 loaf pans with Pam and lightly flour.  Evenly divide batter into 2 pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes.  Cool for 10-15 minutes.  I added a cup of chocolate chips to one loaf and kept one without.

What's your favorite fall recipe?  With pumpkin?

Skinny No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

I've made this pie three times now, first for my nephew's sixteenth birthday dinner, then for my sister's friend after giving birth to her second baby, and most recently for the Game of Thrones finale.

It's easy, fast, and lite.  The perfect summer dessert!  I'm not a big fan of peanut butter, but I love this!  Also, I only remembered to put in the confectioner's sugar the first time.  I tried to make it from memory the second time and simply didn't have any the second time.  Whoops.  It didn't make as much, but it was just as good.  (And probably fewer calories.)

Skinny Peanut Butter Pie:

• 5 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 8 oz fat free frozen whipped topping, thawed
• reduced fat graham cracker pie crusts
• 3 tbsp Hershey's chocolate syrup

Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar together in a medium bowl. Mix in peanut butter and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into graham cracker pie shell, cover, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2-3 hours. Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.

Recipe from Katie at My Keep Calm & Carry On. 

 Christian drew a chocolate Iron Throne on the pie from Sunday!

First Annual Oscars Party

My favorite thing about movies, if you haven't noticed already, is the Academy Awards.  I see a lot of cheesy, low-quality movies throughout the year (I'm looking at you, Wanderlust!), but I do look forward to the end of the year when serious Oscar contenders start to hit the theaters.  This year, I saw 7 of the 9 Best Picture nominees in theaters from October to January.  I rented Beasts of the Southern Wild this weekend, and I still have some time to catch Amour in theaters.  This year, my mom and I also decided to throw our first annual Oscars party.

There was essentially a blizzard yesterday morning, so four of the ten people weren't able to come, but we still had a blast.  We had sparking apple cider (pictured above) and everyone got their own ballot to predict the winners.  I ended up winning by one correct answer with a total of 13.  I have to say, I'm most stunned by Jennifer Lawrence's win.  I love her, but I didn't see that coming.  And I'm most satisfied with Argo's win(s).  I still can't believe Ben Affleck--I mean Benjamin Affleck--didn't get a nomination for Best Director.  Surprisingly, I thought Seth Macfarlane was a fantastic host and the Academy got exactly what they paid for.  He looked like he was having such a blast!  I loved it!

For our spread, we had foods inspired by the nine Best Picture nominees:

Amour: bread (shared with Les Miserables)

Argo: hummus

Beasts of the Southern Wild: red beans & rice, catfish etouffee

Django Unchained: cornbread

Les Miserables: bread (shared with Amour)

Life of Pie: lox

Lincoln: custard with strawberries

Silver Linings Playbook: crabby snacks

Zero Dark Thirty: dates

BEST DRESSED:

Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta

Jessica Chastain in Giorgio Armani

Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen

Charlize Theron in Christian Dior Haute Couture

Naomi Watts in Armani Prive

 

I know a lot of people didn't like Amanda Seyfried's dress, but I think it's gorgeous and who cares if it ages her up a bit?  It was certainly better than what she wore during her Les Mis performance.

WORST DRESSED:

Anne Hathaway in Prada

Melissa McCarthy in David Meister Signature

Kelly Rowland in Donna Karan Atelier

 

I hope Anne Hathaway immediately regrets her dress choice for her big night.  I don't think anyone liked it and apparently it wasn't even what she was supposed to wear.  Melissa McCarthy needs to take some tips from Octavia Spencer on dressing for your size.  This is so horrible.

 

I'm trying to not acknowledge the fact that Brandi Glanville was there, but she was absolutely the WORST dressed.  I feel like I have more of a right to attend the Oscars than she does.

SO CLOSE:

Jennifer Aniston in Valentino

Jennifer Garner in Gucci

Jennifer Hudson in Roberto Cavalli

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture

 

I hate to do this to the Jennifers because I love them all, but none of them really blew me away.  They were all so close but Garner and Hudson threw it all away on the shoes.  I didn't love the shape of Larence's dress and there's just something missing from Aniston's whole ensemble.

 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Gucci gets my vote for Best Dressed Man.

 

Sally Field in Valentino was hands down the Best Dressed from the older crowd.

 

As for the winners, I'm blown away that Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress.  There's no surprise really with Anne Hathaway or Daniel Day-Lewis, but Best Supporting Actor could have gone to any of those five nominees.  Some people are calling Ang Lee's win for Life of Pi a shock, but that's who I predicted.  And I couldn't be more ecstatic that Argo won Best Picture.