Ingredients :

· 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
· 2/3 cup oats
· 1/2 cup cornstarch
· 1/2 cup confectioners’ (icing) sugar, sifted
· 3/4 cup butter, softened

Cooking Procedures :

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Prepare ungreased cookie sheet and some cookie cutters. Set aside.
2. Combine flour, oats, cornstarch and confectioners’ (icing) sugar in a large bowl. With large spoon, blend in butter. Work with hands until soft, smooth dough forms. Shape into ball. If necessary, refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
3. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheet. Decorate if desired. Place cookie sheet in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned (time will depend on cookie size).
4. Remove from the oven. Cool for 5 minutes on sheet and then transfer to rack and cool completely. Store in tightly covered container.

Ingredients :

· 2/3 cup uncooked oat bran cereal
· 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
· 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
· 1/2 tsp. baking powder
· 3 tbsp. softened margarine
· 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
· 1 egg white, lightly beaten
· 2 tsp. water
· 1/4 tsp. vanilla
· 2 tbsp. raisins

Cooking Procedures :

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix together oat bran, rolled oats, flour and baking powder.
3. In another bowl, beat together margarine and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Stir in egg white, water and vanilla, mixing until thoroughly incorporated. Add flour mixture and mix well. Fold in raisins.
4. Drop by level tablespoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheet. Using a fork or the bottom of a glass flatten slightly. Place in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until bottoms are slightly browned.
5. Remove from the oven. Cool on sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Ingredients :

· eggs
· milk (or half and half)
· butter
· salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Procedures :

1. Use a 10 oz. bowl or custard cup for 1 to 2 eggs; use a 1 quart bowl for 4 to 6 eggs.
2. Beat eggs and milk together with a fork until well blended. Cut butter into small pieces and stir into eggs.
3. Microwave, uncovered, at (Power Level according to the times given in the chart below. Break up and stir eggs with a fork every 30 seconds. Cook until nearly set.
4. Let STAND and covered loosely for 1 to 3 minutes to complete the cooking. Stir and season to taste.

Making pancakes is among the simplest of culinary feats. To start, you need the right ingredients. Fortunately, the best flour for pancakes is also the most readily available – good old all-purpose. High-gluten flour makes tough, chewy pancakes, while pancakes made with cake flour get soggy when syrup is poured over them. For a change of taste, substitute cornmeal, buckwheat flour, or whole-wheat flour for half the all-purpose flour called in a pancakes recipe.

01.    When leavening with baking powder/soda, mixing the batter is critical. There are two stages: whisking together the dry ingredients, and whisking the wet ingredients into the dry. In the final step, don’t whisk the batter to a smooth, uniform texture, or the gluten in the flour will develop and produce tough pancakes. Instead, mix the wet and dry ingredients together only partially, leaving lumps of unmoistened dry ingredients. The interaction of the liquid and the pockets of dry ingredients during cooking will results in fluffy pancakes. Yeasted pancakes require no such care, but unless you want to wait for the batter to rise in the morning, mix it the night before, and let it rise in the refrigerator.

02.    More butter does not mean better pancakes. A thin film covering the griddle prevents puddling and browns the pancakes evenly. After melting the butter on the griddle, wipe the surface with a paper towel. Too much melted butter on the griddle will result in “fried” pancakes – crispy on the outside and undercooked on the inside.

03.    For fruit pancakes, place fruit on top of the batter right after it’s poured onto the griddle. This allows the fruit to be evenly distributed in each pancakes. Mixing the fruit in before the pancakes are on the griddle will thin the batter.

04.    When is the time to flip? When the batter surface is covered with little bubbles, some of which have begun to break, the leavening agent has created enough carbon dioxide to lift and lighten the dough. The bursting bubbles, though, are letting that gas escape, so flip the pancake just at this moment, before too many have popped. Bubbles will appear first at the edges, which may begin to look dry before the rest of the surface is covered. Avoid the temptation to flip the pancake until some of the interior bubbles have burst.

Ingredients :

· 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
· 3/4 cup granulated sugar
· 1 tbsp. baking powder
· 2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
· 3/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds
· 2 eggs
· 1/3 cup olive oil
· 1 tsp. vanilla
· 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Cooking Procedures :

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare greased cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and almonds. Make a well in the center.
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs, oil, vanilla and almond extract. Pour into well and mix until soft, sticky dough forms.
4. Divide dough in half. Shape into two rolls about 10 inches long. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Place in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes and then cut into slices 1/2 inch thick. Return to sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and immediately transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Omelet making is a bit of morning magic. With a deft twist of the wrist, a shake, a fold and a flip, and a nonstick pan, turn three eggs into an elegant breakfast.

You need only an ovenproof nonstick skillet, a wire whisk, and a heat-resistant rubber spatula to make a perfect omelet. Fresh eggs, butter, salt, and freshly ground pepper will guarantee that your omelet tastes delicious. The best butter to use is clarified butter, which does not burn as easily as salted or unsalted butter. If you use regular butter, watch carefully to keep it from burning. Clarified butter is easiest to make in large quantities, and because it has no milk solids, which cause butter to turn rancid, it can be refrigerated for several weeks or frozen until needed. To clarify butter, cut a pound of unsalted butter into tablespoon-size pieces, and place in a small, deep saucepan. Melt the butter very slowly over low heat. The water in the butter will evaporate, and the milk solids will sink to the bottom of the saucepan. Skim off the foam that rises to the surface, and pour the clear, yellow melted butter off the milk solids at the bottom of the saucepan and into a glass jar; discard milk solids.

01.    An omelet pan needs to be hot but not scalding. Heat 1 tbsp. clarified butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Place your hand above the skillet. When your palm feels warm, the skillet is ready to start cooking.

02.    Whisk together 3 large eggs, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste while the pan is heating, not before. If they have to sit and wait for the pan, the whisked eggs will deflate. You want to incorporate lots of air into the mixture so that your omelet is light and fluffy. Drop a little whisked egg into the pan. If the egg sizzles and begins to fry, the pan is too hot.

03.    Working quickly, pour the whisked eggs into the hot skillet. Reduce heat to medium. If you want to serve several omelets at once, turn the oven to low heat, about 200°F, and place the serving plates in it.

04.    Simultaneously whisk the eggs and shake the skillet vigorously back and forth over heat for less than a minute. You want to keep the eggs moving, incorporating some of the runny parts with the more-cooked parts until there are some curds swimming in the eggs. Stop whisking. The key to producing an omelet with a fluffy, very smooth surface is to stop whisking just before the egg sets.

05.    Continue cooking, making sure eggs cover the entire surface of the skillet. Using a rubber spatula spread the runny egg out to the edges of the pan and over any holes that may have formed on the surface of the omelet.

06.    With the handle of the pan pointing directly out toward you, sprinkle 1/2 cup of your favorite filling (see omelet filling suggestions below) over the left side of the eggs, leaving a small rim of egg around the edge. Run the rubber spatula along the right side of the omelet to loosen eggs from the skillet. Place the spatula under the right side of the eggs, making sure that the spatula is well underneath the eggs to offer maximum support, and lift the right side over the left in one fluid motion.

07.    The folded omelet should look like a half moon. Lightly press down on the omelet with the spatula to seal the omelet together. Do not press hard; you do not want to flatten the curds. Check to make sure the handle of the skillet is still facing directly out toward you. Lift the skillet with one hand, and hold the plate with your other hand. Tilt the skillet, and let the curved edge of the omelet slide onto the plate. Quickly invert the skillet, folding the portion of the omelet that is left in the skillet over the curved edge already on the plate. Keeping the skillet at about stomach level with the handle facing directly out should help you do this.

08.    Traditionally, omelets are garnished with something that relates to the filling, but this does not need to be a hard-and-fast rule. A simple sprig of parsley is sufficient. A garnish that’s been strategically placed can also help mask an imperfection.

Ingredients :

· 1/4 cup unsweetened powdered cocoa
· 1/4 cup sugar
· 1 cup water
· 3 cups milk

Cooking Procedures :

1. In a 1-1/2 quart (1.5L) glass bowl, combine cocoa and sugar. Add water.
2. Microwave on High (Power Level 10) for 1-1/2 minutes, stirring once.
3. Add milk. Heat on High (Power Level 10) for about 3 minutes or until piping hot, but not boiling.

Ingredients :

· 2-4 eggs
· water, for boiling

Cooking Procedures :

1. Place eggs in a deep saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand off heat for 14 to 16 minutes.
3. Transfer to an iced water bath (or set saucepan in the sink and run in cold water to cool eggs quickly. This makes eggs easier to shell and keeps yolks from turning dark around the edges) and let cool completely.

Helpful Tips
- To shell hard-cooked eggs tap to crack shell. Roll between hands to loosen shell. Hold under cold water as you peel shell.
- Unpeeled eggs can be refrigerated for up to a week.

Ingredients :

· 4 slices white sandwich bread (Pullman), about 1/2 inch thick
· 2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese cut in 1/8 inch thick slices
· 2 oz. Cheddar cheese cut in 1/8 inch thick slices
· unsalted butter, room temperature

Cooking Procedures :

1. Heat a large cast-iron or heavy metal skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Place two slices of bread on a work surface, and cover each with a layer of Monterey Jack and a layer of cheddar cheese. Top with the remaining slices of bread.
3. Generously butter both outer sides of the sandwiches, spreading butter all the way to the edges of the bread.
4. Place the sandwiches in the skillet, and press down only lightly with the back of a spatula. Cook until golden brown on each side, 3 to 4 minutes per side, and the cheese has completely melted.
5. Remove from the skillet. Cut in half lengthwise, and serve immediately.

Ingredients :

· 2 cups quick-cooking oats
· 4 cups hot water
· 2/3 cup chopped dried apricots or raisins
· 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (dark or light)
· 1/4 tsp. salt
· 1 tbsp. butter
· 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
· 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
· 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
· dash ground cloves or allspice

Cooking Procedures :

1. Combine oats, water, dried fruits, sugar and salt in a 2 quart casserole.
2. Cover. Microwave at (Power Level 10) for 5 to 6 minutes or until oatmeal thickens, stirring twice.
3. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to blend. Cover and let STAND 3 minutes before serving.