My friends at KLTV in Tyler invited me to fill in for Grant Dade today during his Friday morning cooking segment, “Cooking Up a Storm, ” as he was unable to be there this morning.  I gladly took them up on it! When I was with them for In The Kitchen back in August, it was such a fun experience! I couldn’t wait to join the morning crew to do it again!

In order to do that, I had to be at the studio around 6 a.m., and since I live out in the country, it’s a 45 minute drive to the studio.   As a result, I got up at 3:30 this morning! Double-shot espresso, thank you for keeping me going today.  🙂 Thanks to my sons Justin and Jared for joining me, as well, to carry all my baskets of goodies and ingredients and pumpkins and bowls and mixers and stuff for me!

I was hooked up to the mic, then I set up my stuff on the set on the lovely granite countertop, and waited my turn.  At 6:25, Jennifer joined me on the kitchen set and we were off!

I invented a cookie just for the show; it was a variation of a nice, chewy oatmeal cookie recipe. I added dried fruit, white chocolate chips, and caramel bits.  Here’s the recipe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MamaSteph’s Fruity Oatmeal -White Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup dried fruit: chopped dried apples, dried cranberries, etc. Mixtures are great!
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• ½ cup caramel bits (optional)

Directions

• In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until mixture is well-combined.
• Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
• Stir in oats, then fruit, white chocolate chips, and caramel bits.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (or use a medium cookie scoop) 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 1 minute before removing to wire racks. Yield: 3–4 dozen, depending upon size.

I hoped everyone would enjoy them; based on the noises I was hearing in the studio after the show as the crew and anchors munched on the cookies, they really did!  Lots of “ooos and ahhhhs!”   It was fun! You guys know how much I love to feed people and make them happy.

*************Here is the VIDEO  of the segment: *******************

Video of MamaSteph making cookies on KLTV’s Cooking Up a Storm

Here are a few pictures my son and I shot with our iPhones while we were in the studio:

 

 

 

 

I’m grateful to Clint Yeatts and my friend Ellen Krafve for the opportunity to be back with the awesome people at KLTV! Thanks for asking me! And thanks to Jennifer for walking me through the segment so well, and to Gracie for being so much fun and so gracious.  The camera crew was great, too! Thanks, guys!

To you, my lovely readers and friends, I thank you for keeping up with the fun things that I’m being blessed with the ability to do by reading this and interacting with me at  MamaSteph’s Cookies on Facebook.  Please make these cookies and let me know how you like them,  how you changed them, etc., and if you take a picture, I’d love to see it! Thanks!