Today was the first day in a while that I felt more like myself.
I lost my mojo there for bit. I've been at a loss for words lately with my posts and I haven't been around all that much to see what everyone has been up to. I might as well break the silence because I'm a bit at a loss, and I am hoping one of you (or some of you) can help me out.
For a while now we have felt that it is about time to 'upgrade' Living the Gourmet. We are looking to broaden our focus and revamp our look. I never knew it could be such a difficult task...such a daunting task.
We have interviewed so many web developers, designers, and web pros that it makes my head spin. It seems like everyone has a different answer to the same question. Right now, I don't even know what to ask, or who to ask next.
Needless to say, I need help. Your help. So, I'm sending out an S.O.S.
Here are my top questions:
1. WordPress or Blogger? I know most people say WordPress but why exactly? Some people have told me that Blogger is just as good, the only difference is that Blogger can be a bit prohibitive when it comes to designing. However, I have also been told I can work around that with a good enough web designer.
2. When moving over to another platform, will this transfer effect our SEO data? This is the most important question I have. Moving to WordPress really depends on this answer because if moving to WordPress wipes out our SEO data/ blog ranking, we're sticking with Blogger. Is there anyone out there who can transfer SEO data?!! I've gotten a whole lot of 'maybes' and a very expensive 'yes'.
3. Reasonable quotes. I've been looking at some of my favorite sites but have been discouraged to see their website design cost them over a $1,000. So, this may not be a question, but an equally important point to mention. We need to stay within budget.
If you know the answers to my questions, or if you know of someone who can answer these questions, I would greatly appreciate it. Drop a comment below, or shoot me an email at BakingGypsy[at]AOL[dot]com. I also want to thank the bloggers who made me feel comfortable enough to reach out for help. Your kindness and patience has been overwhelming. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Now, onto the recipe 😉
I don't even think I've been baking with the same enthusiasm lately. Today was different. I was in the zone, had my French music going and made perhaps, some of the best cookies I've had in a long while.
We had half a package of leftover cake mix sitting in the refrigerator. Mom suggested I use it up and make cookies.
I admit, I can be a bit of a food snob. I scoff at cake mix. What can I say when you grow up with "Lady Gourmet" as your mom, everything has to be homemade. Moving along though, I also hate to waste ingredients. So, I conceded.
Originally, these would have been chocolate chip cookies, but cake mix is really sweet and I didn't want a very sweet cookie. I figured a nice oatmeal raisin would be best because the cinnamon would balance out all the flavors.
I was pleasantly surprised. The cookies were soft and chewy. They weren't too sweet and I wasn't left with that overwhelming 'artificial cake mix' taste in my mouth afterwards. I think the key to perfect oatmeal raisin cookies might just be a little cake mix.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 2 Dozen 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups vanilla cake mix
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Then add all the wet ingredients.
- Stir until a thick, sticky cookie dough forms.
- On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop a tablespoonful of dough leaving about an inch of space between each.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Transfer immediately to a cooling rack.
- Try to let cool completely and enjoy with some warm milk or tea!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
Toodles,
Tammy<3
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Cook Eat Share
Foodista
Key Ingredient
Just A Pinch
Foodie
Ordinary J says
I am craving for cookies after I read this:)
manu says
Tammy, these are so yummy!!!!
Have a nice Friday
Dottie says
Dear Tammy, first let me say that your cookies look fabulous. I can smell them from Lake Ronkonkoma, and want to taste them, NOW. Great idea with the recipe. You are a chip off the old block. (your mom) Now down to serious stuff. I wish I can help you, but I just get by doing the things I do by myself. I need some to help me with Facebook so that is what I am looking for at the moment. You have such valid and interesting questions. I do not know anyone either that may be able to help you. I do know that Blogger is a good site so far, but like all of them I think you may have a problem with each one at some point or another. I can understand how frustrated you must be, if they would only give you the correct answers, when you ask them to help you, then more than half the battle would be won. I do pray that you get someone with the correct knowledge and gives you the right advice. Till then Blessings on a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. Dottie 🙂
Tammy says
Dottie, You are too sweet. Thank you and best of luck with your quest. You know I do know my way around the social media aspect of blogger so if you have any questions please feel free to share them with me. Maybe I can help you 🙂
Have a lovely weekend as well. xx
Dottie says
Tammy, thank you so much, I will keep you in mind if Facebook can't help me. You are so thoughtful for wanting to help me. I hope that you find your way to give you the correct advice. Seems that you received many helpful answers from your followers. Thanks about the holiday weekend, and you as well..They say the weather should be nice. Enjoy! Dottie 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Tammy, we went through the same questions a while back. We had a blog re-design about a year and a half ago and stuck with Blogger per the advice of our web designer. He said it really didn't make much difference. We decided to make the leap this spring and change over to WP. Oh my, what a difference - it's like driving an old familiar car then switching to a brand new one with all the bells and whistles. It does take a bit of time to get used to but it's just wonderful and really much easier in the long run. Our SEO has gotten better and we've over doubled our traffic in just a few months. For us, making the change was definitely worth it! Hope you find the answers your looking for. Chris
Tammy says
Thank you Chris for stopping by and taking the time to explain. I'm still doing my research on WP. I'm going to play around with a test blog on WP and see if I like the functionality of it. I'm glad it worked out for you and that your SEO came back stronger than before!
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.
Silvia Brisigotti says
These cookies are wonderful!!
Medeja says
I absolutely love oatmeal cookies!
I hope you are well, dear Tammy 🙂 It's always nice to see your posts.
Walking on Sunshine says
What a great recipe. I do enjoy using a cake mix as I do a lot of baking for bake sales, outreach meals, etc and they are so easy. Thank you for linking up with Foodie Friends Friday!
David says
Tammy, I love oatmeal raisin cookies and I like the idea of adding the coconut for a change of pace. I do go back and forth between chewy and crisp as to my preference. As for the blog site/format, I don't have a clue. I use Blogger because its easy...but then again I'm not trying to make any money off my site. It's just a hobby with about 9,000 hits/reads a month. I just enjoy the writing and the research. It's an outlet for the little bit of creativity that I possess. Good Luck! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Tammy says
Dave, there are certain cookies I prefer crispy to soft, but usually I'm a soft and chewy kind of gal. I think it depends though on the cookie. I threw the coconut in last minute...it was a nice change and added a nice texture to the dough.
Blogger is easy. Sometimes though when I'm writing up a post, the html will get glitchy on me and when I publish a post, I get large gaps of space between my lines. I wonder if that's something on my end or if that's a Blogger thing...hmmm that is something else I'm going to have to ask around about.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on the subject 🙂
Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.
Lucia says
Catherine I have been attempting the same thing. I have 2 wordpress blogs. The wordpress were built just to learn how to use wordpress. But I prefer blogger. Why? Because it is quick to use. I do not usually have a lot of time to spend tweaking the blog. Being a web designer it is frustrating not having the time to try to make the blog look nice. I know people who swear by wordpress. I even have the domain name. But do I use Drupal or Dreamweaver or AdobeMuse? What is up now is Drupal but I have to tweek the code so much it does not seem to be fun! Muse may be the way I go but I think that can be expensive. My problem is not having the time required to “work” on the blog. Perhaps if I hire myself I could get it done! But then again I only having 97 followers I am afraid of losing them. And the cookies look delicious!
Tammy says
Lucia, Thank you so much for shedding some light on the subject. Prior to your comment, I had never heard of Drupal, Dreamweaver or Adobe Muse. After some quick research, I'm going to say that is something we would definitely be letting the web developer/ web designer handle. I don't feel confident enough (or as experienced as you) to play around with the background of the blog and download customizable software. You really sound like you know what you're doing though, because I wouldn't know where to begin when comes to tweaking back codes and links.
As far as platforms go, I'm leaning towards sticking with Blogger. Mom prefers Blogger too. I wish I could help you! Thank you again for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Much appreciated!
Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.
TexWisGirl says
i hope folks can give you good advice. 🙂
Alison Agnew says
First, those cookies look totally delectable! Second, I can only speak from my own experience, but when I switched from Blogger to WP, my SEO took a major hit. I am still trying to get back to where I was. In many ways, I wish I hadn't made the switch. I like WP now, after figuring it all out, but I hate paying for stuff that was free with Blogger. You hear that to be a 'serious blogger' you have to be on WP. However, there are lots of 'serious bloggers' out there who use Blogger, so I don't think that's true. My thought is that if you're happy with Blogger, there's really no reason to switch. But there are probably lots of folks out there who are smarter than I! Anyway, thanks for sharing at Fridays Unfolded, and good luck as you do your research.
Alison
Nancherrow
Tammy says
Thank you, Alison, and thank you for taking the time to share your WP experience. That is one of the things I fear the most about making the move. A lot of people though seem to agree that if you don't have to move from Blogger, then it's best not to. I did notice quite of few 'serious' bloggers using Blogger as well. Thanks again for stopping by, we value your opinion and feedback.
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend.
Sandee says
I've had both Blogger and WordPress blogs. I like blogger better as it's easier to use. For me that is. As for your rankings? I've not a clue about that.
Now cookies I know about and those are one of my favorite cookies.
Have a fabulous day. Big hugs to you both. 🙂
Tammy says
Hehehe thank you, Sandee! You're a dear. Yeah, WP is similar to Tumblr. It seems more complicated than Blogger...or maybe it's just that I am so used to Blogger. I don't know. Thank you for stopping by!
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!
Lucia says
Glad you asked these questions. I have learned a lot by reading everyone's comments.
Gloria Baker says
Oh dear Hope you are ok I love yopu so much!
I think all the sites have porblems I saw them in bloggers and in WordPress and I dont know about a designer I always find you and Catherine have lovely pictures and amazing recipes!
Anyway is your blog dear!
Good luck with all but don't worry we are going to where you are lol
Adita Donaire says
Catherine, te han quedado deliciosas, me llevo un par de ellas, para tomar una taza de café, besos
Linda says
I like cake mixes, so I was happy to see a new use for these handy box mixes for oatmeal raisin cookies. I am a little blogger with a little blog. I upgraded to wordpresss.org. so I could have ads and other options. I did look at the bottom of favorite blogs to see who desigend theirs and what platform they used. That's how I knew that option was way out of my little ballpark. Easy peasy for ths untechnical gal. I made my header on Pic Monkey, contacted Karianne at Thistlewood Farms on a frined's recommendation for a consult and made a few tweeks. I did look at the bottom of favorite blogs to see who desigend theirs and what platform they used. That's how I knew it was way out of my little ballpark. by the way, I like you blog. Visiting from Full Plate Thursday.
Tammy says
Hi Linda, Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂 I am glad you liked the cookies and I do hope you give them a try.
Thank you for the advice. I'm going to look into Thistlewood Farms and see if Karianne can help. I love Pic Monkey...I used them to design our current header. You blog looks great by the way. Thanks again for stopping by. Have a wonderful holiday weekend. 🙂
Barbara says
Good heavens, haven't made an oatmeal cookie in ages...forgot how good they were! 🙂 Never have used a cake mix to make them, either. What a great idea!
I'm probably not the best one for advice...I'm lazy. I'm happy enough with Blogger. I even have a dot com address (which people keep wanting to buy from me so I guess I ought to sell it) and just don't want to bother with a big change.
I actually started two other blogs on blogspot...one is a culinary one, where I use recipes I didn't get around to using on the main blog, OR felt they were too simple. The other is just writing (I am not a writer) about things happening in my life. People follow and comment on the culinary one, and a few people read the other one, rarely comment and no followers. I haven't told anyone about them, although there are links on my sidebar. I feel that pretty soon, I'll want to give up the constant cooking, so I understand your wanting to change pace. I designed them myself, think blogger does a fairly good job with what it offers and I really don't want to pay a fortune to someone to do it. Do you have a young friend who might want the exposure? Often, they're willing to design something as a favor.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I've always been on a self-hosted wordpress blog. I like the control I have where I can do whatever I want. I don't stress about SEO but I am aware that my post title and recipe titles are important and I try to put my recipe name in the first sentence or two. Other than that, I just write. 🙂
I've struggled with my mojo too. So much going on in my life that there are times that I can't get it all done. Then I stress.
I'd be better with one of these oatmeal raisin cookies!
p.s. let me know when the dog's on Instagram. LOL
Karen @ Pieces of Contentment says
They look very tasty!
speedy70 says
Questi biscottini li adoro, bravissima !!!!
Amy at Ms. Toody Goo Shoes says
Sorry I can't help out with your blogging questions...I'm too new at this, still. But one thing I do know is that your cookies look amazing!
Elzbieta Hester says
Delicious cookies! I like that chunky look about them!
Oh, men...I'm with blogger, but self-hosted. I made a switch to self hosting a couple of months ago, paid a couple of bucks to GoDaddy to get my name registered. No data lost...but boy oh boy, I was so scared I'm almost got sick. I was learning about the switch for weeks prior...Good luck with everything!
ela h.
Gray Apron
Chatty Crone says
I tell you I wish I could help you on the blog issue - but I don't know a thing. I would vote blogger selfishly - because I like it - but if it is better for you then do the other. Ha-ha wish I knew more - I know I love the looks of those cookies.
Diane Balch says
Unless you are really into design I would stick with Blogger. There are a lot of cost involved in self hosting and I don't personally think it is worth it unless you really want to be freed for design reasons. I also think Google favors blogger in SEO. I get most of my hits from Google and I am always hearing from WordPress people that their's come from Pinterest and other social media. I have heard my theory by a few other bloggers too... don't know for sure about it. Good luck in your decision and thanks for coming by foodie friday.
Liz Berg says
I love, love oatmeal cookies. And now you have me craving some 🙂
I moved to WP about a year and a half ago. At first your hits go down (even with the plugin to redirect traffic from Blogger to WP). But people will find you. I don't know anything about "losing your SEO, " but I do know my SEO is better now due to a WP plug in. It lets me know when my posts have all the needed components for a good SEO...like using the title of my post in the first paragraph, having a long enough post, naming my photos properly, etc. I've started going back to my old post which were published on Blogger to update them for better SEO. I'm sure a designer could explain things better. There is a bit of a transition period...figuring out how to use a whole new format. I'm still learning things every week. But, Tammy, you'll catch on much easier!!! The gal who did my move gives food bloggers a bit of a deal. I'll PM you her name on FB 🙂
Nippon Nin says
Wow! Scrumptious looking cookies. Your photos are lovely!
I hope the answer you're looking for you find it soon. Can't wait see your new look.
Reeni Pisano says
I'm sorry you haven't been feeling like yourself! I'm the same way with cake mix but these cookies look sooo good you might of changed my mind a bit. As for your web site - I know everyone says to move to wordpress but it's been one headache after the other. I can't tell you how many times I wished I was back on blogger - on a weekly basis. Be prepared to spend just as much time doing maintenance and upkeep on your site as you do actual cooking and blogging. It never ends. With that said wordpress (make sure you go to wordpress.org not wordpress.com) has a lot more to offer - including great tools for SEO and recipe plug-ins but staying on blogger is much easier and you could get a .com. Blogger will redirect all your traffic. Hope I didn't confuse you more! xoxo
Federica Simoni says
golosissimi questi biscotti!! Grazie della visita! a presto!! ciao
Miz Helen says
Your Oatmeal Raisin Cookies need to be in my Cookie Jar, they look fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great week and come back soon!
Miz Helen