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
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
Federica Simoni says
golosissimi questi biscotti!! Grazie della visita! a presto!! ciao
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
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.
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 🙂
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.
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.
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
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!