Tuesday, November 14, 2017

This, That and Some Crazy Good Oatmeal Cookies

Here at the ranch, you never know what you might encounter. Like when I drove in from the store the other day to find a cow on my island.
Yeah, that's one of those things that make you go "Hmm..."
I had to step out of the car and ask her just how she got there. I mean, did she swim or use the bridge?
She ignored me, of course, and went back to eating the grass.
Oh, well. At least we won't have to mow.

So the other day I had a craving for some autumnal-tasting cookies. No, that doesn't mean I wanted them to taste like leaves. What I wanted was those fall spices we all love so much. Cinnamon and cloves...
Oatmeal Raisin cookies seemed to fit the bill. Mostly because I had all of the ingredients. Well, sort of. And I would have to make a few changes to fulfill my flavor craving.

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 2/3 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup dried berries/raisin blend
1 cup chopped nuts

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugars.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves, then, with the mixer on low, lest we send flying everywhere (experience talking), add flour mixture to shortening mixture and mix until blended.
Now stir in your oatmeal.
So about those nuts and the berry/raisin mixture.
First, I like to see and taste the nuts in my cookies, so I coarsely chop them.
And pecans are always my nut of choice. That said, you are allowed to use whatever nuts you like and chop them as finely as you prefer.
As for the berries and raisins, I had just a small handful of raisins on hand and about a half a cup of this dried berry fruit mix that had golden raisins, cherry flavored dried cranberries, regular dried cranberries and blueberry cranberries. Honestly, I loved it so much, I will probably make these cookies strictly with the berry blend from now on.
Add the fruit and nuts to the rest of the mixture

Stir to combine.
Then drop by large tablespoons onto your prepared baking pans.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. If you like them crispy, let them go the longer time, if you like them chewy, go with the lower time.
I ended up with a mixture of both.
Either way, they were so delicious. The spices, the berries...
It was the perfect balance.

This was a fun, albeit somewhat crazy, week.
I got crafty with the spray paint again, transforming my OLD kitchen chairs...
Into my new kitchen chairs.
Then I was off to our baby girl's baby shower.
Doesn't she look cute with that belly?  First time she's ever had a belly of any kind.
Oh, and then there was this sweet treat.
Grammy's million dollar man is getting so big. I can't believe he's six months old already.
Just look at that smile.
And soon we'll have a brand new baby girl to add to the mix.
Taegan Olivia is scheduled to make her debut on January 3. That is, unless she has other plans.
Only time will tell on that one.

Okay, so now I want to hear from you.
What have you been up to this week?


  


Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com  

8 comments:

  1. Mindy, you made my mouth water!! Oatmeal cookies are tops in my books. I adore them--crunchy and chewy.

    I love the photos!! How fun to have another grand baby! But I still think you look too young to have any at all!

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    1. I love you, Missy. :) And these cookies will definitely make your mouth water. They make the house smell really good, too.

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  2. Okay -- the cow on the island is funny. Her own little domain of tasty grass. Hope she made it over the bridge at the end of the day!

    I love oatmeal cookies any time of year but autumn does scream 'oatmeal', doesn't it? Though I tend to lace mine with chocolate chips, mixed dried fruit sounds like a nice switch up.

    How neat that the cousins will be so close in age. Lots of fun in store for grammy!

    Believe it or not -- I'm still gardening! Yes waaaayyyy up here in the frozen North that isn't frozen yet so I keep tweaking the garden. About to do some raking.

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    1. Kav, I did see her when she finally decided to leave and she went through the water. The short way, of course, but still. Guess she doesn't know about the bridge. No wonder she wasn't in any big hurry to leave.

      That will be fun having Max and Taegan so close in age. They'll probably drive each other crazy. Or vie for Grammy's attention.

      That is amazing that you are still able to garden. Perhaps you'll have a mild winter this year.

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  3. I am in love with those babies!!! And the thought of the cookies has me over the moon... I must make these. Chewy style. I like chewy style, Mind-O.

    Oh, huge congrats on the little ones. Such a joy, and I loved the pics. AND THEY TOLD YOU HER NAME before she was born. WOW. So many young couples don't reveal the names because magazines and internet tell them not to so that naysayers don't ruin their lives with disapproval.

    How did we ever survive??? Without being told what to do?

    That's a question for another day.

    Anyway, I will make these cookies and smile about you the entire time. Because I love oatmeal cookies.

    Thank you, Mindy!

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    1. Ruthy, have you ever met a baby you didn't love? I didn't think so.

      And I love my cookies chewy, too. These were SO good.

      As for the name, they had done the genetic testing, so there was no question as to what the sex was, so I guess they just figured we'd best get used to it because they were already calling her by name. And her middle name, Olivia, was my husband's grandmother's name and he always loved it, so that was pretty special.

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  4. So the answer to the cow on the island is obvious. She used those boats that got to the middle of the lake by themselves a few weeks ago. (See, I’m using my writer’s imagination this time!)

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    1. Mary Cate, I couldn't help laughing at you premise because it made me think of the Chick fil A cows. This girl doesn't have enough white on her to be one of those, though. But I like the way you're thinking.

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