That's how I felt after the kids and I enjoyed our bites of freshly baked oatmeal cookies. It's been a while since I last baked. And the last time was a disaster.
It took a few trials for me to get a hang of some baking techniques. It also helped having a baking class in high school (the advantage of being in an all-girls school, teaching "women" skills like cooking, sewing to name a few). Eventually, I became a confident baker until I got into college. By this time, I've already been using an electric hand mixer as my trusty partner in whipping up whatever I felt like doing -- say, a blueberry cheesecake! This cheesy-creamy no-bake recipe is most-requested by friends and family. Just mix, mix, mix and off to the refrigerator. Add a spoon-full of blueberry compote and it's ready to serve. The recipe? Hmm...let me think (hard) about this one ;)
Baking was a weekend hobby for me, aside from stamp-collecting and scrapbooking. Soon, my interest waned and all the tools now rest at the back of the pantry.
Just this summer, I promised my kids that we will have a cooking or baking days at home and they can help out. I thought baking is a good, kid-friendly activity that they will enjoy. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the last attempt was not something I want to remember. This time, I got my groove back and we were all quite satisfied.
The request was oatmeal cookies or chocolate chip cookies - I don't have time to do both yet so I decided to make the oatmeal cookie with half of the batch sprinkled with semi-sweet morsels. Now that's hitting two flavors in one mix!
I have a stack of cookbooks lying around but I got this recipe from a site that has lots of easy-to-do, yummy treats for the whole family. The cookie 'kid meter' was on a high, very encouraging, so I guess I'll have to revive this sleeping passion and get my oven working overtime, soon.
Try this and hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did.
OATMEAL COOKIES
3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (215 grams) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups (260 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats*
1/2 cup dried cranberries, cherries, raisins, crushed nuts, or white /dark chocolate chips
*You can also use quick-cooking oats if rolled oats are not available.
You can decrease or increase the amount of nuts, dried fruits or morsels to your liking.
1 cup (110 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)
To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and toast nuts for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop into pieces. Set aside.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Non-stick baking sheets will do just fine.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer):
- cream the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 - 3 minutes)
- add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine
In a separate bowl:
- whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon
- add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated
Stir in the nuts, oats, and dried fruit or chocolate morsels.
For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of batter (I use a small ice cream scooper) and space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Wet your hand and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes at 350 degrees F (177 degrees C), or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft and a little wet in the centers.
Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.