Twas the afternoon before Christmas. No, really. It was.

While Paige napped on Christmas Eve, Will and I set about to make some Oatmeal Scotchies – one of my very favorite cookies. We measured and mixed, and everything was going perfectly … until I discovered that we were out of the rolled oats (as in the canister of unflavored oatmeal). What we did have was a canister of quick-cooking steel-cut oats from Trader Joe’s. Without another thought, I measured and mixed the oats into the dough and we finished making cookies.

I didn’t question the plan until I slid the first tray into the oven. Would the oats cook enough not to have that raw, crunchiness? Would the flavor be off? Would they totally flatline in the oven?

Twelve minutes later, I had my answer. These cookies are dense, with a slightly different texture that mimics the oatmeal that you make with this cut of oat. The flavor is rich, though less buttery than the traditional recipe, and dotted with the sweet little hints of butterscotch. They were good. Very good.

But the true test is what everyone else thinks, right? Will and Paige enjoyed them, and Shawn raved about them.

These get better with age, so make them a day ahead and store them in an air tight container. Also, you should know that these are more filling than your average cookie, so don’t be surprised if your kids only eat half of one. With the size of the batch, you can easily freeze some to have on hand when the sweet tooth strikes.

You may also like:

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Hint of Oats
• Blueberry Oatmeal Cake

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Today felt like summer again, with temperatures that encouraged us to shed the socks and pants and re-embrace our leg-baring attire. When I felt how warm it was, I silently wished that the weather would make up its mind: is it winter or summer? But I didn’t really mean it. Summer can stick around all it wants, and I am happy to oblige.

It seems like everyone shares in my sentiments about this past summer: it felt too brief, cut short by the incessant rains of June and the short-lived hot spell. I was happy to barely run the air conditioner this summer, but would have loved a few more hot days where the best relief you can find is in a crystal clear pool. There just wasn’t enough of that.

Despite the summery temperatures today, it was an in-the-kitchen day for me today. I was able to purchase a big crate of tomatoes for a song this weekend, so they needed to be tended to (tune in tomorrow to learn all about that). But I also wanted to make something sweet. Peanut Butter Cup Cookies at Sweetnicks recently caught my eye, and having just picked up a bag of dark and milk chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures, that seemed perfect. Unfortunately, when I went to the kitchen, I discovered that we were missing a key ingredient: Peanut butter.

Maybe the warm air hit me in the right way or something, but as I contemplated what to do, I remembered a treat from my childhood summers. There were these shortbread cookies with a center of creamy chocolate that debuted when I was in elementary school. Totally smitten, I couldn’t get enough of them and ate them compulsively. I loved the way the milk chocolate was in smooth contrast to the crumbly cookie.

So, that’s how I ended up doing a shortbread cookie with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniature pushed into the center. The cookie itself is buttery with a punch of vanilla. It’s crumbly and on the dry side, but it holds its shape. Next to the smooth chocolate and peanut butter center, it’s just dreamy.

Not into the peanut butter cups? No worries, these work equally well with other small chocolate bites — Hershey’s Kisses, other miniatures, even Lindt Truffles. Heck, if you were in a pinch, you could just chop up a bar of chocolate and push a square into the center. Don’t you just love versatility?

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I had every intention of posting my usual Fertile Friday post on Friday. It’s something that I have loved doing all summer, since I am so happy with the progress I’ve made this year. And it’s something that I want to continue until the growing is done. But this past week, I just needed a break.

Ok, break is a word I use somewhat loosely. I have been swamped with work over the past few weeks and I am in desperate need of  some R&R. I really value my time that’s spent relaxing and doing other things on weekends and although I got that these past two weekends, it was punctuated with deadlines and last-minute writing.

So, here I am. Offering you these delectable cookies as a peace offering. There are soft and chewy peanut butter cookies bursting with chocolate. Each bite reminds me of a rethought peanut butter cup. They are just fantastic. But beware — they are totally addictive, so plan to share.

I have a lot of delicious things planned for this week and I promise to have a new Fertile Friday post up bright and early on Friday. Thanks for being so understanding.

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Some people are bakers. They savor the exacting measurements that come along with creating perfect, moist, delectable breads and sweets. Other people are cooks, who find joy in the chopping, sauteing and forgiving nature of creating savory dishes. I know very few people who really love to both cook and bake. For me, I definitely fall into the cooking realm of things. I love the instinct of cooking, being able to add a bit of this and that and come out with excellent dishes.

Last weekend though, I really wanted some cookies. It was the night before a friend was coming to visit and go foraging with me. Out of chocolate (seriously, I have no idea how that happened!), I decided on peanut butter cookies. When Shawn saw me baking, he asked if I was trying to prove that I can bake too (she’s an excellent baker).

Okay, I know I don’t bake often, hun, but that is so not me.

Honestly, I just wanted the cookies, which turned out to be wonderfully crisp and full of peanut buttery goodness. I would choose cooking over baking any day. Although I do love to bake a lot at Christmas … otherwise, baking involves way too much measuring and cleanup for me.

So, which are you? The cook or the baker?

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I first learned about snickerdoodles when I was about seven and read the recipe in my elementary school’s fundraiser cookbook. As much as I wanted to try to make them then and there, they were a little intimidating (partially because they were unlike any cookie I had ever had and partially because the only cookies I’d made to that point were from a roll in the refrigerator section).

Fast forward 22 years and I can now say that I have finally had my first snickerdoodle … and I made it myself. Although I was drawn to the recipe originally because of the unusual name, it was the cinnamon and sugar crust that ultimately pushed me to give these cookies a try. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with cinnamon and sugar. And can I just say YUM!

I know it seems like a lot of steps, but these come together at lightning speed. I made them for my kids and their same-aged cousins … and they all devoured them.

Sounds like a keeper.

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When I started baking from scratch, I was a preteen. I scoured the Joy of Cooking for an easy cookie recipe that included ingredients we kept in the house. I found that in a sugar drop cookie recipe. Before long, I was adapting the recipe to make thumbprint cookies, decorated cookies and more.

One year, my very good friend Allison and I decided to have a baking blitz to produce dozens of Christmas cookies in one single day. It was just days before Christmas, and I’d like to think it was snowing hard outside while we mixed, rolled and baked. To be honest, though, I am not sure if that’s the case or not. Nonetheless, we baked nearly all day – sugar cookies, chocolate chip, and more. The kitchen, with it’s makeshift kitchen island table, and glorious dark cherry cabinets, was covered in flour, sugar and more. Everything was crying for a cleanup, but we pressed on for one last recipe – meringue cookies. Read the rest of this entry…

Will pulled up a chair to the counter the other day, as he often does when I am cooking. He was waiting patiently for me to give him the go-ahead to add chocolate chips to the firm cookie dough whirling in my KitchenAid Artisan Mixer. Usually, he helps sift and add the flour mixture to the dough, but on that day he was just too busy playing, which is A-ok. When the time came, he carefully poured the chips into the dough and then went to put the cup in the sink.

It’s amazing to me how far he’s come in his status as kitchen helper. It wasn’t that long ago that I worried constantly about whether he’d get hurt, or add something unsavory to the food. But he’s patient when he waits, watching with interest and listen to my play by play. I tell him why I use unsalted butter in the cookies we make and why we don’t use the extra virgin olive oil for everything.

I hope his kitchen interest doesn’t wane as he grows. Having him in the kitchen is a joy.

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When I discovered the recipe for these cookies, they seemed simple enough to try on a busy night. I did, and they were the softest, most wonderfully vanilla-y and butter-y cookie I’d ever had. I loved them. So, the tender, sweet goodness that is these cookies has become a fixture in my cookie jar.

Speaking of which, it might be time to bake another batch.

That first time that I made these, they were dessert when one of my oldest and dearest girlfriends came for dinner. We ate … um … more than I care to admit. The second time I made them, they were even better than the first time — and mostly because Will helped.

Will loves to help me in the kitchen. He drags a kitchen chair over to the counter and listens intently as I explain what we are doing. “Mommy, you need my help?” he always asks. I love that and can’t help but indulge him. He’s the pourer of liquids into mixing bowls and the gentle stirrer of breadcrumb mixtures. He can lock and unlock the tilting head of my stand mixer, but knows to back up and keep his fingers away when the mixer is on. And he waits, as patiently as a three-year-old can, while I handle the less kid friendly tasks like breaking eggs.

“What’s next, Mommy?” is his constant question as we weave our way through measuring, mixing, pouring and arranging. And whenever I hear it, it makes me smile. A lot.

I am one lucky woman.

Yes, perhaps it is time to make another batch.

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It’s been quite a while since I last baked. Baking takes precision, measuring, several bowls … all excesses that I just haven’t had time for recently. I’ve been working hard on writing, taking care of my children all the while. Life, it just keeps moving no matter how much you wish it would slow down for at least a little while. I have fantasies of sitting down and reading a book at night. Or watching a show without my fingers tap-tapping on the keyboard at the same time.

But today, I decided to push all that other stuff aside and just bake. Given that it’s nearly Halloween, I thought it would be fitting to make some tasty Iced Pumpkin Cookies. These cake-like pumpkin cookies are just lightly sweet, something that is enhanced by the sweet vanilla icing drizzled onto them.

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It all started last night, when one of my oldest friends called to say that she and her family were in the area. They wanted to get together. Sure, great! I thought. Living in two different states and different worlds – her in the city and I in the burbs, it certainly hasn’t been easy for us to get together often.

This morning, after setting a time with her, I realized that I absolutely had to bring something with me. After all, we were meeting at her mother-in-law’s and they were serving up lunch. (Coincidentally, the house is located less than a quarter mile from the home I grew up in. Small world.)

What to make though? I’m out of semisweet chocolate chips, but had some white chocolate ones . . . and some leftover semisweet bar chocolate. And lots of cocoa. So, chocolate cookie, white chocolate chips . . . you see the process.

I set to work, kind of winging it but taking note of each step — just in case it all worked out. Fortunately it did. And my chocolate-loving friends loved these.

The bigger challenge? Shawn. But, when he immediately reached for a second cookie after finishing the first, I knew I had scored. Read the rest of this entry…