Gourmet No Bake Cookies

Ina Garten. Who doesn't love her? I mean, for chrissakes she goes by the nickname: Barefoot Contessa. How cool and classy is that? She's one of the few people on the Food Network that I can assure you, I'd eat whatever she cooked. She cooks delicious-looking, simple food that I always find myself saying... if I ever have a classy dinner party... I'm serving THAT.

The truth of the matter is that I have made quite a few of her baking recipes: cakes, brownies, etc and they've turned out wonderful. Off the top of my head, I know her spinach gratin dish is to die for and I remember a corn chowder recipe and the chicken with 40 cloves of garlic recipe being awesome, also.

She makes throwing a dinner party look so easy, effortless, and fun.

Lately on her show... she's been doing something called "Back to Basics" where she tweaks an old recipe with something new and amps up the flavor. It seems ridiculously boring and dumb, but I'm continually amazed how often I say... ohhhh shit. I never thought of that. I tip my hat to you, Ina.

The of idea of  "Back to Basics" is how I came up with the idea for a "Gourmet" No Bake Cookie. I mean, honestly folks.. how much more basic can you get than a No Bake cookie?

I knew I wanted to make my best friend, Stephanie a plate full of No Bake Cookies (aka Grandma Cookies) when she was visiting over Thanksgiving, but instead of just whipping up a batch... I went Ina Garten all over this recipe and tweaked it a bit.

Now, it's nothing crazy or out of the ordinary... I just added chocolate chips to the recipe (melted into the recipe), I used Dark Cocoa Powder instead of regular cocoa powder and used whole milk. And they turned out delicious. Definitely more chocolatey and decadent than your average No Bake Cookie. I made sure to pull them from the stove a little early because I like mine thin and tender (or even gooey, if I get lucky) instead of thick and chunky, but that's entirely up to you...

This is definitely how I'll be making them from now on... And Ina (Barefoot Contessa) you have my permission (the Barefoot Hillbilly) to use this recipe in your next show or book if you ever decide to go redneck and low-brow on us.

Gourmet No Bake Cookies (or, as I'll call them.. Fancy Dancy Grandma Cookies)
Recipe: written in one of my Aunt's 12 year old handwriting. Adapted by me.

The consistency of the no bake cookie that I enjoy is more like that of a praline. To achieve this texture, I gamble and just try to pull the pan from the stove before the full 2 minute boil. I'm sure if I were to use a candy thermometer I could get a much more accurate product everytime. But... I grew up with them turning out different every time, anyway. So... I'm used to that.

In my opinion, these are definitely superior to the original No Bake Cookie Recipe. So much richer and more satisfying. And dare I say? Classy enough for a dinner party?

1 stick of Butter
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup whole milk (or cream would work, too)
3 tbsp Hershey's Special Dark Unsweetened Cocoa
2/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Pinch of Salt
2 1/2 cups of Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
2 tsps Vanilla

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add sugar, milk, cocoa, chocolate chips, and salt. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and immediately add oats, peanut butter, and vanilla.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a piece of aluminum foil, parchment paper, or wax paper.

Let cool and enjoy.

Healthy-ish Oatmeal Cookies

I love oatmeal. Always have. Always will. When I was growing up, oatmeal was a regular at the breakfast table. And I get it. Some of you hate oatmeal and I totally understand why. Particularly every time I order it at a restaurant or plop out some into a bowl at a hotel's continental breakfast buffet. Plainly and simply: Other people's oatmeal SUCKS.

I mean, no wonder people hate oatmeal. Other people make it and its gloopy and pasty and flavorless. It's gross. When you make it at home... the way my mom always made it, with brown sugar, salt (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T FORGET A HEALTHY PINCH OF SALT) and two slices of buttered whole wheat toast, it's heavenly. It's like a warm hug for your insides. I used to break up my buttered toast and toss it into the oatmeal and swirl it around, until it became soft, buttery bits in my oatmeal (I know, I have this gross obsession with things that are supposed to be crunchy being soggy. Don't even talk to me about my favorite part of a platter of nachos). Or, if I didn't do that, I'd slather the oatmeal onto my toast and eat it like a sandwich. Yum. Oatmeal sandwich.

Okay, so before I totally lose you oatmeal haters out there (if I haven't already), let's talk about other uses of oatmeal. Like... cookies. Oatmeal cookies. Yum. A cookie with oatmeal is hearty and filling... almost as much of a hug as the bowl of oatmeal is. There's something homey about an oatmeal cookie. And... bonus: Oatmeal is fairly good for you. It's got loads of fiber (which is supposed to make you feel fuller, but, dude... nothing makes this stomach of mine feel full) and probably some other good stuff in it that I'm too lazy to look up right now.

Sometimes, I'm just in the mood for a healthy treat. I mean, not MOST of the time. Most of the time I'm in the mood for something loaded down with butter and sugar, but SOMETIMES I want something a little healthier and when I think of a healthy baked good, I usually think: Oatmeal.

I found a recipe at David Lebovitz's site (although, generally... don't go there if you're looking for something healthy. Cause he'll easily distract you with ice cream recipes) that I decided to tweak a bit and attempt to make even healthier. I tried to used a ripened banana for most of the sugar. Good idea, right? Yeah, I thought so, too. Until I tasted the batter. And immediately pulled the sugar out of the cupboard and added some (just for good measure, ya know).

Chewy-Almost-Healthy-Oatmeal Cookies
original recipe from Nick Malgieri, adapted from David Lebovitz's adaptation.

This is the recipe I used, with the addition of the sugar that I originally tried to leave out. The cookies turn out very chewy and cakey. Very delicious. Normally, I'm not a cakey cookie kind of girl, but I find that when I'm eating something that I know has things in it that are good for me, I tend to ease my texture demands.

I will definitely make these again. And I might even experiment further to try and make these actually healthier.

1 cup of white whole wheat all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp of unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed, light brown sugar
1 ripe banana
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups rolled oats (not instant!)
3/4 cup dark raisins (I used chocolate chips, can use any dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and banana until smooth-ish. Mix in the egg, applesauce and vanilla.

Stir in the dry ingredients, then the oats, then the raisins (or whatever you're using).

Drop the batter by the rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Use a fork to gently flatten the dough.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes.

Grapefruit Muffins

I buy and eat a ton of fruit. In my kitchen, on any given day, you are just about guaranteed to find the following fruits: Oranges, Bananas, Apples, Strawberries, Blueberries, Grapes, Plums, Pears and in the summer... Peaches, Watermelon, Cantalope and Cherries. Yes, I'm the chick you don't want to be behind in the grocery lane...

And I'm a sucker for a bargain... so, when a particular fruit is on sale... I'll stock up on it and forgo another fruit that isn't on sale that week. This also means I'll impulse buy on occassion if something is on sale... for instance... Nectarines. Normally, not something I would think to buy... but at .79/lb, I'm buying some.

Enter Grapefruit.

I've never been a fan of grapefruit. I don't like the bitterness. I don't like the messiness of eating it with a spoon. But the oranges weren't on sale and the grapefruit were and so... I bought some grapefruit.

Poor, poor grapefruit. They sat on my counter for a good while... until finally I thought... well, maybe now, as an adult... I'll like it. So, I cut one open and grabbed myself a spoon and went to town.

Yeah... still don't like it. So, I ended up juicing that grapefruit and freezing the juice for use in another recipe (possibly a martha stewart cookie recipe that calls for grapefruit). But that still left me with another grapefruit. There are lots of recipes for salads that call for grapefruit segments... but... finally, I found a recipe for some Grapefruit Muffins.

They aren't much to look at, but they are moist and sweet, with a hint of the grapefruit flavor. I made mini-ones (thank goodness) and pawned some off on my running partner and then stashed the rest in the freezer before I ate them all.

You can find the original recipe here: Texas Grapefruit Muffins, but I've typed the recipe up below using my own instructions, because theirs REALLY confused me.

Grapefruit Muffins
courtesy of TexaSweet Citrus Marketing

Beware: This batter is like nectar of the gods. Seriously, I could have held the bowl up to my mouth and drank the batter, it's so freaking good.

I used half white whole wheat flour instead of all white flour and I also made a half batch. A half batch completely filled my mini-muffin tin.

Ingredients:
2 red grapefruit
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Peel and section the grapefruit into a strainer over a bowl, separating (and reserving) the juice from the liquid. Set the sections aside, for now.

Measure the grapefruit juice and add enough water to make 1 1/4 cups of liquid. Pour this liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in oats and butter; let stand for 20 minutes covered.

After the 20 minutes, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan. Combine remaining ingredients (including your grapefruit segments) into a mixing bowl. Stir in the oats mixture and blend well.

Pour into the greased muffin pan and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Almond Vanilla Granola

When I was growing up, my mom was smack dab in the middle of the “health food craze.” I’m not sure if that’s a product of the fact that she was a runner and a mother of young children and as both, she thought about food in a different way. Or if it was just a general consensus of the time. I'm pretty sure though, that having young children and being a runner was probably the beginning of her seeing food more as fuel for your body than just feeding your cravings. She was ahead of her time with the whole disdain over heavily sugared and processed foods. And since I grew up with it from the start, it didn’t bother me as much as the rest of the family…

The only bread I ever had growing up was wheat bread and that was when the ONLY kind of wheat bread available was Roman Meal. I distinctly remember the very first time I had white bread. I was in the 3rd grade… I was at my friend’s Christin’s house and her mom made us peanut butter sandwiches.

I was completely disgusted! Yuck!!! This bread is so mushy that it sticks to the roof of your mouth! It was so different than the hearty wheat bread I’d had before, that I couldn’t believe people preferred white bread to wheat bread. I continued to dislike white bread, until finally… I’d had it so much at friends houses, that I actually started to gain a taste for it. (It’s best with mayo, deli ham and of coursed... crushed potato chips in the sandwich.)

That was how I found out about “normal” foods… at friend’s houses. I mean… I couldn’t believe that people had chocolate chips in their pancakes and fruit loops for cereal. All we were allowed for breakfast was Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Total, Oatmeal, or toast (wheat, of course). We NEVER had cokes around or even boxes of cookies… if we wanted cookies, my mom would whip up a batch and you better believe they had some oatmeal and maybe some whole wheat flour and god knows whatever else she could find to throw in there to make them healthier.

She definitely relaxed the restrictions as I got older and my brothers got into the teenage stage, but it does make for some funny stories… “Hey remember the time mom made buckwheat biscuits????? Gross.”

Growing up that way definitely had a positive effect on me, though. And as a runner myself, I am constantly thinking of what I put into my mouth… whether or not it’s healthy and how my body will like it. Granted, I don’t ALWAYS eat exactly what I should, but I do a make an effort.

Granola is one of those things that I totally see my mom making back in the day (although, I can’t really remember if she actually did). It’s totally up her alley, with the oats, the flax seed, the nuts, and dried fruit.

I’ve never really gotten onto the granola train. I never really saw the point… I mean, I like my yogurt, oatmeal, and cereal just the way it is… But, when I saw this recipe on Cookie Baker Lynn's site for Almond Vanilla Granola… I instantly wanted to hop onto the granola train. And… so, I did… and it’s delicious. I like to eat it just by itself. But, I did sprinkle some in my cereal one morning and enjoyed it that way, too. I used dried cherries, and think it would be delicious with some golden raisins, as well.

Recipe for Cookie Baker Lynn's Almond Vanilla Granola

Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

So, yesterday I was telling you about the buttery jam cookies that no one wanted at the party, right? Well, today, I'm going to tell you about the star of the party.

Who would have thought? An oatmeal raisin cookie would outshine... cheesecake, jam cookies, and brownies? That's how damn tasty this recipe is. It's everything that you expect an oatmeal raisin cookie to be... chewy with subtle hints of spice. Sturdy in texture, but complex in flavor. This is the oatmeal cookie that can go mano-e-mano against a chocolate chip cookie. Yes, you heard me.... mano-e-mano. It's that good.

These cookies were so good that people were shoving them in their pockets to take home with them. Thankfully, my mom had some cookie tins with these and other cookies in them to give to guests to take home, so that the cookies didn't have to endure the lint and used kleenex lining the bottoms of their coat pockets. This is an oatmeal cookie recipe that I'll whip up on a whim. I mean... normally that's reserved only for peanut butter cookies or chocolate chip cookies... but step aside old favorites... there's a new cookie in town...
Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Originally Beth's Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The mix of shortening and butter is what gives this cookie it's chew... I know, a lot of people don't like using shortening (although I could care less), but it's important for the chewiness. So, if you like chewy cookies, definitely follow this recipe verbatim.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Yield: 3 Dozen.

TWD: Chunky Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

I realize that I've gone on and on about how much I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. It's the ultimate in sweet and salty. So, I expected to LOVE these cookies chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie. Unfortunately, I did not love these cookies.

First complaint: Not enough peanut butter. When you name a recipe and the first words in the recipe are PEANUT BUTTER, I expect to be able to taste peanut butter when I bite into the dish. Could I taste peanut butter? Nope. I mean, why add the freaking peanut butter if you can't taste it? It's not like it's a health food or something...

Second complaint: Too much other shit thrown into the cookie recipe, like cinnamon and nutmeg. Now, if you know me (and I think you do by now), you know that I don't like nutmeg, so of course I eliminated that ingredient (thank god), but against my better judgement, I did throw in the cinnamon. I mean, I love cinnamon! I thought it sounded a bit odd to go with chocolate chips and peanut butter, but whatever I didn't want to rebel too much. But, I should have gone with my first instinct. I mean, these cookies are like cinnamon chocolate cookies. That's all you can taste, cinnamon and chocolate. It actually made me wish that I had subbed raisins for chocolate chips (shocking, I know)! I mean... the cinnamon is so powerful in this recipe and I think it's probably one of the main reasons that you can't taste the peanut butter.

So, yeah, these cookies are edible and everything and the texture is great... but I'm just not a fan of cinnamon with chocolate and peanut butter. Now, if you love cinnamon and chocolate, give these cookies or try, or sub raisins for the chocolate chips. But, if you're looking for a delicious peanut buttery, chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie try these, they're delicious (but I'd still add more peanut butter to that recipe, too).

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

Something random happened to me this week… in anticipation of the new season premiere of Project Runway (one of my favorite shows), I decided to bake something. It happened rather suddenly, so I didn’t have a lot of time to plan (otherwise I would have gone to the craft store, bought some cute cookie cutters in fashion shapes and made and decorated sugar cookies!)… so, I just opted for a quick and easy bar recipe.

I think, I have decided to make this a kind of regular thing, so… I need to start thinking about the premiere of Mad Men in 10 (long) days and figure out what perfect thing to bake for it’s new season. Maybe cigarette shaped sugar cookies? Ha ha. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, that would be fitting. Hmmmm…

Back to Project Runway… these cookies are pretty much the antithesis of Project Runway. They are easy, homey and hardy.

I think I would have liked them better if I had taken them out of the oven a little quicker. Usually, I undercook my bars. This time around, I slightly overcooked them. The oats definitely lend a chewy, interesting texture to the bars… but, I’m beginning to think that maybe I don’t care for peanut butter in bar cookies. It makes them a little sandy for my tastes. I like gooey bars, not sandy ones.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars Recipe

Monster Cookies

Imagine this... a cookie with all your favorite things...

Chocolate Chips
M & Ms
Reese Pieces
Oatmeal
Peanut Butter

I know what you're thinking... Favorites overload, right?? But, amazingly... it's not! Somehow, these cookies with way too much stuff in them are well balanced and delicious. The peanut butter is mild, the oatmeal isn't too heavy. It works in a harmonious blend to create a super yummy, easy cookie.

And there's no flour (although, I'm sure the calories that would be in the flour, are just lurking in the peanut butter or the m & m's or whatever). So, this is a yummy cookie recipe. One that I will definitely make again.

Monster Cookies (I quartered this recipe, and it still made about 12 HUGE cookies, so keep that in mind).

Peanut Butter- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

There are two types of people in this world. Those who love Martha Stewart and those who don't. I happily fall into the first category. I love Martha Stewart. I love that she highlights that women can still be independent and successful (and single!) but also be very domestic as well. It's not one way or the other. You can be a career-minded woman while also having a completely straight and beautifully folded linen closet and also throw together a dinner party at the last minute. It is possible. And that's the woman I strive to be. Independent, successful, and also a whiz at home.

That being said, I peruse Martha's website quite often and came across this recipe. Now, what's not to love about cookies that have peanut butter, chocolate chips, and Oatmeal in the title?!?!

These cookies were absolutely delicious! They are definitely in my favorites category. They are sweet and chewy and so satisfying. Although, they really aren't that peanut buttery. But, it doesn't matter. They are delicious!

Notes on the recipe: I didnt use natural peanut butter and instead of adding peanuts, I added reese pieces. Yum.

Now... if only I could figure out a menu for my family st. patricks day dinner this weekend. Hmmm.... Maybe I should consult Martha...

Caramel Oatmeal Chewies

I've had this recipe for a long time. But it called for an ingredient that I never have and never remember to buy: Caramel ice cream topping. Fortunately, I had some leftover from the caramel cake caramel cake I made the weekend before, so I was in business.

Now, you read this recipe and you think... what's not to love? Caramel, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chips? I mean, that's like the holy trinity of baking goodness, right? (Actually, I could probably think of about 15 other triple combinations that could vy for the holy trinity, but we won't get into that now). They came together pretty easily and I was excited to taste them. But, honestly, they weren't that spectacular. I didn't really think that they had much of a flavor at all. Bland and almost generic. They kind of taste like a cookie you'd get from the bakery of a big chain grocery store. You know what I'm talking about?

I have a feeling that maybe I used the wrong caramel. I used the squirtable caramel, not the kind that comes in a jar. Maybe there is a difference there. I'm sure that real caramel would have worked better, but, I honestly probably won't try this again to find out.

On a side note, my mom really liked them. So, I don't know... maybe I'm just too picky.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I don't generally think to myself... mmmmm... I'd love to have an oatmeal raisin cookie right now. Usually, I'm thinking to myself... mmmm.... I'd love to have a cadbury egg right now (in the middle of november, of course), a slice of pecan pie, or a brownie. But, I do like oatmeal raisin cookies, even though I wouldn't be caught dead eating raisins by themselves. Yuck.

To me, in order to be the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie, the cookie must be soft and chewy. No crunchiness whatsoever. So... imagine my surprise when surfing through recipes for oatmeal raisin cookies, that most of the recipes call for all butter. Wouldn't a butter and shortening mix of fat make a softer, chewier cookie? I'll find out, trust me.

But, in the meantime, I found this recipe awhile back and had been meaning to try it out, but I didn't have any raisins on hand (see above note about hating raisins). So, yesterday at the grocery store I bought some raisins and tried it out.

The first batch out of the oven were too crunchy (or, is it was too crunchy?), so I decided that I must have cooked them too long. I also added cinnamon to the dough after that first batch and enjoyed the cookies with the cinnamon a lot more. The last couple of batches were softer and tasty, but I'm pretty indifferent about them. They aren't pretty at all. The flavor is good and the texture is okay (once I didn't overcook them), but they are so pale and sickly looking.

So, I'll definitely try some more oatmeal raisin cookie recipes... and will substitute some of the butter for shortening in the future.

Oatmeal Pie

When I was a kid, one of my absolute favorite toys was the Fisher Price Kitchenette. I got it for Christmas one year, and I loved to play pretend House with it. It wasn't as sophisticated as the kitchenettes are these days, I had to use my imagination a lot (which wasn't a problem, I had an imaginery friend, so using my imagination was not a foreign thing to me). I distinctly remember always asking my dad what he wanted me to make him and he always had one answer:

Cherry Pie.

I've never actually made a cherry pie. I've made a few other pies, but I've always been intimidated to make a cherry pie, because it's my dad's favorite pie. I want it to be perfect. Well, his birthday is a week from today and I've decided this is the year. I'm going to make him a cherry pie.

Now, it's been awhile since I've made pie crust. So, I wanted to have a dry run this weekend, just to make sure my skills are up to par.

I recently flipped through our family cookbook and came across a recipe that sounded... really weird. Oatmeal Pie. It was my Grandma Young's recipe (although I never remember having it), and I asked my mom about it and she said that it was very, very good.

I already had all the ingredients and thought... what the heck, I'll give it a try.

I actually only made half a pie. I halved the pie crust recipe and halved the pie recipe and used a smaller dish to bake it and it turned out perfectly! The pie crust was perfect. Flaky, but tender. And the pie... well, it's a little hard to describe, but I kind of think of it as a poor man's pecan pie. It has the texture and flavor of a pecan pie (which is my favorite pie), but, it has a thicker, heartier feel to it. It's delicious and I think next time, I'll add some cinnamon to the pie and maybe use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar and see how it turns it. Delicious.

I now think I'm ready to tackle the cherry pie this weekend!

mmmmm.... see that flaky crust and the thick, creamy filling?
Yum!

Pie Crust

Courtesy of Emeril

Yield: 1 crust

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp of all purpose flour

1 tbsp of sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/4 inch pieces

2 tbsp solid vegetable shortening, cold, cut into pieces

3 tbsps of ice water

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work in the butter and shortening till the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 2 tbsps of ice water and work with your fingers until the water is incorporated and the dough comes together. Add more water as needed to make a smooth dough, being careful not to over mix. Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using.

Oatmeal Pie

Recipe courtesy of Veachel Young

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 stick of butter, melted

2/3 cup corn syrup

2/3 cup uncooked Oats (I used quick, but I think regular would be better)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup nuts

2/3 cup sugar

1 unbaked pie shell

Mix all ingredients well and pour into pie shell.

Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Grandma Cookies

Everyday when I came home from school, my mom was there. I didn't realize at the time what a sacrifice that was for our family, to have her stay at home with my two brothers and I, but I am very grateful that my family was fortunate enough to be able to make that decision. I may not have had all the barbies or video games that my friends had, but having my mom there when I got home from school made it worth it.

When we got home from school, we were always hungry and clamoring for something to eat. And this is the recipe that my mom made us at least twice a week. (Probably more like 3-4 times a week). We call these Grandma Cookies. And strangely enough, not after our grandmas or any other grandmas in our family. We call them Grandma Cookies because a boy in my brother's boy scout group brought these cookies to the boy scout functions and called them Grandma Cookies (after his Grandma, I suspect) and so the name stuck.

Normal people call them No Bake Cookies, Chocolate No Bake Cookies, Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies.... you get the idea.

My mom NEVER used a recipe (see a pattern here?). And these cookies NEVER turned out the exact same way. Sometimes they would be thick and harden almost before she got them out of the pan (This is how everyone else liked them). Sometimes they would be gooey and chocolatey and never firm up, you had to scrape them off the aluminum foil with your fingers (how I preferred them). And sometimes they would be thin and lightly crispy, but tender (how I think they are supposed to turn out). Sometimes my mom forget to put butter in them, or vanilla (she forgot the vanilla a lot). Regardless of how they turned out, we always gobbled them right up.

If my brother or I ever tried to make them, we used this recipe that one of my aunt's penned. They called them Boiled Cookies (sounds delicious, huh?). I think my Aunt Evelyn wrote out this recipe, (although for some reason I think it might have been my Aunt Carolyn) and practically every word is misspelled. Whoever it was, was probably 12 or so when they wrote it out.

This is a cookie that is quick and simple, requires few ingredients and brings back great memories for me. I will definitely make these cookies for my kids one day.

Mine turned out pretty well, but I'm hoping to one day make them the same way my mom does/did... without a recipe.

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

1 stick of Butter

2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp Cocoa

Pinch of Salt

Boil all these ingredients together at a heavy boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly add:

2 1/2 cups of Oats

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

2 tsps Vanilla

Stir in and drop onto a a sheet of aluminum foil to cool.

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

When the people speak... I listen. And this time the people requested something with oatmeal. And so I scoured countless cookbooks for the perfect oatmeal cookie recipe.This is what I found.

Okay, so it actually came out about like this...
My mom: "Why no oatmeal cookies? I love oatmeal in cookies."
Me: "Oh yeah, I like oatmeal in cookies, too."
Then I went on recipezaar, found the recipe in like 2 seconds and whipped them up.

My alterations:I made them even MORE healthier by splitting the cup of flour into 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all purpose flour. They came out delicious! But watch them, because I only had to cook them for about 5-6 minutes (smallish cookie scoop). Also make sure you flatten them out before you bake them, because they do not spread. I used white chocolate squares instead of chips. Next time, I might try the chips.

They are very homey tasting, and I think that's because of the cinnamon flavor in them. Usually, I'm not a big fan of fruit with chocolate, but this combination of cranberry with white chocolate is absolutely perfect! But I'm sure you could substitute any dried fruit.

They are delicious though! I'm going to use this same basic recipe but do some experimenting try to make some good energy bars.