Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough March 19, 2022 from Together as a Family

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats (I used old-fashioned rolled oats)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add in the egg yolk, egg and vanilla extract, beating just until combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl to keep mixture even textured.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing until just combined after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl to keep mixture even textured. Add in chocolate chips and stir just until incorporated.
3. Chill dough, covered, for 30 minutes.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Portion dough into golf-ball-sized dough balls (or smaller if you prefer) and evenly space on prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass to make thick discs. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are pale golden brown and middles look just barely not raw. Let rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

I'm alternating between being weighed down by all that's going on in the world (still thinking of Ukraine) and the swirl going on in my own life with trying to forge ahead with even small acts of kindness or positivity. The quote above really spoke to me in how to reframe my thinking. Instead of thinking something is tone-deaf because you want to talk about (or eat) cookies rather than the very bad, big, terrible, no-good things happening, I'm shifting my perspective to think of those cookie-things as what fuels my activism and caring to deal with those very bad, big, terrible, no-good things happening. Someone made a kind comment in my last post that my posts help brighten their day. I appreciate that feedback and it helps keep me on an even keel; if I can create a bright spot even for one moment for one person, then all isn't lost and I can help provide a little bit of that fuel to move us all to a better world. So onward with this cookie post. 

I think of oatmeal cookies as having more oats than flour so this technically wouldn't qualify other than as a chocolate chip cookie with oats in it. But I don't see the point of getting uptight about it when this is a pretty good cookie.

The brown sugar caramelizes nicely to give it a good flavor and the oats make it chewy but not dry. Or at least they won't be dry if you don't overbake it. I like to bake until the edges are golden brown but you can still see some moisture in the middle. When the cookies cool, they have a good chewy texture that's moist. The original recipe called for quick cooking oats as those are more processed/in bits. I used old-fashioned but I let the dough chill in the refrigerator to give the oats and the flour more time to absorb the moisture in the dough. Then I portioned into dough balls, froze and baked from frozen dough. It worked pretty well and hopefully these will survive the journey overseas in military care packages.  

With All That's Going on in the World

 March 9, 2022

You might have noticed my blog has been quieter than normal lately. I usually try to post every few days but frankly, with all that's going on in the world today, I haven't been up to it. It seems tone deaf and/or frivolous to post about cookies and baking and my First World problems with what's happening in Ukraine and elsewhere. I haven't had the heart to post like there's nothing going on outside of my baking and my kitchen.

But, in times like these, when I get into that downward spiral, I have to catch myself. Yes, things often suck and yes, I feel that sense of rage and helplessness as I watch people bombed out of their homes and driven out of their country. I have the "luxury" of scrolling past heartbreaking stories while they have no choice but to live them. I'm not going to put lipstick on a pig and pretend all's right with the world when it's not.

But I'm also not going to think there's "nothing I can do". There's always something. It's a choice to do something and a choice to do nothing. I choose to do something. Beyond monetary donations and pledges of support, I'm a believer in actions speaking louder than words. It's not enough to post your outrage on social media. That's not activism, that's typing. We all have a choice to do something. It doesn't have to be big, bold and daring like the journalists reporting on the ground or the power moves of politicians and government officials or direct aid of humanitarian organizations. It can be but if that's not something you can do, find something. Every positive action, no matter how small, is something. 

My little something today is two somethings: I want to tell you (again) about a small business that's female and veteran-owned called Kitchen Vixen. They make cookie molds and springerle molds. They're based in Savannah, GA but I recently met the husband and wife couple behind Kitchen Vixen when they came to Reno for CookieCon. Yes, a cookie convention focused on cookie art is a thing. Perhaps I'll blog about it when I'm in a more positive frame of mind because it deserves all the love and positivity beautifully artistic cookies can command. But that's for another day. 

Jen and Mike of Kitchen Vixen are the couple in the middle

Today, Mike and Jen, the wonderful couple behind Kitchen Vixen, has the business I want to amplify and tell you about. I'd post the link to their Etsy shop but they're traveling and not back until March 19 so please go to Etsy then and do a search for their store, Kitchen Vixen. You can read about the first cookie mold I got from Kitchen Vixen here. I wrote that post before I'd ever met them and I was feeling pretty positive about them already. I'm doubly so after having met them. Even though their Etsy shop is closed for another 10 days, you can check out their Facebook page here.

Mike and Jen had a booth set up at Cookie Con to sell their wares. After the event was over, a friend and I helped them take their booth done and put away all of their wonderful stock. In the generous spirit I've come to associate with them, they insisted my friend Kim and I each pick a cookie mold of our choice. That was completely unnecessary but they insisted we choose. They are truly generous giving people. The one I coveted the most is the mold you see here for the US Air Force. Immediately I thought of the stamped cookies I could send to service members in the Air Force in the care packages I send every month as a volunteer with Soldiers Angels.

Which leads me to the second something I want to amplify: with the increased troop deployments to the NATO countries, it's more important than ever for our troops to get support from back home. I'm not one for a lot of flag waving and "loud" patriotism that speaks a lot of words. It's not enough to just talk "patriot". I prefer to let my actions speak for themselves. That means baking, packaging up the baked goods and mailing them out to the troops. Which I did. It's a small thing. But it's something.

I used the stamped cookie recipe from Nordic Ware because I like the flavor but in hindsight, it didn't hold the impression of the finer details of the cookie mold very well. I had to include in the letter to the members of the Air Force I sent these to that they might have to squint to see the full design but they're there. Ah well, I'll have to try a different recipe for the next Air Force packages going out. 

I'm not so naive as to think a couple packages of cookies to the troops and a shout out to a small business is going to fix things or even make a huge difference. But even if it just makes a tiny difference, it's better than doing nothing. No matter what's going on in the world, do something positive for it. It's the only way I know how to feel better.