Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Modernity in Moderation

So one of my favourite sayings, boys and girls, is "everything in moderation, even moderation."

To that end, I made these delicious cookies the other day.  And then ate all of them within a good, oh, let's say 36 hours.

Although that would be a lie because it was actually 48.

At least it wasn't 24.

All this to say, you should totally make these cookies!  My favourite cookie of all time is oatmeal chocolate chip, and for years I've been making variations therein.  I often just bung in some dried cranberries and/or coconut, but I was jonesing for some Reese's when the thought struck me to make some sort of peanut-butter version of my favourite biscuit.  These are the things you do when you live in the sort of home that makes everything from scratch and shuns "modern food" (what we called anything packaged when we were kids.  Campbell's Soup and the occasional Kraft Dinner was the closest we ever came to "modern food" growing up, and even then, only when our parents were away).

But seriously though, most of the time I would rather have the homemade stuff than the modern stuff anyway.  My mom's tomato-orange-cumin soup is eons better than anything from a can, and I'm wont to throw together a cheesy rue to gloop up pasta rather than crack a scarily-orange box open any day.

I adapted this recipe slightly from this one, mainly cause I was missing some of the stuff it called for.

Ingredients:
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour (I used all-purpose)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup of softened unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I think the icing sugar kind would make these unpleasantly sweet)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups salted whole peanuts (I eschewed these cause I didn't have any and conveniently don't like them very much)
- 2 cups chocolate chips (I do like these, but we again didn't have any so I just chopped up some dark chocolate)

Does it count as quirky and vintage if you've actually had it since the 70s?
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together oats, flour, soda, powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a mixer, cream together butter, sugars, and peanut butter until they're fluffy.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.

Comme ca
- Add the oat mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined.  Mix in the chocolate and peanuts (if you're using them, you wierdo)

Whaaat? So good.
- Drop teaspoon sized balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (Fun Fact: My first batch I did tablespoonfuls of dough, and you will see later why I recommend teaspoons).

Deceivingly structurally sound.

- Bake for about fifteen minutes, rotating half of the way through.  Drink a White Russian while you wait.  (I may have added that one cause I'm more of an aspiring lush than Martha is, apparently).

Ice, Ounce Vodka, Ounce Kahlua, top with milk, read blogs.
- When they're done, let them cool on the sheet for five minutes, and then on a wire rack until tupperwearable.  Eat about six of them with another White Russian.

Kinda more smmleeehhnn than I like my cookies, but they turned out more cookie-shaped when I used the aforementioned teaspoon rather than tablespoon.

So, don't get me wrong.  Sometimes "modern food" is wonderful and gross and just what the doctor ordered.  But the rest of the time, homemade Oatmeal Peanut-Butter Chocolate-Chip Cookies win out over Reese's.  Mainly just cause then you can wear your university hoodie and drink as many cocktails as you please.  No unnecessary leaving the house or not drinking cocktails.

Stay moderate, boys and girls!

Love,

Your friend Lina

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