Cookies....for ME!

After all that canning on behalf of others, I needed a little treat for myself! ;-) Of course, I didn't want it to be anything too involved, and ideally, it would help me continue to use up some ingredients that I already had on hand (=less crap I have to move to the new house). Luckily, I came across a recipe on one of my favorite blogs that sounded perfect!

It's one of those "kitchen sink" cookie recipes that I was able to add lots of little bits of things that were hanging around on the counter, like one of the myriad half-used jars of peanut butter that I discovered while cleaning out the pantry! Also, the original recipe called for Cheerios, but I LOATHE them, so I used the remainder of a box of Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds (my FAVE!). Moreover, I omitted the raisins and peanut butter chips--again, hate them both--and swapped out out chocolate chips instead (just personal preference). And I increased the salt level a bit, as I'm crazy for that sweet-salty thang. Finally, I ran across a little bag of sliced blanched almonds plucked out of the kitchen chaos and threw those in, too, for good measure. The resulting cookies were very flavorful and both crispy and toothsome/chewy at the same time. This recipe is easy and delicious--probably not fancy enough for your holiday cookie platter, but workaday wonderful!


Double Oat and Peanut Butter Cookies
(Source: adapted from Culinary in the Desert/Country)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I would increase this to 3/4 teaspoon)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup water
3 cups Cheerios cereal (I used Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds)
1/2 cup golden raisins*
1/2 cup peanut butter chips*

*I omitted both the raisins and peanut butter chips for one cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. I also added about a half cup of sliced blanched almonds to the mix.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add granulated and brown sugar, beating until creamy. Mix in egg, vanilla and water. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in cereal, raisins and peanut butter chips (or chocolate chips and almonds, if using).

Scoop dough using a 1/4 cup measure and drop onto parchment lined baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Lightly dampen the palm of your hand and gently flatten the dough.

Place cookies into the oven and bake until the edges are lightly golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 24 large cookies.