Secret Recipe Club: Oatmeal Cookies

Welcome to the April edition of Secret Recipe Club! This month I had the pleasure of perusing Hapatite, an incredible collection of unique multi-cultural reviews, recipes, and how-to's influenced by (according to her blog) her "family who is ethnically Chinese, Cherokee, German, and American, but culturally Hawai’ian." There was SO much to look through - I definitely have not had a chance to take it all in, but I am certainly inspired by many of her recipe posts and hoping to give one or two a try in the near future - here are some that caught my eye: Chilled Chinese Noodle Salad, Tangy Seared Chicken Wings, and the Soy Glazed Burger... YUMM!!

I had been craving homemade cookies, and when I saw Oatmeal Cookies on her recipe index, I went straight there and there was no turning back! These were very good - soft, chewy, and full of yummy bits of chocolate chips and Reese's pieces (which is what my son picked to stir in!) I wish I had ground about half of the oatmeal - the oatmeal we have is large and a little on the chewy side for whatever reason - I don't usually have that problem with Quaker brand but this is an off-brand I think. It didn't affect taste at all, just texture - and either way these were delicious cookies that we have all really enjoyed!

This is the first time since Lindsey was born that I've made cookies I think - so it was nice for me to be able to get in there and whip these up - even if my son did have to jump in and help out with the baking when I had to go put baby girl to bed! :)

Oatmeal Cookies from Hapatite

Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter plus 6 tablespoons, softened
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt optional
3 cups oats quick or old fashioned, uncooked
1 cup mix-ins raisins, chocolate chips, fruit, etc

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer) blend the butter and sugar on medium / high until well blended and creamy. With the mixer on medium, add in the eggs and vanilla and blend well.
2. Combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Incorporate dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until combined. Next stir in the oats and your chosen "mix-in" ingredients. Stir by hand until combined evenly.
3. Drop dough by large rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for a minute or two on the baking sheets and then transfer to cooling racks. When cool, store in airtight containers.

Our sweet girl from this past weekend in the mountains with her Nana and Papa! She's 7 months 1.5 weeks old already!

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