Savory Stiletto

So I’ve been a little stressed the last few weeks. And when I’m stressed, there are four things that either take my mind off the reasons for stress or help me cope with the stress. Baking, cleaning, writing, and um…well…I’m sure you can guess the last one.

In college, my roommates LOVED finals week because they would come home from a final to chocolate cake, blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies, you name it. I swear we had the most popular house/kitchen during finals! With no roommates to bake for anymore, my co-workers reap the benefits of my stress, as has all the  closets in my apartment! The closets are sparkling, posts have been written, all that is left is some baking and some….uh-huh, that.

Since I wasn’t sure when THAT was going to happen, I figured I would whip up some cookies that would be almost as good. Two birds with one stone right? Well, in the process of cleaning out all of my closets, cupboards, refrigerator, and pantry I found a TON of stuff just waiting to be used up.

The stress level was high enough that I knew I needed to make some cookies that were a little out of my comfort zone, something that could use up the ingredients I had on hand, but also fulfill the other part of my ‘stress relievers’. Now, I’m not a huge oatmeal cookie fan, in fact, I’ve only made them one other time…during a football game after a few beverages. Let’s just say that on their way out of the oven onto a cooling rack, they all landed on the floor. Whoops!

I brought these cookies into the restaurant two days in a row, and both days, they vanished within minutes! One of the food runners is rumored to have had seven!! On one day!! I’m not sure what they savored them with, but when I tasted them at home, I finished it off with a nice bubbly glass of Prosecco. Enjoy!

“Little bit of THAT” Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup soften butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 7 oz white chocolate chips
• ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecan
• ¾ cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. In a stand mixer, cream together the sugars and the butter. Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat until creamy. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, combine until incorporated. At this point, remove the bowl from the stand mixer (if using a hand mixer, switch over to a wooden spoon).

Add the oatmeal, cranberries, nuts, and both chocolates. Stir by hand until incorporated.

Scoop about 1 TBS and flatten onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 F. Let cool completely .

My thoughts:

So normally, when I’m stressed, I tend not to eat my baked goods. I couldn’t resist this time, especially because I was hoping they would replace…THAT! I was a little nervous all the big flavors (cranberries, pecans, chocolate) would compete with one another, but the beauty of this cookie was that every bite seemed like you were eating a different cookie! It was fantastic! The only thing I would add next time is a little bit of cinnamon. I felt like that would have enhanced the flavors just a little bit more. Needless to say, this recipe was killer and it was a HUGE success in relieving some of my stress.