First off, I know Levain Bakery doesn’t put walnuts in their oatmeal raisin cookies. I got that. But I love walnuts in my oatmeal raisin cookies, so my recipe – my choice. And to be completely up front with you, I’ve surmised that Levain Bakery doesn’t use vanilla either. But I just couldn’t see myself building an oatmeal cookie without vanilla. (Hence the “almost knockoff” part of the recipe title.)

Now another thing you should know. I have never actually tasted a Levain Bakery cookie. So, I thought to remedy the situation, I would order a package. I quickly changed my mind. $27 for 4 – 6 oz. cookies, plus a $49 shipping charge. Well then, that sure as heck wasn’t going to be happening. At least not on my watch! Holy moly! I could build several batches (16 count each for the size I prefer, 8 count for a full 6-ounce cookie) for that amount of money and enjoy them any darn time I felt the inclination. So, I would just have to build my own unsubstantiated “Levain Bakery” cookies. Possible warts and all! Like I did with my Knockoff Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. (See recipe on site.)

I started by comparing several knockoff recipes on-line. Then after much deliberation and a fair bit of cookie baking knowledge, I cobbled this recipe together. And I must say, these are the best oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever tasted or produced. They are semi gooey in the middle (the trademark of a Levain Bakery cookie) and sweet, but not too sweet. With a bit of crunch from the nuts. And a delicate hint of the essence of the vanilla bean. In other words – perfect. I also enjoy the occasional burst of salt from using coarse sea salt. Just another dimension of yummy as far as I’m concerned. (And remember – it’s really, just all about me!)

Anyway, I would love to have you bake up a batch of these delicious cookies. And because I couldn’t make up my mind about golden versus regular raisins, I used a combination. (Nothing like compromise for finding the perfect solution.) And no, you don’t have to include nuts. Just add a few more raisins. And if you don’t choose to use vanilla, I won’t think less of you either. You would be wrong, but that’s on you!

So as always, have a blast in your kitchen. Try new recipes to keep yourself invested in the whole business of keeping everyone in your family well fed. If nothing else, it might help stave off boredom for yourself and your family. And boredom is a serious concern for many of us right now, especially with the holidays so close at hand.

I miss going to plays, concerts, live music performances given by Mr. C. and his musician buddies, restaurants, and all the other cultural events that are such a vital part of our lives. I miss getting on an airplane and visiting foreign lands. (Well not the airplane part, but you catch my drift!) I also really miss all the places and natural wonders that we can visit while towing our travel trailer all over God’s creation. But mainly I miss visiting our family and friends and having them in our home. (My normal minimum weekly hug quotient is way off the bottom of the scale and I am severely feeling the loss! I know. Everyone is in the same boat.)

So, I continue to pray daily, to every deity I can think of, for a speedy resolution to the covid-19 crisis. But I know until that happens, I can’t let down my guard. So, I mainly stay at home, continue to cook up a storm, try new recipes, and if they work – post them on my blog. That’s how I have chosen to keep joy alive in my life. (Plus keeping myself on the right side of sane while this crazy world sorts itself out! I pray about that daily too!)

I fervently hope you too have found joy, peace, and love in your life. Happy Thanksgiving.

1 c. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

½ c. granulated white sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

½ c. cake flour (fluffed)

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (fluffed)

1 T. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1½ c. old-fashioned oats 

1½ c. raisins (golden, regular, or a combination)

1 c. chopped walnuts, opt. (but why?) 

Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium low speed until smooth and completely blended, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat just until the eggs and vanilla are incorporated with the butter/sugar mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the cake flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and oats together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix only until combined. Add the raisins and walnuts and slowly mix until combined. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.  

And now the hard decision has to happen. Do you want cookies the size that made the Levain Bakery in NYC famous? Or do you wish to make a smaller, more manageable version? My choice – smaller. But for those purists out there, I’m providing both ways to enjoy these incredible cookies.

Purist (8 cookies per batch)  

Divide the dough into 8 equal parts, about 6-ounces each. Line two half sheet baking pans (roughly 18 x 13-inches) with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Use your hands to shape the dough. Place in a staggered pattern, 3″ apart on the baking sheet with only 4 cookies to a pan. Do not flatten the dough. The cookies are meant to be roughly shaped. Refrigerate for about an hour. Start heating your oven to 400 degrees after the cookies have been cooling in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.  

Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack of your pre-heated 400- degree oven for 9-12 minutes or until the cookies appear dull and light golden brown on top.  Do not over-bake. The top should look done, but the cookies should not be fully set. 

Remove from oven. Cookies will continue to finish cooking as they set and cool on the baking sheets for at least 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies are quite delicate after just baking, so handle them carefully. They should still be plenty gooey inside.

Bigger than normal cookies, but half the size of Purist (16 cookies per batch)

Divide the dough into 16 equal parts, about 3-ounces each. (Or as equally portioned as possible.) Drop dough onto parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking pans about 3 inches apart. (I used three half sheet (roughly 18 x 13-inch) baking pans. Six cookies on sheets 1 & 2. Four cookies on sheet number 3.) Do not flatten the dough. (I round the dough in my #10 ice cream scoop and proceed from there. Cheating I know, but I’m lazy!) Refrigerate for about an hour. (To make life easier on myself, and because I don’t have room in my refrigerator for 3 sheet pans, I plop the balls of dough close together on one of the parchment paper lined pans. Then I refrigerate the whole mess. When I’m ready to bake the little darlings, I take 6 from the fridge and place on another of the parchment paper lined baking sheets. The others dough balls I just leave in the fridge until I am ready to bake them off.) 

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for between 8-10 minutes. I found, after baking each of the three pans of cookies a different way, that 5 minutes regular heat and 4 minutes convection heat worked the best for me. But you may find your oven works differently than mine.  Just don’t over-bake the cookies. The top should look done (browned), but the cookies should not be fully set.  

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Store the cookies in an airtight container on your kitchen counter.    

I looked at a lot of online knockoff or copycat recipes for these cookies. All the recipes were pretty much the same, but I decided to go with my own slightly different conglomeration. But the main thing all of the recipes had in common, was that every author almost guaranteed that these would be the best chocolate chip cookies you would ever taste. And I have to admit, they are totally amazing. These babies make it completely clear why Levain Bakery has helped put New York City on the map. And why you should spend absolutely no time deciding to whip up a batch at your earliest convenience.

When you look at the ingredient list, almost all of the ingredients are exactly what you would expect to find. Ok, not the use of cold butter or necessarily a bit of cornstarch, or even the use of cake flour. But there certainly aren’t any peculiar ingredients, like half a cup of parsnip puree or anything like that. Pretty standard ingredients found in many baked goods. So what makes these cookies different? Well first of all, they’re big cookies. And I bake mine half as large as the Levain Bakery offers. And these cookies are pulled out of the oven before the center gets fully set. And the ratio of nuts and chocolate chips to dough is greater than called for in most of the chocolate chip cookie recipes I have previously made. And believe me, I have made a lot of chocolate chip cookies over the years!

So are these now my favorite chocolate chip walnut cookies? You bet your sweet – – – they are! And I believe they will become your favorite too. They are just that delicious. And very easy to prepare, especially if you have a #10 ice cream scoop.

Now you know I don’t have any advertisements on this site. And I am not specifying any brand of scoop that I think you should purchase. But if you do a lot of cookie baking, or make meatballs, muffins, and cupcakes, to name a few uses for ice cream scoops, you should own a few scoops in different sizes. Makes life a lot easier when you have the right tools. Remember, Christmas is coming. And I know my Mr. Santa always loves hints at about this time of year. And being the good wife, I never fail to help him out! And usually my hints are for gifts that most people would find unromantic. But I figure, that’s their problem. Anything that makes my life easier or more pleasant is a gift I would never think to discourage. Besides, romantic gifts are overrated in my opinion. Give me practical gifts. Like a round trip ticket to Iceland, for example. That and a new frying pan are practical gifts I would never consider turning down! 

So as always, make life pleasant for those around you. Create a home atmosphere that is comfortable, cozy, and inviting. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate a smile or a kind word. Simple gestures, but very effective ways to spread joy to those you love. Peace and love to all.   

1 c. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¾ c. light brown sugar

½ c. granulated sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1½ c. cake flour (fluffed)

1¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour (fluffed)   

1 T. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

2 c. walnut halves, roughly chopped

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (a 12-ounce bag) (I prefer Guittard semi-sweet baking chips)  

Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium low speed until smooth and completely blended, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat just until the eggs are incorporated with the butter/sugar mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the cake flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix only until combined. Add the walnuts and slowly mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips, and again, mix only until combined.

And now the hard decision has to happen. Do you want cookies the size that made the Levain Bakery in NYC famous? Or do you want to make a smaller version for us normal folks. My choice – smaller. But for those purists out there, I’m providing both ways to enjoy these marvelous cookies.

Purist (8 cookies per batch) (these would make some humongous damn cookies!)

Divide the dough into 8 equal parts, about 6-ounces each. Line two half sheet baking pans (roughly 18 x 13-inches) with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Use your hands to shape the dough. The cookies are meant to be roughly shaped. Place 4 on each pan. Do not flatten the dough. Refrigerate for about an hour. Start heating your oven to 400 degrees after the cookies have been cooling in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.

Bake in the pre-heated 400 degree oven for 11-13 minutes on regular bake or a bit shorter time on convection bake. The cookies are done when the top is a bit golden and the bottom is also golden. The top should look done, but the cookies should not be fully set. Do not over bake.

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. This allows the inside of the cookies to bake a bit more and helps prevent breaking the cookies while they are being transferred to the cooling rack. They should still be plenty gooey inside. Serve slightly warm if possible.   

Bigger than normal chocolate chip cookies, but half the size of Purist (16 cookies per batch)

Divide the dough into 16 equal parts, about 3-ounces each. (Or as equally portioned as possible.) Drop dough onto parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking pans about 3 inches apart. (I used three half sheet (roughly 18 x 13-inch) baking pans. Six cookies on sheets 1 & 2. Four cookies on sheet number 3.) Do not flatten the dough. (I round the dough in my #10 ice cream scoop and proceed from there. Cheating I know, but I’m lazy!) Refrigerate for about an hour. (To make life easier on myself, and because I don’t have room in my refrigerator for 3 sheet pans, I plop the balls of dough close together on one of the parchment paper lined pans. Then I refrigerate the whole mess. When I’m ready to bake the little darlings, I take 6 from the fridge and place on another of the parchment paper lined baking sheets. The others dough balls I just leave in the fridge until I am ready to bake them off.)  

Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven. I found, after baking each of the three pans of cookies a different way, that 6 minutes regular heat and 4 minutes convection heat worked the best for me. But you may find your oven works differently than mine. Just don’t overbake the cookies. So anywhere from 9 minutes all convection, or 11 minutes regular oven should work out fine for you. Just be aware, the top should look done, but the cookies should not be fully set.   

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

Store the completely cooled cookies in an airtight container on your kitchen counter. Then you will always be reminded that they are there just for lifting the lid. You don’t want them to go stale after all!  

So when I thought about what kind of cookie I wanted to make for our upcoming trailer trip, I decided an oatmeal cookie would be absolutely perfect. But I wanted an oatmeal cookie that was just a little different than how I usually doctor up my oatmeal cookies for more flavor. So no chocolate chips. No peanut butter. But maybe introduce a lot more spice action.

So I thought some kind of dried fruit would be nice. But not the usual suspects, like dried cranberries, or dried cherries, or dried blueberries. It just happened that I had a few thin slices of dried apple in my stash of dried this and that. Not enough to feature in a major cooking project. But too much to simply discard. So I thought, why not an apple presence in an oatmeal cookie? But the apple slices, in many ways, except flavor, resembled shoe leather. (OK, I’ve never tasted shoe leather, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t taste like dried apples!) So I knew that something had to be done to soften up the chopped up apple slices a bit. And what better way to macerate fruit than by a small application of some type of booze. And since I just happened to have some spiced rum on hand, I felt it was the best bet since the cookie recipe I was developing already had ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg as important flavor additives. And really, can a bit of spiced rum ever hurt? I think not! And of course, you can’t really taste the rum. It’s more like you just kinda sorta know there is a just a little something extra in the mix. 

So if you too are a fan of oatmeal cookies, you are going to love these babies. They are soft, but chewy, sweet, but not too sweet, and between the golden raisins and the dried apples, there is just a nice fruit note in every bite. And of course there is a delightful crunch from the chopped walnuts. In other words, these cookies are yum!

So as always, keep having fun in your kitchen, keep helping your friends and family cope with the devastating circumstances of life right now, and take especially good care of yourself. You can’t be of any value to anyone, including yourself, if you let down your guard or start feeling that all is out of your control. Everything is not out of your control. You can still choose to be happy. You can still choose to be positive. You can still choose to be that one person who helps lift the spirits of those around you. And yes it’s not fair. Why should you always have to be the designated good guy? Well, dear readers, first of all, let me explain that life is not always fair. (You’ve probably already figured that out for yourself.) But we are cooks. We are used to nourishing bodies and minds through the food we fix. But there is even more that we can do. We can smile. We can say please and thank you. We can liberally offer praise. We can offer help, when help is needed. We can refuse to let the little everyday “revoltin’ developments” (thank you Chester A. Riley) get to us. And no it isn’t easy. But it is so much better than the alternative. And of course after a long day of helping others and listening to and watching all the news about fires, the pandemic, racial injustice, and the current political catastrophe, there’s always the option of quietly going into your bedroom closet to let out a silent scream. I find that often helps me when dealing with all of life’s little unpleasantries. Well that and a big old bowl of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream.

Peace and love to all.  

2 T. spiced or regular rum

½ c. chopped dried apples (I use thin dried apple slices, cut into small pieces)

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour (fluffed)

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. fine sea salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened slightly 

1 c. brown sugar, packed

½ c. granulated sugar

2 lg. eggs

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

3 c. rolled old fashioned oats

¾ c. chopped walnuts

½ c. golden raisins

Mix the spiced rum and apples together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Lightly grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.  

In the bowl of your electric stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until soft. Mix in one of the eggs, then blend in the second egg and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Add the oats, chopped walnuts, golden raisins, and the macerated dried apples (including any liquid that may remain).

Form dough balls with a small ice cream scoop, and place on prepared baking sheets about 2-inches apart.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until golden brown on edges and nearly set, about 10-12 minutes. (Center should look a bit under-baked.)

Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

I’m back at it. Making a dessert that includes peanut butter. I simply can’t seem to help myself because I’m such a devotee. Actually, since being confined to quarters since the covid-19 outbreak, I have been eating more sweets, and in generally eating more items from the forbidden food groups than is reasonable, even during a pandemic. Either that or my bathroom scale is lying to me, and somehow I doubt that since my jeans seem to be in accordance with the scale.  

We were social distancing with friends on Sunday afternoon, and while the guys (timE3 Jazz) were making music in Tim and Suzie’s back yard, the rest of us were spread out in lawn chairs having interesting conversations. There were two other people in attendance along with “the wives”. Devon, Tim and Suzie’s son, and his partner Octavia were also enjoying the music and comradery. And of course there was wonderful food throughout the afternoon. At one point as we were discussing food, Octavia mentioned that she’d heard a phrase used lately that pretty much summed up my current eating style. People were saying that they had been eating like “an unchaperoned nine year old boy at a birthday party”. And I thought to myself, that’s exactly what I have been doing. I’ve been eating like there is no tomorrow and no consequence for my bad behavior. (It may have something to do with emotional eating. It is after all a very difficult time for everyone right now.)

Well at my age there is a consequence for almost any excess you care to mention. Too much lifting, my back twinges. Too much walking down hill, my knees hurt. Too much sitting at my computer, my hips start to ache. Too much food, my bathroom scale starts to scream if I even look at it! Unlike when I was in my 20s, 30s, 40s, and even into my 50s, excess pounds could be shed by just cutting consumption for a few days. Since my 60s, my body has been absolutely reluctant to part with even an ounce. So what makes me think that just because it’s an unprecedented pandemic, my body is suddenly going to acquire the metabolism of a pygmy shrew? (Oh what fools we mortals be!!!)

Anyway, I decided maybe it’s time to once again take command of my body and just say no to excesses of any kind. And the first and foremost is to stay away from my refrigerator for longer periods of time while I still have some dignity left. (And I can still fit into my jeans.)

But before I stop talking and thinking about food (at least for the rest of the afternoon), let me tell you a bit about these bars. They are delicious and easy to prepare. Nothing more to say.  

Let me leave you with this quote from Winston Churchill. “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”

Please consider Mr. Churchill’s words very carefully as you approach the upcoming November election. It is a critical time for our country. Regardless of your political affiliation, listen for the truth.

And remember, there is never going to be a perfect candidate. No platform is ever going to match your every wish or belief. But intelligent people who are familiar with listening and learning, are going to make more informed decisions than politicians who lead from ignorance and spite.

Ask yourself these simple questions:

Which candidate would I trust more with my personal safety? Which would I trust more to care about my immediate and future medical needs? Which will attempt to take care of our planet so that future generations will have clean air to breathe, food to eat, and a place to sleep? Which candidate will consider my basic needs before the greater monetary aspirations of a wealthy few?

These seem like very personal, all about me, questions. But when it comes right down to it, it really is about each and every person individually. And if policies and plans make life better for everyone – that includes you. If policies and plans diminish resources and make it even more difficult for individuals and families to have their basic needs met; that affects you too. Maybe not directly, if you are one of the lucky ones. But someone in your family or circle of friends is going to be adversely affected. Listen for the truth. Peace and love to all.  

1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

½ c. + 2 T. rolled oats

6 T. brown sugar, packed

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

6 oz. (¾ lg. pkg.) cream cheese, room temperature

¼ c. granulated sugar

1 egg

2 T. creamy peanut butter (not the natural kind)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

½ c. peanut butter chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour, oatmeal, and brown sugar together. Add the butter and mix on medium speed until the mixture resembles small clumps. Measure out ¾ cup of the crumb mixture and set aside in a separate bowl.

Pour the remaining crumbs into a lightly greased 8×8-inch baking pan (glass preferably) and press evenly into the bottom of the dish. Bake for 15 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven (metal), 325 degrees for glass.

Meanwhile while the crust is baking, in the same mixing bowl, cream the room temperature cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate and peanut butter chips.  

When the crust is done baking, remove from the oven and spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust. Top with the reserved oatmeal crumbs.    

Using the convection option if you have it, bake the bars for 25-30 minutes or until the middle is set and the crumb topping is a light golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Please note: If you want to make a peanut butter bar, omit the chocolate chips and replace them with additional peanut butter chips. If you want an all chocolate crumb bar, replace the peanut butter with Nutella and use only chocolate chips.   

     

Now I know these bar cookies are not on my list of foods that should be eaten on a daily basis. They are not even on my list of foods OK to have once a week. However, they are now on my list of easy and delicious treats that I plan to repeatedly enjoy to satisfy my ever expanding peanut butter craving. Of course, by eating these blondies it’s not only my craving that is expanding. But this ugly reality can be left until our country is back to normal and my mental health is back to its usual happy, contented existence. (If either of these conditions actually happen, given the circumstances we are currently experiencing in America, I will be the first one to profess a belief that miracles can and do actually happen! Until then, it’s a cookie once in a while as a reward for keeping any burgeoning insanity in check!)

So if you too would profit by a sweet nibble, I most definitely recommend you give this recipe a try. I found the recipe on the sallysbakingaddiction.com site. I did make a couple of insignificant changes, but mainly because I didn’t have some of the same ingredients on hand that are called for in Sally’s recipe. So I can take no claim for this wonderful recipe. And truly, it is a wonderful recipe. The blondies are soft, and moist, and just bursting with flavor. I served them last evening to dear friends (social distancing of course), and they were proclaimed a winner.

As always, stay connected with what’s happening around you. But don’t let all the displayed hatred, fighting, and ignorance change who you are, what you stand for, or how you relate to others. And I know it’s not easy. In fact, I’m finding it quite difficult to even be civil to people who display outward signs of bigotry and injustice, and who flaunt their perceived civil rights in other people’s faces by not wearing a mask. Literally – other people’s faces. But I can’t let them win. I can’t let them turn me into an undisciplined, over-reactive person for whom moral integrality is just a thing of the past. Or simply an idealistic concept that no longer has any meaning in today’s world. I can’t let that happen. I fervently pray I won’t let that happen.

Luckily, I have a wonderful husband, a great family, and terrific friends to help me find my way through these unchartered waters. I hope you too are blessed with intelligent, reasonable people who are steadfast in their desire to remain decent, knowledgeable, and concerned with others, not just themselves. Peace and love to all.

¾ c. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter

2 c. brown sugar, packed

¾ c. creamy peanut butter (not the natural kind)

2 lg. eggs 

1 egg yolk

1 T.  vanilla extract (yes, tablespoon)

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (fluffed)  

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

¾ c. peanut butter chips

¾ c. milk chocolate chips

In a large glass mixing bowl, melt the butter in your microwave. When melted let sit for about 3 minutes before whisking in the brown sugar until well combined. Then whisk in the peanut butter, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla until completely combined.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add to the butter mixture. (I use a regular old table knife to stir the batter because it’s quite thick.) Finally stir in the peanut butter chips and the milk chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into a lightly buttered 9×13-inch pan.  

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Test the blondies with a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan. If it comes out wet, the blondies aren’t done. If there are only a few moist crumbs, or none at all, the blondies are done. (Don’t overbake or the blondies will be dry.)

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Cover and store leftover blondies at room temperature for up to 1 week.

 

  

OK, I know I already have a recipe for Dark Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chip Oatmeal Cookies on this site. And they are truly wonderful cookies too. But they’re just a little bit different, and variety is always a good thing. And speaking of good things, these cookies are really a good thing. Good for grownups, good for kids, and the perfect way to make life just a little bit better for those around us.

These are really difficult times we are living through right now. A virus that is adversely impacting everyone’s lives, societal tension (that I pray will help towards ending systemic racism), and our current leadership in Washington D.C., which appears to espouse authoritarianism rather than democracy.

Any one of these problems taken by themselves would be beastly. But all three at once? Like I said, these are difficult and totally unprecedented times we are all trying to successfully maneuver. So my answer, since I have no answer for the big problems, is to work on the small boo-boos. And what better way to lift someone’ spirits than by offering them a big old chunky cookie? OK, I know it’s not a substitute for world peace. But it’s an effort. And any kind of effort is better than nothing at all. You just never know what impact a simple gesture might make to someone’s well-being.   

The other day I received a lovely card in the mail. The card, along with the written sentiment, included a copy of my dear friend Ellen’s favorite recipes, and a couple clips from an old calendar by one of her favorite artists – Erica Oller. What a delightful thing for Ellen to do. And it truly made my day. It’s the little things in life that make people feel special. And this loving correspondence from my dear friend was just what I happened to need.

So bake some cookies, send a friend a note, phone a buddy, wave at strangers, or in your own way – make a difference.

As always, virtual hugs from Chez Carr. And I hope you enjoy the recipe.

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp. 

1 c. granulated sugar

½ c. brown sugar, packed

2 lg. eggs, room temp.

1 c. peanut butter (not the “natural” kind)

2 tsp. vanilla

1½ c. “fluffed”* unbleached all-purpose flour 

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 c. rolled oats

1½ c. dark chocolate chips

1 c. peanut butter chips 

Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until soft and well combined. Add the eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again as needed.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl.  

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Add the oats. Once combined, gently beat in the chocolate and peanut butter chips. Chill the dough for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  

Using an ice cream scoop, place balls of dough on lightly greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet, a couple of inches apart. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 14-18 minutes or until browned on the bottoms. The centers will still look a bit soft.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Please note: I used a 2-inch diameter ice cream scoop (leveled off) and the cookies were a perfect size. Usually I make small cookies, but this time I went big! Made 25 sensational cookies.

*Fluffed Flour:

Flour stored either in the bag it came in or a covered container tends to compact. To prepare the flour for accurate measurement, fluff it up with a spoon, then shake the flour into the measuring cup, and level it off. I do this every time I use flour in cakes, cookies, or any recipe that calls for an exact measurement. Every single time! It truly makes a difference in the final product.

However, fluffing flour doesn’t matter as much for bread baking because there are just too many variables in building bread. The hydration of a sourdough starter, the type of flour used, etc. etc. But for most baked goods, fluffing flour is a must. Weighing flour is also an option. That is if the weight is provided in the recipe. Doesn’t happen that often, but weighing flour is the absolute best way to insure accuracy.