Fall and Oats

"A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand" ~ Unknown

This Saturday will be the peak for "leaf-peeping" in Connecticut.  Something that gets a lot of news coverage in New England.  Some years are better than others for color and this year is turning out to be a vivid one.  Just for fun, I've taken some photos in and around my town to give you a little "peep" into our New England Fall.  

Then, a cookie recipe.  Namely, our favorite oatmeal raisin cookie. A cookie that reminds me of Fall.  When I was about 20, I used to get a huge oatmeal cookie from a bakery and eat it for lunch.  This is the recipe closest to the bakery one. These cookies never last more than 24 hours in our house.  They are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and it's hard to eat just one.  I'm also throwing in my recipe for cranberry-almond granola.  I've been making it a lot.  It's really easy and great for a quick breakfast, a topping for yogurt, or stirred into a bowl of hot oatmeal.  These cooler, darker mornings seem to have put me in the mood for oats and I always use the old fashioned kind.  I've already gone through a large canister this week.  Here's a tip: You can use the canister to stack cookies (individually wrapped in wax paper) for shipping to someone who might appreciate a taste of home.  Know anyone away at college?  Know anyone who likes cookies?

How psyched would you be if you got this in the mail?

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup Crisco (important for that crispy outside)

2 T. molasses

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream the butter and Crisco together.  Add molasses, sugars, vanilla and eggs and beat together.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt baking soda and cinnamon.  Add to the wet ingredients and beat well.  By hand, stir in the oats and raisins.  Drop by large heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.  I make them so large that only 6 will fit on the cookie sheet.  

Bake 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.  

Cranberry-Almond Granola

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup honey

4 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small saucepan on low, heat together the honey and butter, just until the butter melts.  Do not boil it, or it will caramelize.  Place all other ingredients in a large bowl and stir together.  Pour the warmed honey-butter over it and immediately stir together.  Turn mixture out onto a greased cookie sheet and pat down lightly.  Bake for about 11 minutes, then remove from oven and push the granola in the corners of the pan toward the middle, and pull some of the middle granola towards the sides of pan.  This step is simply to help it brown evenly. Pat down again.  Return to oven for 5 or 10 more minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven to cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely, then break up and store in a Ziploc bag.