Cookie Monster

I'm not really a hormonal person. Seriously - I don't do the excessive bouts of rage or depression, irritated silence, or puddles of weepy sobs. My family would tell you I am an even keel person, and their only complaint might be that I am too quiet and too emotionally detached at times. Except for late at night, when I transform into a totally different person, but that's a story for another time...

However, I have "food swings." My deep, dark secret is that I have a cookie addiction. And pizza. And ice cream.... Well anyway, my passion for cookies is probably the highest. There are certain times when this super surge of desperation rises up inside of me, and I NEED a cookie. I can distract myself by eating twenty other things & telling myself it will all be ok, but the little cookie monster inside my brain keeps tapping harder and harder. So then I break down, because he is such a lovely monster, and after all, he only comes out every once in awhile. I pull out the flour and sugar, dig out a recipe, and I make cookies. Since I know that it is unwise to eat an entire batch of cookies to myself, I tend to save some for myself and give the rest to someone who will (hopefully) love them as much as I do. The sugar cookies with green sprinkles went to the football team, the oatmeal cookies went to G. at church, several batches of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies went to college guys, and my latest batch went to a Ladies Day. 

I frequently go to visit my sister J. and her husband, and the last time I went we invited a friend over for coffee. J. was working until the last minute, so on a five minute break she came home, dumped the contents of her baking shelf on the counter and told me I could come up with a treat to have with the coffee. She had a bag of coconut, some butterscotch and chocolate chips, and some oatmeal. You guessed it - I made cookies! I happened to cook the first pan a little too long, because my sister has cable TV and I put off checking them until the commercial break... Lesson One in Cooking: Do not cook with distractions. :) While we were eating them, we all came to the conclusion that they reminded us of seven layer bars, without the sort of overly sweetness that a bar has. (Funny story, I sent our friend home with a bag of cookies and while she was away at work, her cats and dog worked as a team to knock them off the counter and gobble them up!)

Today was our annual Ladies Day at church, and along with being the song leader, I volunteered to bring my new creation. I learned a few more things the second time around, and I thought I would share the recipe with you:

All The Good Stuff Cookies

Cream together in a large bowl:

1 C Butter (two sticks), melted. I do not recommend using margarine. 

1C Brown sugar

1C White sugar

Add in 2 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla, mix thoroughly.

Combine:

2C Flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

Blend into sugar mixture completely.

Stir into dough:

1C Quick oats

1C Chocolate chips

1C Butterscotch chips

1C Shredded coconut

Combine and drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet*, 8 per sheet, 2in. apart (this is important so they don't touch). Flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar, or use two fingers covered in margarine. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-14 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container with a piece of bread to keep cookies from drying out. *Note on baking sheets - I used a metal sheet the first time and the cookies were crispier and easier to get off the pan. I used the stoneware the second time, which lengthened the cooking time and made them chewier.

Eat cookies responsibly - have a designated glass of milk! Bon appetit!