Recipe #15 and #16: Oatmeal Crispies and Angel Sugar Cookies

Recipe: Oatmeal Crispies 
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Time: 1 hr 10 min (Depending on how long you leave the rolls to chill--these can be frozen for 3 months!)
Ease: 3
Taste: 10
Leftover Value: 8
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep in the Strainer!

Recipe: Angel Sugar Cookies
Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Time: 1 hr 25 min
Ease: 2
Taste: 8
Leftover Value: 8
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep in the Strainer!

I have never been a big fan of oatmeal.  Not in breakfast form.  Not in cookie form.

Pioneer Woman's Oatmeal Crispies have changed my entire viewpoint on oatmeal.

I may have added some chocolate chips.  But, no worries, PW said I could in the suggested 'variations' at the end of the recipe.  I found that 1 and 1/2 cups worked perfect.

It was a little unclear as to whether or not the cookies had to be chilled before they were baked.  In the case of the following Angel Sugar Cookies she distinctly says to chill them for an hour.  For the Oatmeal Crispies she tells us only to "chill the rolls until ready to use".  

I do like that she reminds us that cookie dough freezes well.

I let the cookies bake about five minutes longer than her suggested 10 minute baking time because I found they weren't turning the perfect golden brown I wanted.  They were soft, warm and delicious.  However, they did harden so I'm not sure if that was because I had them continue to bake longer or if it was simply bound to happen. 

Final word on the subject: these cookies are going on my Christmas cookie repertoire.

The Angel Sugar Cookies were even easier to make than the Oatmeal Crispies.  The worst part was waiting an hour for the dough to set in the refrigerator.  However, the final step shows why this part is highly necessary.

After using an ice cream scoop to form the cookies, using the bottom of a glass that has been rubbed with butter and dipped in sugar--um, yum!--smoosh* down each cookie with the bottom of the glass.

*Smoosh is not a word.  Smush is not a word.  They should be.

I often prefer to do the nitty gritty parts of baking alone, but this is my favorite kind of company to have:

PW says that the Angel Sugar cookies don't travel well, but I've found that with the right sturdy container, it can be done and these cookies can be shared with friends near and far.

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Recipe: Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Source: The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook*

Time: 1 hr 5 min

Ease: 2

Taste: 4

Leftover Value: 7

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Down the Drain!

*Note: I could not find their recipe online.  Here are two similar recipes:

http://www.savorysimple.net/lavender-shortbread-cookies/

http://joythebaker.com/2011/10/lavender-shortbread-cookies/

I have always heard good things about lavender.  So many good things, that once upon a time when my Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook was new, I instantly marked the recipe for Lavender Shortbread down as a 'must make'.  

What initially kept me from baking these cookies was the price of lavender.  I scoured the internet, knowing I probably wasn't going to find it at the local supermarket, only to discover it was going to cost me $3.99 plus the obnoxious price of shipping and handling.

I was on the lookout for it, and finally found it at Savory Spice Shop in Princeton.  If you enjoy unique and hard to find spices, this is the place to go.  There must have been twenty varieties of salt.  Even Hubby was lost in the different spice rubs and BBQ items they had to offer.  

I didn't realize until later that I paid the same amount I would have paid had I ordered my lavender online.  Of course, I didn't have to pay shipping and handling, and maybe it's just me, but I prefer to buy things in person.  I want to pick from the back, inspect it, walk around with it, commit to it.

Having never tasted lavender before, I was a little confused at the smell.  It didn't relate to my nose as being something that was going to give my cookie the addictive delicious quality I hoped for.

Naturally, I pressed on ignoring my nose.

While the shortbread quality of these cookies was perfect, the lavender took away from the buttery delight that is shortbread.  I equated the taste of the lavender to thyme.  Thyme, for some reason, is a seasoning I have never enjoyed too much.  I want to like it, but I just don't have a palate for it.  I know several cooks have tried to become clever and incorporate thyme into cakes and custards, but for me, it should remain in savory dishes and rubs for chickens.

These were definitely the type of cookie that I had to warn tasters of its uniqueness ahead of time.  It went like this, "I brought a delicious chocolate cake, and, um, yeah, I have these cookies here.  They have lavender in them, so if you want to try them...I'll just warn you that they taste more on the herbal side...like thyme."