Oatmeal CookieBlog

Bake Sale Bundles

For the fall harvest fair, I baked up a batch of my Cranberry Crunch Cookies. This award-winning recipe contains craisins, almonds, graham crackers, cinnamon, and a dash of orange. Don't you wish you could buy some?

Coffee Cake Cookies for Coffee Hour

Last Sunday, I volunteered to bring some tasty niblets in to church for coffee hour.

I know...most people who know me probably have two reactions to that statement: 1) "Well duh...you're the Oatmeal Cookie Guy" and 2) "Church?" But I digress.

It seemed like a no-brainer to whip up a batch of my  Coffee Cake Cookies for coffee hour. After all, these guys are proven crowd pleasers, and I knew I couldn't go wrong.

I'm always trying to come up with a new recipe or a twist on an old recipe when I bake. At first, I was going to do a walnutty version, but decided against that because you never know who might have a nut allergy. But stay tuned. A walnut version is coming soon!

Have Six Dozen Cookies, Will Ship

My Cherry-Lemon Joy Cookies proved so popular that I had to make a double batch and share them with friends back in New York and New Jersey and with the fellas at the Wednesday night supper club. Dang...six dozen is a lot of cookies. A whole lotta cookies!

Dinner Party Delectables

On Saturday I was invited to a dinner party and brought my tried-and-true Cranberry Crunch Cookies as a thank-you gift for my hosts.

In case you didn't know, this is an award-wining recipe. Sorry...with all my horn-tooting, it's darn near impossible not to know this is a winner.

It was a night of good food, wine, and conversation. And, of course, tasty cookies. Thanks, everybody!

Tip: These go really well with red wine. Try it...you'll like it!

Have Boxes, Will Ship

Nothing says howdy and takes away the rainy-weather blues like a mailbox full of goodies.

So, instead of testing a new recipe on Sunday, I baked up a double batch of my Sweater Weather Cookies and sent some care packages down to New York.

All it takes is a box and some postage to make someone's day.

Make Your Mother's Day II

I forgot Mumma's birthday last year, so I had to make up for that with a special Mother's Day gift: a shipment of her favorite Lime in the Coconut Cookies.

This year, I remembered Mumma's birthday, and I sent her a Mother's Day card...on time. And because I'm a good son, I even sent her a box of my new Lemon in the Coconut Cookies.

With the help of FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service, you can have a fresh batch of homemade cookies on your mother's doorstep just in time for her special day. The flipside, of course, is that you don't have an excuse not to send a batch of cookies to your mother.

Cookie Care Packages

In my previous life as a college English textbook editor, I worked with Paul and Al, two fantastic authors. Al emailed me last week to let me know that Paul was going to have knee surgery. To wish them good luck on their latest book revision, and to speed Paul's recovery, I sent them both cookie care packages filled with my XXX Strawberry Cookies. Never underestimate the healing power of cookies. (But don't tell anyone...I think I might have forgotten the vanilla. Oops!)

Operation Baking GALS Is Recruiting

Operation Baking GALS (give a little support) organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

Teams are forming for Round 7, so go to www.bakinggals.com and join up. (You'll have to create a log in, but that's a cinch.) You can even join the Baking GALS Facebook group.

If you've got some time and know your way around an oven (or can fake it), think about baking up some cookie love for folks who could use it.

Cookie Monday Via FedEx

This week, I sent some cookie love down to Baltimore, where Judy and her team of InDesign masters do an awesome job for me and my employer. To say thanks for all their hard work and to show how much we appreciate them, I offered to make them a batch of homemade cookies. They accepted and put the type of cookie they wanted up for a vote. The winner? My XXX Cranberry Cookies, which, I must admit, are a personal favorite.

Here's what Judy had to say about this week's remote Cookie Monday:

“THANK YOU SO MUCH for the cookies! EVERYONE here is now totally crazy about you. They really are nothing short of amazing! :)

I’ve been getting some questions, such as, ‘Does he sell them?’ ‘Could we order some?’”

Thanks, Judy! I'm so glad you all liked them, and it makes me really happy to know Cookie Monday was a success. As for selling my cookies...maybe one day. It's my scratch-ticket millionaire fantasy to open a bakery or online cookie business. In the meantime (and back in the real world), I'd really like to write a cookbook. Hint-hint, nudge-nudge to all you cookbook publishers out there.  :-)

You Went to California and All You Got Me Was...

delicious chocolates and wine? Well, gee, I can't complain about that!

Fellow Grub Clubber In-Young went home to California and brought back some See's chocolates and a bottle of wine from Napa. Thanks, In-Young!

I polished off the chocolates after we watched the finale of Top Chef last night. (Poor Carla!) And I'm sure Jon will have at the wine soon.

Better yet...we'll hold off on the wine and serve it with the eggplant parm dinner I promised.

Oatmeal Cookie Guy Joins Operation Baking GALS VII

Operation Baking GALS organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

For round #6, I made my Coconut Rum Raisinet Cookies. Four dozen of them! I thought about sending Valentine's Day cookies but decided on these guys because they were so popular with my real-life cookie tasters.

If you've got the time, think about sending some love to someone you don't know. All you need is some cookie fixins, a sealable plastic container, and a box.

Oatmeal Cookie Guy Joins Operation Baking GALS VI

Operation Baking GALS organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

For round #5, I made my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. Four dozen of them! I thought about sending Christmas cookies, but I figured that chocolate chip was more homey.

If you've got the time, think about sending some love to someone you don't know. Round #6 will start up in mid-January.

Blogging By Mail III

Karen, my Blogging By Mail partner is from the Philippines. I just recieved her package of goodies, each of which represents Karen's home of Makati on the island of Luzon.

Pure Tablea: These little wafers are super-charged unprocessed chocolate made from pure cocoa beans. They make (very strong) hot cocoa and other chocolate-flavored recipes like Karen’s champorado, a breakfast porridge. Jon took one bite of a Tablea wafer, and the intense chocolate flavor almost knocked him on his keister.

A batidtor (chocolate beater): This wooden utensil looks like a big honey dripper, but it’s really a mixing and thickening tool for hot chocolate drinks.

Mango chips: These are like all-natural gummie bears that come right off the tree. Mangoes are the national fruit of the Phillipines, and Karen’s home island has orchards full of them.

Napkin rings: How funny is it that Jon and I were looking for napkin rings last weekend? (Karen, you must be on our wavelength!)  I'm going to use these at our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. These four napkin rings are made of coconut shells and are the shape of mangoes.

Boy Bowang: Spicy, salty snacks very much like the Corn Nuts you can find here. Karen sent three flavors: spicy garlic, roasted chicken, and hot chili garlic. Jon and I devoured these tasty niblets in seconds flat!

Durian candy: Durian, a Filipino delicacy, is known as one of the most pungent fruits in the world. Durian's funky smell and taste is infamous--even Andrew Zimmern, the guy who eats everything couldn't stomache it. According to Karen, “Filipinos either abhor it or ador it.” But these candies must be "durian light" (phew...thanks, Karen!). They had no discernable aroma, and the flavor was surprisingly mild. I'd say they started off tasting caramelly and ended up tasting beefy. I shared some with Pam and In-Young, but they didn't taste the beefiness as much as I did.

Piaya: These are savory sesame wafers filled with sweet fruit, and they are a specialty of the Negros Island. Karen tells me that these are traditionally filled with molasses.

Local maps: I sent New York City maps to Antonia, and Karen sent me a map of the Philippines. It might come in handy when we plan our next trip.

Abel-Iloko placemats: These colorful placemats, which can double as dish towels, are from a distinctive weave from the Ilocos region of the Philippines. These may end up on our Thanksgiving dinner table.

Thanks so much, Karen, for all of the interesting food and Filipino goodies! You put a ton of thought into your package, and really, really appreciate it. I feel like I've gone on a mini-vacation! 

You can check out Karen’s blog, Bucaio at http:/bucaio.blogspot.com.

Oatmeal Cookie Guy Joins Operation Baking GALS V

Operation Baking GALS organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

For round #4, I made my Lime in the Coconut Cookies. Of all my recipes, I've made this one the most, so I know these cookies are good. Just ask Mumma! My group's soldier is Amie. I hope she likes these. And I also hope that she and all our other service people make it home safely and quickly.

There's still plenty of time to join a team for round #5, which I think will ship at the end of November/beginning of December. If you've got the time, think about sending some love to someone you don't know. If you'll be baking for Thanksgiving, just set aside a dozen or so cookies to send to our soldiers overseas. The shipping is really cheap!

Wearing the Blog-Love II

Laura and Chris--readers, neighbors, and real-life cookie tasters--got me and Jon cookie T-shirts. Thanks so much, Laura and Chris! These two go along perfectly with the shirt Pam and In-Young got me.

Blogging By Mail Success!

Looks like my Blogging By Mail package to Antonia at Food, Glorious Food was a hit:

“Hello Greg, Thank you SO, SO much for my fantastic parcel! It arrived safely this morning and I am absolutely thrilled with all the contents. I love the NYC theme, especially as I have a trip planned for February next year so the map and Zagat guide couldn't be more handy. Currently listening to the CD while I type which is really good - I haven't heard of this band before but I'm enjoying it so far. Thank you for a great parcel - was great fun to unpack everything this morning.”

Woohoo! Though Jon gets the credit for the NYC theme. I can't wait for the next round of Blogging By Mail.

Blogging By Mail II

Here are my 10 items for this round of Blogging By Mail. Jon came up with the New York theme. Thanks, Jonnazz!

My recipient is Antonia, who lives in London and whose blog is Food, Glorious Food.

1. Scratch ticket: Because somebody's got to win, right? But I reserve the right to claim half of any winnings.

2. Black & white cookie: Though not one of my favorite snacks, the black & white cookie is New York through and through.

3. Doughnut Plant T-shirt: I love Doughnut Plant. I don't mind spreading the love across the world.

4. C. Howard's violet candies: These guys are violet-flavored breath mints. Totally unique and native to New York.

5. Hem's Eveningland CD: I've gone on and on about Hem on this blog because I absolutely love this band. They're based in Brooklyn and make the most beautiful music. Buy this CD. Trust me...you'll love it!

6. Garlic-flavored bagel chips: It's garlic. It's bagels. What else can I say...other than Y-U-M?

7. New York Magazine: Jon and I always think it's fun to check out the local newspapers and magazines when we go someplace new. It really does give you a deeper look at a place.

8. New York City map: Maps are cool!

9. Zagat Survey: The 2009 edition just came out. Even if you're not necessarily a foodie or fancy-schmancy restaurant person, this is a funny--and punny--read. And it's so very New York.

10. Bagel: From our favorite neighborhood Deli, L&M. I think a bagel is the best food to symbolize New York. It was brought here by immigrants, has been adapted for all sorts of tastes, and is loved by all.

New Feature!

I've been doing a lot of cookie care packages recently and will probably be doing even more, so I started a new category: Deliverables.

I've also gone back and recategorized all old posts that now fit in Deliverables. Hmmm...maybe I have a future as an indexer.

"Someone in VA Loves What You Do"

Alicia, a reader, fellow food blogger, and—most recently—a real-life cookie taster, sent me my very own care package:

“Two of the items were made with my own two hands. Only one of them is edible. A third thing should be shared w/Jonazz on a cool evening. And the last thing is just a keepsake to remind you that someone in VA loves what you do.”

I got the package yesterday after work. Thanks so much, Alicia!

My box of deliverables contained a batch of super-tasty spice cookies, a hand-knit scarf, a box of Godiva hot chocolate (which I will share with Jonnazz...and maybe use in a cookie), and a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Thanks again, Alicia. Wearing that nice, warm scarf, I'll soon be doing some rooftop cookie eatin' and hot chocolate drinkin'.

Emmmmpanadas!

In-Young's on the mend--slowly but surely--and she brought in some empanadas for me. Thanks, In-Young!

I gave one to Pam and then scarfed one down after work tonight. Super yummy. I'm saving the rest for dinner tomorrow night.

Scratch that. Jon's having one right now. He says they're delicious! (Can I have your recipe?)

The Cookies Are in the Mail...for Friday Delivery

In-Young, reader and real-life cookie taster, is home convalescing this week and missed out on Monday's cookies. So I baked a batch of my Coffee Cake Cookies and mailed them off to her this morning.

Get well soon, In-Young!

Oatmeal Cookie Guy Joins Operation Baking GALS IV (x 2)

Operation Baking GALS  organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

D'oh! I inadvertently signed up for two separate teams for Round 3. (Thanks, Adrienne and Fran for hosting this time.)

But no worries...four eight dozen cookies is a snap for the Oatmeal Cookie Guy.

I made Coffee Cake Cookies and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, and I also threw some Halloween candy into the box. After all, who doesn't like Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids?

My Recipe Contest Entry

I was going to be all productive and industrious last night and make two batches of cookies: my contest entry batch and my regularly scheduled Monday batch. So much for good intentions.

Here are my Cranberry Crunch Cookies--an all-new recipe that I made for the first time last night. I mailed them off to Mumma this morning. I'll post the recipe for my XXX Cranberry Cookies in early October, around the time of the cranberry harvest.

The Cookies Are in the Mail...for Saturday Delivery II

My blog buddy Alicia read my post about "Blogging By Mail" and commented that I could send her a batch of cookies. So I did!

I guess I'm expanding on what it means to be bring-in-able.

Last night I baked up a half batch of my Coffee Cake Cookies and dropped them off at the post office this morning for Saturday delivery. Well, in all honesty, not the whole half batch. (How's that for an oxymoron?) Jon and I scarfed down a few...or five, so it's really more of a quarter batch.

It's good that I'm getting all this practice sending cookies through the mail. I'm thinking of entering a recipe contest, but there's a wrinkle: Actual samples need to be submitted to the judges next Tuesday. I have two options:

1. I can send my (yet-to-be-posted) recipe to Mumma and rely on her to do the baking.
2. I can do the baking myself, send the cookies to Mumma, and have her submit my entry for me.

Hmmm... Like I said, it's good that I'm getting all this practice sending cookies through the mail.

Oatmeal Cookie Guy Joins Operation Baking GALS III

I read about Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support) on Tracey in WA's blog, and I instantly thought of this story.

When Uncle Bruce was in Vietnam, Auntie Anne baked a sheet cake-sized cookie and sent it off to him. She thought that one enormous cookie, rather than many little cookies, would have the better chance of reaching Bruce intact. But when Bruce got the package, it was filled with crumbs...homemade with love, but crumbs nonetheless.

Operation Baking GALS organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

Round #3 starts soon. If you've got the time and feel like doing something nice for someone you don't know, you should sign up too! I signed up earlier this week and am waiting for my baking orders.

Blogging By Mail

I read about Blogging By Mail on the Dispensing Happiness blog (via Baking Bites) and thought it would be a neato thing to do.

Here's the gist:

"You may have noticed that the price of everything is going up, right? Yeah, me too. But I still love sending off packages, and getting one in return? Just as exciting. So my solution to the impending recession is this: 10 Items or Less. Ten (or fewer) of your favorite things, ten must-haves, ten items that interest or excite you at the moment....food, stationary, books, whatever.

And by 'items', I mean a unit. For example: one box of tea would be an item. A bag or packet of something, also counts as one.

Gather up your favorite things, but limit yourself to no more than TEN. The goal is to cut down on shipping costs, which are fairly outrageous right now."

Doesn't this sound cool? You send someone 10 things, and someone sends you 10 things. I already signed up. If you're interested in participating, go here for details. (You must have a blog, though, in order to participate.)

Wearing the Blog-Love

Pam and In-Young, readers, real-life cookie tasters, and fellow foodie adventurers, surprised me Thursday afternoon with this neato T-shirt to thank me for all my bring-in-ables.

What a surprise! I went in to the conference room for a lunchtime screening of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and came out with this goodie.

Thanks, Pam and In-Young! I am so wearing this on my next walk, which will be tomorrow.

Oatmeal Cookie Guy Joins Operation Baking GALS II

Operation Baking GALS organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

I signed up about a week ago. If you've got the time and feel like doing something nice for someone you don't know, you should sign up too!

Round 2 ships this week. I made my S'mores cookies, which I hope will be a nice reminder of home.

Update (8/25 @ 12:51): I just got back from the post office. It looks like it will take about two weeks for my package to make it. Before I sent it off, though, I added a few more goodies: a couple decks of paying cards, a package of poker chips, some beef jerky, and some Quamut guides to card games. I hope the cookies make it there in one piece and that the Zip Loc box keeps them nice and tasty! But if not, at least the guys will have some other stuff to open and enjoy.

Oatmeal Cookie Guy Joins Operation Baking GALS

I read about Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support) on Tracey in WA's blog, and I instantly thought of this story.

When Uncle Bruce was in Vietnam, Auntie Anne baked a sheet cake-sized cookie and sent it off to him. She thought that one enormous cookie, rather than many little cookies, would have the better chance of reaching Bruce intact. But when Bruce got the package, it was filled with crumbs...homemade with love, but crumbs nonetheless.

Operation Baking GALS organizes bakers and food bloggers into groups of volunteers who send soldiers in Iraq cookie-stuffed care packages every month.

I signed up earlier this week and am waiting for my baking orders. I missed Round #1, but Round #2 starts soon. If you've got the time and feel like doing something nice for someone you don't know, you should sign up too!

Chocolate & Chipotle Cookie Comments

I sent a bunch of my El Paso-inspired Chocolate & Chipotle (Holy Hole!) Cookies to Evelyn and her students. I have to admit that I was really nervous about how they’d grade my homework. It looks like I did OK. But this El Paso audience definitely likes a heavy hand when it comes to the heat!

Thank you all for being my real-life cookie tasters! It was very useful to hear your feedback. In fact, I'm going to continue tweaking this El Paso-inspired cookie so that the heat and smoke of the chipotle really shine through. For the final, cookbook-ready recipe, I'm thinking of cutting back on the cinnamon, increasing the chiptole a little (aye caramba!), and maybe even adding pecans for some crunch.

Camp Care Package: Success

Last Friday, I baked a batch of my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for Jon's cousin Rachael, who's away at music camp. Rachael left a thank-you message as soon as she received the cookies. And I got this email from Lorraine a few days ago:

"Just spoke to [Uncle] Warren, and he said that [Cousin] Rachael allowed him and [Aunt] Melissa one cookie each when they went to visit yesterday. Everyone loved them!! Warren said you must have done an amazing job packing and shipping them because they tasted like perfectly freshly baked cookies. We're still enjoying your cookies here!"

Woohoo! Mission accomplished.

The Cookies Are in the Mail...for Saturday Delivery

I made this batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies this morning and sent it off this afternoon to Jon's cousin Rachael, who's away at music camp. (Playing the piano can be tiring. I hope these cookies give Rachael a nice pick-me-up before she performs.) Here, with my best imitation of the photography over at Smitten Kitchen, is a visual process analysis of making cookies.

Grind the oats and assemble the dry ingredients. When it comes to the chocolate, I advocate the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Hershey's milk chocolate and Nestle semisweet chips are perfect.

Cream together the creamables: the butter and dark brown sugar.

Combine the wet ingredients: the eggs, vanilla, and milk. I like to scramble everything together to ensure that all the wet ingredients are evenly distributed before I add them to the creamables.

Add the wet ingredients to the creamables. Give everything a whirl in the mixer.

Add the dry ingredients to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. (Mmm...smells good.)

Use a cookie scoop to form the dough into balls. (Try not eat all the raw dough). Bake. Let cookies cool...or not, depending on whether you like your cookies served hot or cooled.

My Homework Assignment: Music Camp Care Package

Jon's cousin Rachael is away at music camp right now, and I volunteered to make and send her a cookie care package. It looks like I've got another homework assignment to keep me busy and this blog full of fresh content!

Uncle Warren said Rachael likes chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. Maybe I'll come up with something new, or do a recipe I haven't posted yet, or bake a batch of my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. Stay tuned.

I never went away to summer camp, so the only care packages I got were when I was in college. All I have to say is that Mumma must have owned stock in the Just Born company because she sent me enough Peeps to keep a city's worth of dentists in business for years. I think I never went away to camp because I grew up, basically, in the middle of the woods, and what would be the point of going away to visit other woods? That and because the Friday the 13th movies scared the bejesus out of me.

But I digress. I think cookies are perfect for camp care packages, and I hope Rachael and her friends love the cookies I send.

My Homework Assignment: The El Paso-Themed Oatmeal Cookie

In an earlier post, I wrote about how Evelyn, an author of mine from my days as a college English textbook editor, emailed to say that she was going to share my blog with her students. To use a Massachusetts-ism, I was wicked excited about having my blog used as a teaching tool and about reaching readers all the way in El Paso, Texas.

This afternoon, Evelyn emailed me again…this time with kind of a challenge:

“I shared your blog with my Advanced Composition class today. I was able to use it to demonstrate that you do your best writing when you write about what you know and care about! The class has one request for you--if you develop a Texas oatmeal cookie recipe, they don’t want any old Texas recipe, they want an El Paso, TX, recipe, so that means put chili (long green, jalapeno, chipotle--any kind) in it somehow. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!”

Thanks again, Evelyn, for sharing my blog with your students. I'm going to do some research and thinking, and I'll post an El Paso-themed oatmeal cookie recipe especially for you and your class--sometime soon, I hope.

I’m thinking something sweet-smoky-spicy. Stay tuned. I love this challenge!

Apparently, Lime Juice Is Thicker Than Blood

My family has a thing for things with a twist of lime, especially my Lime in the Coconut Cookies. This from Mumma:

“I have 3 cookies left, and I’m rationing them to myself. At 9 p.m. I have my cookie…and it’s SO worth the wait! Thanks so much for making those for me. I truly enjoyed each and every one…even if I did put on 4 pounds while you were home. Must have been those BR’s pizzas, not to mention the cookies and ice cream!”

And this from Auntie:

“OMG!!! These were so good! I hid the extras so Bruce could not find them. I love him, but I AM NOT SHARING THESE BABIES!!! Thank so much Greg...you were always my favorite!!!”

I think I gotta send some cookies up to Massachusetts…or maybe Mumma and Auntie could come down to NYC (nudge, nudge)?