Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

In my house, when I mention "making cookies" I always get multiple responses. I'm usually thinking warm, soft chocolate chip cookies. My sons are thinking snickerdoodles. My daughter doesn't care, as long as she gets to help. She usually wants to make "something special for daddy" though! And then there is Dad. His request? It is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies every time. With coconut, if you please.

Over the last few years, I've tried a few different recipes, but we think we've found perfection in this combination.  The addition of cinnamon and nutmeg adds a gentle flavor without overpowering the chocolate or oats. You can add raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, even cinnamon or butterscotch chips would be good.

The batter is a little crumbly, but don't worry, they bake just fine!  Another plus is that the dough doesn't spread very much, so you can fits a lot on the baking sheet, and even form them in fun shapes! I use a cookie scoop, and then press them down a little bit.Cook them until they are golden, and look a little gooey. They'll cool down into perfectly baked, soft, yummy cookies!

Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 
The Double Dipped Life

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teas vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teas baking soda

1 teas cinnamon

Freshly grated nutmeg-just a bit

1/2 teas salt

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Blend until combined. Stir in the oats, chocolate and any other add-ins.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  You can bake them right away, but I prefer to chill the dough.Chilling dough helps the cookies rise, and not be flat.

When you are ready to bake, spoon about a Tb of dough into a round ball, leaving space between each cookie. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes. Take them out when they are golden at the edges but still a little under baked in the middle. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to cooling rack.

Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk!

Cinnamon Spiced Pecans

Spiced Pecans in this wonderful salad.

I love spiced nuts. Normally a winter holiday treat, I've found some good ways to put these mouthwatering morsels to use all year round. I've used at least a dozen recipes, but have at last found a winner. The mixture is wonderful on almonds as well!

Cinnamon Spiced Pecans

1 egg white
1 teas cold water
2 cups Pecans- whole or chopped
4 Tb white sugar
4 Tb brown sugar
1 Tb ground cinnamon
1/2 teas ground nutmeg
1/4 teas salt

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add the pecans, and stir until coated. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Pour evenly over the pecans and stir to coat. Spread the nuts evenly on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.

Roast for 1 hour; stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool before eating. The nuts will be a little chewy until completely cool. They will be crunchy when cool! Store in an airtight container!

What to do with the nuts:
*Feed them to hubby. Whenever I make a batch, they disappear quickly!
*Add to salads to add a touch of sweet.
*Add to cookies or other desserts! One I want to try (if I can keep them away from hubby) is this Cookie Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod.
*The nuts are amazing on Caramel Apples! I used to make the apples with caramel, spiced pecans, and then all is coated in White Chocolate. It's also fabulous as caramel turtles! Yum!
*The nuts can be put in small cello bags, tied with a ribbon, and used as gifts!