From the Archives: Chocolate Chip Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

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From the Archives: Chocolate Chip Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies

Inventing and developing new recipes has become a weekend pleasure for me. Creating wild combinations and indulging in my favorite ingredients is a perk of the job. Even though I love sharing original recipes with you, every so often I find myself looking back through the archives with nostalgia, wishing I could bring back the magic of sharing my favorites with you once more. Then I realized, why couldn't I?

With a spruced up look and a pleasant reminder, maybe you will fall in love with them all over again. While a few archived recipes may pop up from time to time, you must not worry. I do not plan to stop playing with my food any time soon.

Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies

This recipe for Chocolate Chip Raisin Oatmeal Cookies was among the first handful I posted on this website. The recipe is not of my own invention, but the credit can instead be attributed to my wonderful university physics professor and his wife. As with any great recipe, there is usually a story behind it. This is no exception.

While getting my degree in physics, the physics department of the university held an annual spring picnic to bring together the students and professors for an afternoon of fun. Along with a tower of board games, there was a smoking grill and a table spread with salads, potato chips, and these cookies. Each year, rain or shine, these cookies found their way into the spread and, soon after, found their way into my heart. I would eat three or four in an afternoon's time; more than once, I wrapped one up in a napkin to take home. I had fallen in love with theses cookies and made sure my professor (and everyone there) knew it.

Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies

It was the third picnic when my professor casually revealed that the cookies had a secret. The cookies, he whispered, had no added sugar. Naturally, I did not believe him at first, skeptical that a cookie could taste so positively delightful without sugar or a sugar substitute, but the truth was staring me in the face. In many ways, this simple fact made these cookies that much more precious. After prodding him for the recipe for at least a dozen times, he told me to be patient and that the time would come.

On my graduation day, he congratulated me, shook my hand, and gave me a small sheet of paper with the typed up recipe, entrusting me with cookies I treasured. Every time I make these cookies I am reminded of those spring picnics and all of the memories that come with it. By trusting this recipe with you, I hope that you will bake and share these cookies with the people you love, creating memories of your own.

Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies

Chocolate Chip Raisin Oatmeal Cookies are thick, chewy, and have no added sugar. The cookies are made with oatmeal and an abundance of chocolate chips and raisins. While the batter isn't sweet, the add-ins are delightfully so. Do not fret! This cookie will please even the most sugar-happy children. The cookies are formed with a 1/4 cup measuring cup and will keep their shape while they bake; they will not spread. I adore these cookies for both their unique texture and characteristics and I hope you will too.

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Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins

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Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins

Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins

Since the beginning of January, my baking habits seem to be circulating around one central theme—breakfast. When I pull out the flour and sugar early on Saturday morning, scones and muffins are the first items swirling about my mind. Perhaps it should not come as a surprise to me that cookies and cakes are pushed to the side for a simple treat that can accompany a plate of bacon and eggs. With dozens of ingredient variations on my favorite recipes just a cupboard away, I could not resist baking and sharing just one more breakfast recipe with you.

I stand by the claim that everyone loves a good muffin.

Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins

Recently at work, a coworker brought in a couple dozen muffins from a nearby bakery to share. Since I began baking a few years ago, I have rarely gone out of my way to buy baked goods that I can easily make for myself. Along with chocolate chip cookies, good old fashioned muffins make that list. I grabbed the nearest over-sized blueberry muffin and took a bite. To put it quite simply, I was disappointed. The muffin was much more like a mislabeled cupcake—too sweet, with blueberries that looked and tasted nothing like the fruit I adore.

When did store bought muffins fall so far?

Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins

Feeling the desire to right the wrongs of bakers past, I turned on the oven and got to work, creating my vision of what a muffin should be. Muffins hold a place as a sacred breakfast treat to me. They ought to be lightly sweetened, with enough sugar to satisfy the taste buds, but never enough to mistake it as a cake. Muffins should be driven by a hearty texture and filling personality. A good muffin should have a healthy nature, but be delicious enough to deceive yourself into believing that you are eating dessert.

These whole grain muffins, with chocolate chunks and a hint of espresso, will do just the trick.

Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins

Chocolate Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins have a complex texture and compelling flavor. The muffins are made with a combination of whole wheat flour, ground flaxseed, and rolled oats, which give a nutty, chewy texture to the final product. The muffins are not very sweet, with just a hint of brown sugar and sweetness from chocolate, but if you do prefer a bit more sugar, you can do as my boyfriend does and drizzle the muffins in a bit of maple syrup before taking a fork after them. A few chocolate chunks and a hint of espresso powder give the muffins all the flavor they need. This is a healthy and hearty alternative to the breakfast "cupcakes" out there.

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Grapefruit Margaritas

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Grapefruit Margaritas

Grapefruit Margaritas

It's been one of those weeks. We've all had them at one point or another. Tuesday feels like Wednesday and Wednesday feels like Thursday and somehow the week still isn't over yet. While the days often seem to skate by quickly, spinning circles around me before I have the chance to catch my breath, this week has come to a jarring halt. The hand on the clock moves so slowly between my frequent glances that I periodically wonder if the hands have stopped moving altogether. I keep asking myself, is it Friday yet?

If only time moved so slowly on the weekends...

Grapefruit Margaritas

I have never been much for alcoholic beverages, but I do make an exception for the occasional glass of red wine or salt-rimmed margarita. While a glass of wine nicely rounds out a weekend evening, I have always reserved margaritas for more festive occasions. Margaritas tend to pop up on hot summer evenings when the dinner party guests have been fed or when the glasses are clinked to celebrate another Fourth of July. The best margarita I ever had was savored after a long day of skiing in the mountains—blended, with lime.

Margaritas have an intrinsic sense of community built into their nature; they are meant to be enjoyed among friends.

Grapefruit Margaritas

Though there were no holidays to celebrate or gatherings to toast, these margaritas made an appearance to bring a spot of joy into an otherwise simple evening with my family. With snow on the ground and flurries falling from the skies, I felt as if the classic lime version could use a seasonal update. Grapefruit has quickly become a fruit that I identify with cold weather. Not only is it in season, but the tartness of the citrus so effortlessly mimics the quality of a biting winter wind. The lime only furthers this quality, which gives the margaritas a bright, vibrant character.

And so I raise my glass to you, dear friends, thankful that tomorrow the weekend finally begins.

Grapefruit Margaritas

Grapefruit Margaritas are a welcome drink after a long work week. Freshly squeezed grapefruit and lime juice are joined by tequila and triple sec to create this unique beverage. The margaritas are quite tart (which I adore), but a teaspoon of sugar may be added to each drink to tone it down for those of you who are not so keen on such a biting flavor. Instead of salt-rimmed glasses, I rimmed these with sugar to bring out a bit of sweetness whenever you decide that you may need it.

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