Craisin Oatmeal Cookies

It's is Ayyam-I-Ha! These 4 days [but 5 on leap years] is a time of gift giving, service projects and celebration in the Baha'i Faith. The Baha'i Calendar is made up of 19 months of 19 days each. This leaves some days left over at the end of February before the month of the Fast. Starting Sunday March 2nd, Baha'is over the age of 15 will fast from sunrise until sunset for 19 days. On March 21st, we celebrate Naw-Ruz [New Year]. And what else happens that day? The Vernal Equinox; the official start of spring!

But because it's also midterms I've had a hard time getting to the local Ayyam-I-Ha activities. I did manage, though, to do some baking.

Dorm kitchens can sometimes get messy but most afternoons they are quiet and a good place to bake. With the Wild v. Capitals hockey game* on in the background I made my newest favorite cookie: Craisin Oatmeal.

*I'm a loyal Sharks fan, though.

Since so many of my friends have been raving about them I'm putting up the recipe for all to see.
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Craisin Oatmeal Cookies

350F - 10-12 minutes [until golden around the edges and soft in the middle]
Makes 1.5 dozen approx.

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar*
2 Tbsp honey*
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract*
1 c. flour*
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1.5 c. oats
1 cup raisins*

PARCHMENT PAPER!


Optional:
1/2 c. nuts
1 c. chocolate chips [REMOVE CINNAMON]


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*Modifications that I use:
Splenda brown sugar mix [which equals half the amount]
Cranberry honey [local]
Pure, real vanilla extract
Red Mill gluten free flour mix OR flour of choice [spelt & amaranth mixes are great]
Craisins instead of raisins

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Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Large bowl: butter and brown sugar until well blended.
Add honey, egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth

Smaller bowl [or not!]: flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Mix with butter mixture.

Add oats and raisins. Mix until thoroughly combine.

THESE ARE WAY STICKY. Spoon/roll/pinch dough and place on sheet.

10-12 minutes or until golden brown on edges with soft middle.

Preferably cool on a rack but just the parchment paper works.

ENJOY!

be kind, rewind.

Sorry about the hiatus.
It's mid-terms and I've had too many things on my plate to get around to this. I've got a brief break tonight [read: regular amount of homework] before I have to outline 5 essays for an exam.
Hopefully, though, my Wednesday at noon, I'll be basically done.
Ahhhhhh. A break is clear!

At least, in my time schedule, if not the weather*.

Is it still Monday? Can it possibly still be Monday?

The week before any break is the longest ever. We all have exams, papers, and projects on top of our regular schedule of reading and response writing, lectures and TA hours.

*A weekend of 30s and then back to snow storms. Thanks, Wisconsin.
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I cannot tell you, though, how excited I am to see this movie: Be Kind Rewind.


Not only do I love Michel Gondry but I also love Mos Def.

Any movie that gets the fans involved before it is released is right up my alley.

As the main characters do in the film, fans are "sweding*" their favorites.

My personal favorite sweded films are:
Labyrinth
Tron
The Princess Bride

I hope to see this as soon as I can when I get home. How about Sunday morn?

*Sweding: The tapes in the Be Kind Rewind video store take so long to receive because they are coming from "Sweden" when they are really being refilmed.