Cookie Jar: Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Thanksgiving has come and gone!  I think I'm done with leftovers.  I know I am so over turkey for a while.  Of course I'll still buy D2 paper-thin sliced turkey for sandwiches, but I am not having turkey for a while.  The Safeway turkey meal turned out to be delicious, and I think it was worth the $10 premium over the Foodland meal, even if the Foodland meal includes rolls and pumpkin pie.

I ended up supplementing our meal with a pumpkin cream cheese dessert.  It was delicious.  I hadn't made it for a while, and I forgot how well pumpkin and cheesecake go together.  I still have a few slices left, and that is probably the only Thanksgiving straggler I'm willing to have.

There are fourteen more work days left before vacation.  I decided not to wait til the very end of the quarter to assign the quarter assessment.  I'm hoping my students will appreciate one less final for which to prep.  I'm also hoping they will not slack off on classwork from now until the 17th.  I can't stand the laziness.  That bugs me almost as much as the attention-seeking behaviors.

For the past few years, my senior English classes have read Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  I no longer teach seniors, and that novella isn't part of the Springboard curriculum for the grade level I teach.  Come to think of it, I don't think it's part of the Springboard curricula for any grade level.  I'm sad because students always seemed to find a message in the story, and it was a good way to end the semester.  Oh, Springboard. . .you confound me!

On a more positive note, in less than two weeks, D1 will be home.  I can only hope she will be hitting the books to prep for finals.  Sigh.  I don't know what to think.  When she was in high school I could monitor her grades; the rules changed when she went to college.  Unfortunately, I'm not savvy enough to figure out how to keep tabs on her grades.  And then I ask myself if that's something I'd even want to do.  Would I have wanted my mom to know I was slacking, or was she much happier hearing what I TOLD her?  I don't think she would've slept well if I told her what I was doing when I should have been hitting the books.

I can only hope that D1 is better than me.  I can only hope she is more responsible.  I can only hope she makes better choices.  And I can only hope she isn't drinking her dinner.  Btw, whatever happened to all those wine cooler varieties?  Bartles and James?  Sun Country?  Back then, I didn't think they were malt beverages; I swear they were wine coolers.  Cheap-ass wine, for sure.

I suppose if my need to be nosey needed satiation, I could always monitor D2's grades.  I still have access to that.  But am I brave enough?  (As I am typing this post, D2 happens to come by and spies what I'm writing.  Her response is to assume command of the keyboard and type, "No, I am not :P")  Yup, even with a few bottle of Bartles and James, I wouldn't be brave enough.  Or I might be brave enough to check, but I would need to drink something stronger before confronting.

In light of the upcoming exam week, I'm posting a cookie recipe.  If I somehow find the energy tonight, I will make these and ship them off to D1 tomorrow.  She'll be able to munch on these while she burns the midnight oil.  Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part . . . burning the midnight oil . . . ha ha ha!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

     1/3 c butter

     6 tbsp Crisco

     3/4 c brown sugar, packed

     1/2 c sugar

     1 egg

     3 tbsp water

     1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

     1/4 tsp almond extract

     1 tsp cinnamon

     1 tsp salt

     1 tsp baking soda, sieved

     3 c quick oats

     1 1/4 c flour

     1 bag (11 oz) butterscotch chips

     1/4 c pecans, finely chopped

Place butter, crisco, brown sugar, sugar, egg, water, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat until combined.  Stir in oats.  Add flour.  When almost all incorporated, stir in butterscotch chips and pecans.  Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Using a #40 disher (packed, leveled), scoop cookie dough onto prepared sheets.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  While oven is preheating, chill cookie sheets.  Flatten with fingers according to preference:  1/4"-3/8" discs for flatter, crunchier cookies or 1/2" discs for thicker, softer cookies.  Bake 17 minutes.  Remove to a rack to finish cooling completely.  Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. 

And if you're stuck on my question about the myriad of wine coolers from the 80s, you can read this to get your answer.  And wouldn't you know it. . .I cannot drink any malt-based beverage without hurling the contents of my previous meal.  Sorry if that was TMI.

 Sammy

2010-2015

Thanksgiving has come and gone!  I think I'm done with leftovers.  I know I am so over turkey for a while.  Of course I'll still buy D2 paper-thin sliced turkey for sandwiches, but I am not having turkey for a while.  The Safeway turkey meal turned out to be delicious, and I think it was worth the $10 premium over the Foodland meal, even if the Foodland meal includes rolls and pumpkin pie.

I ended up supplementing our meal with a pumpkin cream cheese dessert.  It was delicious.  I hadn't made it for a while, and I forgot how well pumpkin and cheesecake go together.  I still have a few slices left, and that is probably the only Thanksgiving straggler I'm willing to have.

There are fourteen more work days left before vacation.  I decided not to wait til the very end of the quarter to assign the quarter assessment.  I'm hoping my students will appreciate one less final for which to prep.  I'm also hoping they will not slack off on classwork from now until the 17th.  I can't stand the laziness.  That bugs me almost as much as the attention-seeking behaviors.

For the past few years, my senior English classes have read Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  I no longer teach seniors, and that novella isn't part of the Springboard curriculum for the grade level I teach.  Come to think of it, I don't think it's part of the Springboard curricula for any grade level.  I'm sad because students always seemed to find a message in the story, and it was a good way to end the semester.  Oh, Springboard. . .you confound me!

On a more positive note, in less than two weeks, D1 will be home.  I can only hope she will be hitting the books to prep for finals.  Sigh.  I don't know what to think.  When she was in high school I could monitor her grades; the rules changed when she went to college.  Unfortunately, I'm not savvy enough to figure out how to keep tabs on her grades.  And then I ask myself if that's something I'd even want to do.  Would I have wanted my mom to know I was slacking, or was she much happier hearing what I TOLD her?  I don't think she would've slept well if I told her what I was doing when I should have been hitting the books.

I can only hope that D1 is better than me.  I can only hope she is more responsible.  I can only hope she makes better choices.  And I can only hope she isn't drinking her dinner.  Btw, whatever happened to all those wine cooler varieties?  Bartles and James?  Sun Country?  Back then, I didn't think they were malt beverages; I swear they were wine coolers.  Cheap-ass wine, for sure.

I suppose if my need to be nosey needed satiation, I could always monitor D2's grades.  I still have access to that.  But am I brave enough?  (As I am typing this post, D2 happens to come by and spies what I'm writing.  Her response is to assume command of the keyboard and type, "No, I am not :P")  Yup, even with a few bottle of Bartles and James, I wouldn't be brave enough.  Or I might be brave enough to check, but I would need to drink something stronger before confronting.

In light of the upcoming exam week, I'm posting a cookie recipe.  If I somehow find the energy tonight, I will make these and ship them off to D1 tomorrow.  She'll be able to munch on these while she burns the midnight oil.  Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part . . . burning the midnight oil . . . ha ha ha!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

     1/3 c butter

     6 tbsp Crisco

     3/4 c brown sugar, packed

     1/2 c sugar

     1 egg

     3 tbsp water

     1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

     1/4 tsp almond extract

     1 tsp cinnamon

     1 tsp salt

     1 tsp baking soda, sieved

     3 c quick oats

     1 1/4 c flour

     1 bag (11 oz) butterscotch chips

     1/4 c pecans, finely chopped

Place butter, crisco, brown sugar, sugar, egg, water, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat until combined.  Stir in oats.  Add flour.  When almost all incorporated, stir in butterscotch chips and pecans.  Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Using a #40 disher (packed, leveled), scoop cookie dough onto prepared sheets.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  While oven is preheating, chill cookie sheets.  Flatten with fingers according to preference:  1/4"-3/8" discs for flatter, crunchier cookies or 1/2" discs for thicker, softer cookies.  Bake 17 minutes.  Remove to a rack to finish cooling completely.  Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. 

And if you're stuck on my question about the myriad of wine coolers from the 80s, you can read this to get your answer.  And wouldn't you know it. . .I cannot drink any malt-based beverage without hurling the contents of my previous meal.  Sorry if that was TMI.

 Sammy

2010-2015