I love cookies. Have I mentioned that before? Eating them is twice as fun not as fun as making them. There's something about gathering the ingredients, measuring them out, combining some with others and setting this aside only to have them all meet up in the end anyway, tasting the batter, and smelling them bake in the oven. I find the second or third batches from the oven to be the best. So what cookie to make this time? Mike suggested "Monster Cookies" during one of our conversations:
M7: "You should make monster cookies."
Me: "What are monster cookies?"
M7: "You've never had a monster cookie?!?"
I consider someone questioning my mental cookie dicitionary to be a direct challenge. Monster cookie it was! But what was this monster cookie??? He mentioned oatmeal, peanut butter, cornflakes, and M&M's. WHAT? All this in a cookie...no wonder they're called monsters. I made a few tweaks, substituting Reese's pieces for M&M's and playing with the ratio of rolled oats to cornflakes. The result was quite satisfying...
Another satisfying result came on August 2, 2011. Mike and I went to a Red Sox game at the last minute, and while the game was delayed an hour and 45 minutes, our life together was moving forward. Mike brought me down behind home plate and proposed in the rain and I joyously said "YES!!!". It's been a whirlwind of rediscovery and adventure, I truly look forward to what combining our lives will bring. Now back to that cookie...
Monster Cookies - makes an insane amount of cookies. This recipe was adapted from Paula Deen.
Play around with the ingredients. I came across recipes with raisins, M&M's, chocolate chips, rice krispies, pecans... I mean, the list goes on here. I gather these cookies are the "everything but the kitchen sink" type, which can make them fun and spontaneous to make. Just use what you have handy!
ingredients found in your kitchen...
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of peanut butter
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of Reese's pieces
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups of rolled oats (not instant)
2 cups of cornflakes
Now what to do with those ingredients...
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. My BAKE knob hadn't been turned in quite some time, it was too hot in the summer (no A/C) and food tasted damn good on the grill. Line your cookies sheets with parchement. This makes a world of difference when it's time to clean.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the eggs and sugars. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter and butter. Mix well. Don't worry, the batter will be runny, but that's exactly where it's supposed to be. Stir in the Reese's pieces (or whatever additions you decide), baking soda, oatmeal, and cornflakes. Drop in small tablespoons onto your parchment lined cookie sheets. A word of caution: the smaller these tablespoons are, the better. These cookies are dense and if you're only baking them for 10 minutes, they need all the time they can get! I made the mistake of making them too big the first go-round. Lesson learned!
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes before transferring to cookie racks to cool. Share, share, SHARE!!
I love this entry!! You are too damn cute Lizzy!
Posted by: (Ant) Patti | September 12, 2011 at 09:23 PM