the last holiday cookie post

I used to be a picky eater. I'm sure I've mentioned this here before, because it's part of what makes this whole me-cooking-phenomenon so crazy. Luckily, I am also pretty polite, which is what finally started to force me out of that habit. I would be invited over to someone's house and it's not like I could refuse to eat what they served. That would be rude.

This was tested, of course, in Italy - where we wound up eating things like wild boar, hunted in Naples. I ate a lot of meat in Italy, actually, which is especially funny coming up on the two-year anniversary of becoming a for-realsies vegetarian. (My whole life I have been mostly-vegetarian. See above, re: picky eater. In addition to the moral issues with meat, I really just don't like the taste of it.)


Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

Oats were one of those foods I was picky about. To be blunt: I did not like oats. Oatmeal? Yuck. Granola? Pushing it. Oatmeal cookies? No, thank you. Clearly I came to love granola - another victory that can probably be chalked up to living in Italy, though I'm sure it also has to do with needing to rely on the granola in the cafeteria when there was nothing else to eat. Ah, college.


But oatmeal still kind of grosses me out, and by association, I can't remember the last time I had an oatmeal cookies. Until I decided to make them for my holiday tins. I realize this seems crazy. These were certainly not my favorite cookies, but I think they have made me reconsider oatmeal cookies.

Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
adapted from here

The original recipe calls for about 1/2 cup of the oats to be ground, in a food processor. I don't have one of those, so I winged it and just threw them in whole. It seems to have worked out. But if you have a food processor and would like to grind some oats, have at it!

3/4 cup peanut butter
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs (room temp.)
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix together peanut butter, butter, honey, sugar, vanilla, salt, and baking powder. If you're using a mixer, this should only take a couple of minutes. I, however, hand-mixed and it might have taken a little bit longer (though not much). Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition.

Fold in the oats, followed by the chocolate chips.

Place the dough in about-tablespoon-sized drops onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.

Let cool, and enjoy!