Dinner tonight was pretty simple – burritos.  Ground beef, rice, and beans, chilis, olives, cheese.  Simple, basic, and filling.

So after dinner, Victor laments that we don’t have dessert tonight.  Situations are actually reversed, for once.  Usually it’s my sweet tooth looking for goodies.  Being the unsympathetic person I am, I said there were two pieces of Valentine chocolate left.  One for each.  Dessert is covered.

Victor said he was going to bake cookies.  My clever ruse worked.

I left the kitchen and Victor went to work.

When we bake cookies, we use ice cream scoops (known as “dishers” in the food biz) to scoop out the dough.  We have about a half-dozen of them in varying sizes.  They are so much easier than trying to deal with tablespoons and the like – and you get a consistent-sized cookie!  (They’re also really good for making cupcakes and muffins!)

Victor used a #16 scoop tonight – 1/4 cup.  These are big cookies!

The recipe is a variation on the recipe from the lid of the Quaker Oats container.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

  • 1/2 pound butter, softened
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups rolled oats

Heat oven to 350°. In large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded 1/4  cup scoops onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Of course, you can drop them by rounded tablespoons (try a #40 disher) and bake for about 10-11 minutes.

They totally rocked.