My mother often tells the story of my first cooking venture. When I was two, my mother had me propped up on a chair in our kitchen, so I could help her make oatmeal cookies. I was so enthusiastic about this, that when her back was turned I ate a whole cup of flour! Yep, down the hatch it went. Needless to say, it freaked my mother (and I am sure myself) out. As most of you know, flour and saliva basically turn into homemade "glue" - so I essentially glued my mouth shut. After some panic and cleaning my gooey mouth out, we proceeded to make the best oatmeal cookies ever.
I recently started my second maternity leave, and am now home with a 20 month old and a 5 week old. With that being said, I get cabin fever quite fairly regularly, especially on those typical Nova Scotian rainy days. On the past rainy day, I decided to continue the Lavallée tradition and make cookies with my lil' cookie monster. I must admit that it was a very messy venture, but Zoe clearly enjoyed herself and luckily enough, she did not follow in her Momma's footsteps by eating a cup of flour. The following recipe is the same one that I made with my mother many moons ago.
Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 ¾ C flour
- 1 ¼ C sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 C rolled oats
- 1 C raisins (I mix raisins with dried cranberries!)
- 1 C oil (I use olive oil, but it calls for canola oil)
- ½ C milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
Mix all the dry ingredients and the raisins. Add in the wet ingredients and give a quick mix. Place in spoonfuls on a baking sheet and place in a 400°F oven for 12 minutes.
If you have small children, cooking with them in the kitchen is a great time and worth the clean up in the end. Now, will Zoe follow in my footsteps and continue on the culinary path? I will keep you posted!