Between the bizarre first day, crazy schedule changes and the miserable weather, stepping back into the normal school routine hasn’t been easy. Going from the relaxing and (mostly) sunny days of summer, it feels like Irene has made a comeback in the halls at Wayland High School. For this reason I’m starting off my first post with something simple and easy: butterscotch oatmeal cookies.

A couple of summers ago, my good friend Mary made them for me and they have been my absolute favorite ever since. The only problem with these cookies is the inability to stop after eating one. As much as this sounds like a cheesy advertisement for potato chips, I’ve experienced the addiction first hand.

This summer my mom sent me tins of them while I was away for a month. My friends and I sat and ate until we were surprised to feel the cold metal and the few crumbs left at the bottom of the tin.

There are some songs, like Knee Deep or Unwritten, that are considered summer songs because when you listen to them you feel like you should be on a beach somewhere, or the weather should be at least 20 degrees hotter than it is.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m clearly a food nerd, or if other people have this too, but along with my summer songs I have summer foods. There are the classics like watermelon or raspberries, but these cookies are one of my favorites. Biting into one of them brings me back to long days spent at Good Harbor or lounging on my grandparents’ dock in Cayuga.

So, regardless of the danger of the first bite, I highly recommend you try this recipe. Like I said earlier, it’s simple and doesn’t take too much time. Plus, during this cold and wet weather there’s nothing like chewing on a sweet, warm cookie that tastes like the relaxing days of summer we tried so hard to savor.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
3 cups quick or old fashioned oats
1 ⅔ cups (11 oz. pkg) butterscotch flavored morsels

Set up:
Get ingredients ready and preheat oven to 375.

Combine:
Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake:
Bake for 7-8 minutes for chewy cookies; 9-10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

This recipe is courtesy of Nestle Tollhouse. Can be found on the back of any Nestle Tollhouse Butterscotch Morsels bag.

And just in case you want to know a little bit more about me, my name’s Ellen Barber and I’m a junior. Ever since I’ve been allowed to use the oven I’ve been mixing up random concoctions (usually not ending too well) and occasionally following a recipe. Like Carolyn said, we don’t really know where this blog is going to take us. The only definite thing we do know is that we both share a love for cooking of any kind and we wanted to share that with you. Feel free to make any suggestions.

Enjoy!