Feeding the neighbours

The time had come for us to wish our neighbours a merry Christmas and thank them for always being there when we have called upon them over the past year. We're quite lucky to have such a kind and kid friendly street and the way we show our gratitude is with baked goods of course. This year I made a batch of oatmeal cranberry cookies and then they were passed over to Maura who had bought some cool little boxes from Cost Plus. She filled them with the swag and made them all pretty with some ribbon. Finished off with a tag made from one of the awesome pictures from our photo shoot with our friend Miranda, http://mshantiphoto.com/ and they were ready for delivery. The elves in charge of distribution were little Miranda and her friend Devon who braved the rain and made sure the boxes made it to the front doors safely. A great team effort by all.

The recipe I used was from The Joy of Baking.

3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (210 grams) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups (260 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins or 1 cup white or dark chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the nuts, oats, and dried cranberries or chocolate chips.
For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of batter and space the cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the baking sheet. Then wet your hand and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Bake the cookies for about 12 - 15 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft and a little wet in the centers. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.