Friday, May 6, 2011

#22: thinking "pink" oatmeal cookies

So I know that breast cancer awareness month isn't till October, but I figured, why not start experimenting now?


Ok.  In reality, finals are fast approaching which means late night studying and being home more hours.  And I'm doing a 1 month spending freeze challenge, so if I want semi healthy study snacks while writing my papers, I have to make them myself.  And do so without buying ingredients that I'm missing or running low on.  That means oatmeal cookies...but I'm low on brown sugar, and I wanted to save it for my breakfasts (i like it on my oatmeal), so I'm using honey instead.  and then...i remembered the bottle of boysenberry syrup that stephanie brought over awhile back.  I've become something of a pancake snob since learning how to make buttermilk pancakes, and since I don't have any buttermilk left I won't be making pancakes until after may 16, so I thought it might be fun to put that syrup to use a different way.  here's to experiments!


A word to the wise on baking experiments: start from known territory.  Baking involves chemical interactions and this gives you a familiar launching ground.  This recipe was adapted (by which I mean drastically altered) from this Food.com honey oatmeal cookie recipe,


The Basics:
Prep time: About 25 minutes.

Good for leftovers: cookies, left over? no way!
cost: about $5

servings: varies depending on the size of your cookie.  and how much dough you snack on.


The ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter or margerine, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup boysenberry syrup
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or other nuts (optional)


The Process:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Combine wet ingredients (egg, water, honey, syrup) in a large bowl.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  One third at a time, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir well.


Grease a baking sheet with non-stick spray or butter.  Form whatever size cookies you prefer, and place them on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes; if you do smaller cookies, check after 10 minutes to make sure they don't overcook.


Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan.


Ok, so these aren't pink.  They start out that way, but the pink doesn't show after they cooked- I wonder if it would look any pinker with white flour instead of cornmeal?  They're also quite crumbly because I forgot to add the water, but the boysenberry is a nice touch.  Next time I will try adding more boysenberry and less honey.


But now I have an idea.  I think I should hold a "pink recipe" contest for breast cancer awareness month.  any thoughts?