Oatmeal Cookies with A-Peel

I rarely meet a cookie I don’t like.  Pair it with a tall glass of milk and it’s a goner for sure.   When I made J chocolate chip cookies for her first day of school, I decided to whip up a batch of cookies for myself.  Being a mama to a new kindergartner deserved to be celebrated too.

I knew I wanted an oatmeal raisin cookie.  My go to recipe is the one under the lid on our oatmeal, but this time I wanted to try something new.  I cracked open my cookbooks and began my search.  I came upon a version that called for dried cranberries and orange zest that sounded yummy so I went for it.

Oatmeal Cookies with A-Peel  {via All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups regular oat
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon grated orange rind

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine cranberries and orange juice in a bowl, cover and let stand 10 minutes.
3. Beat sugars and butter with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add corn syrup and egg; beat well.  Stir in cranberry mixture.
4. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.  Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Add oats, walnuts, and orange rind, stir well.  Add to sugar mixture; stir until well blended.
5. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 8 minutes until almost set.  Remove from pans; cool on wire rack.

They came out so good! I liked the orange flavor mixed with the cranberries all rolled up inside of the chewy bite of the oatmeal.  They were great as is, but awesome with cold milk.

These bottles are simply re-purposed flavored iced coffee drink bottles with the label removed.   I like the Target brand because the labels are not glued on and peel off easily.  They’d be adorable for a party but even make everyday seem special.  The great thing is any unfinished milk can be capped off and put back in the fridge until the kiddos are ready to finish it off.