Democracy is Sweet Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
It was divine intervention. I had pulled out my most obscure cookbook to find an oatmeal cookie recipe. (My eleven year old daughter had negotiated the cookies in exchange for eating her oatmeal for breakfast…future politician?) The cookbook was sent to me by a publishing company as a sample for the cookbook that I might one day publish. Sharing Our Best from the First United Methodist Church – Women’s Ministries, has remained on my kitchen shelf for years, tucked away between Julia Child and Ina Garten. But yesterday morning, for some reason, reach for it I did, just one day after possibly the most historically significant general election in our country’s history. I flipped to the cakes, cookies and candy section, and there, lo and behold was the most ironic thing I have ever seen. Hilary Clinton’s Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. Now, I am not sure if the one “l” in Hilary was a typo, or if it was another Hilary Clinton the book was referring to, but I figured, either way, it was a sign. A sign to bake those cookies.
The recipe called for Crisco, which I am not a fan of, for a variety of reasons. (O.K., really just one, it’s basically plastic.) So I substituted butter, changed the quantity, used self-rising flour, changed the brand of chocolate chips and added whole milk. I had reinvented the recipe.
For eight years our government has battled internally. A Democratic President and a Republican Congress. Blockading and filibustering, disagreeing and slandering. It’s time we regroup and work this out, together, for the good of the country. Lot’s of men might say, “go to the mattress” but I say go to the kitchen. The kitchen is warm, creates open dialogue, is the heart of the home and nourishes. Cook, don’t fight.
We are Americans and we are supposed to unite and figure things out in the best interest of everyone. Invite over someone from the other political party and let’s figure this one out. Let’s find some common ground. Bake up something sweet, maybe it will have a little grit, but it’s good. Sounds like America to me.
These cookies aren’t pretty or perfect but in the act of sharing them we are celebrating that our democracy is sweet.
Democracy is Sweet Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal flakes
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup of Ghirardelli’s milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour and salt. In a large bowl beat together the butter and both sugars with the vanilla until completely blended and smooth. Add the eggs, beating until fluffy. Add about 1/3 of the flour and beat, then add about 1/3 of the oatmeal and beat and add 1/3 of the milk and beat. Repeat until all ingredients are combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Place dough in fridge for 10 minutes to cool. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet spacing them about 2″ apart ( you can also line the sheet with parchment or a silpat cooking pad for easy clean up.) Bake for 11 minutes or until cookies are golden on the edges. Cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack or heat proof plate or container. Best served warm. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.
