We’re back from a two week vacation that spanned Moab, UT, to the northern most part of Washington, where from the top of a mountain, I could see Canada.  We drove all the way to Seattle in a rented RV with two of our best friends and our little redhead.  Once we were in Seattle, the worst case scenario happened to our traveling partners – a death in the family – and they had to drive the RV home early and we booked a flight for later in the week to come home on our own.  We sorely missed their company but had an amazing time with the friends we went to see – John and Courtney and their amazing children.  They graciously welcomed us into their home and gave up their beds and their schedules and the order of how they normally go about life and made us feel so welcome, we felt more honored than family!  I just feel so lucky to have such friends in my life.  Olive has such wonderful people to look up to and strive to become.

I will post a LOT of recipes in the coming days about our trip and mostly recipes INSPIRED by our trip.  Recipes that immediately come to mind will be: Raspberry Pavlova, Chocolate Cayenne Mousse, a traditional crab boil, the ultimate potato salad, and a traditional poutine, just to name a few.  I can’t wait to share these recipes with you.

But today is about coming home.  Coming home to familiarity, to the warmth of being in your own space with the view out the window you remember (let’s not talk about what our yard looks like after 2 weeks of neglect).  When I think about coming home, I think about oatmeal cookies.  They scream comfort and familiarity and nourishment.  And the recipe today is kind of perfect.  The original recipe card I had is from a generic set of cookie recipes that came in a funny little box that just says COOKIES.  Each card is a different recipe.  It’s a pretty fun jumbo-sized deck of cards for Olive to play with and I can imagine when she gets older, picking out a card for our weekend baking adventures.  I modified the recipe because it seemed extremely void of liquid.  The original recipe didn’t call for any egg, so if you want to leave it out, know that you’ll just have to work the dough a little more so that it holds together because it’s pretty crumbly.  Either modification is good, but the addition of the egg makes a softer fluffier cookie, which worked out really well for my gap-toothed toddler.

Enjoy being home.  Everything is fleeting.

Oatmeal and Golden Raisin Cookies
makes 2 dozen cookies

1 1/4 cups AP flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBS boiling water
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray well with spray oil.

Sift the flour into a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar, oats, coconut, and raisins.  Make a well in the center.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and syrup over low heat.  In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in boiling water; stir immediately into the butter.

Pour the butter mixture into the well in the flour mixture.  With a fork, mix thoroughly.  Mix in the egg until well incorporated.

Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake until lightly browned, 15-20 minutes.  Cool a few minutes on the sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve with milk.