I was brought up under the doctrine that anything could be cured—boredom, the sniffles, crankiness—through the cathartic creation of a batch of cookies. (Feeling sad? Let’s talk about it while we whip up some oatmeal raisins.) Admittedly, to this day, I bake cookies for emotional reasons. Upon moving out and starting a life of my own, baking sessions became affordable therapy (feel that breakup fade away as the butter is whipped into submission and fluffy sweetness). I gave love, thanks, appreciation, and I’m sorrys wrapped into a basket of crispy-on-the-outside-and-soft-in-the-middle confections. It was my thing.
Alas, a girl can’t eat as many cookies as her 5-year-old (or 20-year-old) self once could. Since discovering I’m lactose intolerant, and my sister deciding to forgo gluten, the demand for my traditional treats trickled off. The past few years have a been an ongoing experiment in trying to recreate the inherent magic in my mom’s original confections—sans stomach ache and snug jeans.
With work off this Friday (gotta love those teacher-in-service days), and a visit to my sister for her birthday in store, I decided it was a ripe opportunity for experimentation (just the push I needed to get out of my banana bread and granola rut). These chocolaty oatmeal wonders, with their soft chocolate chunks, nutty bite, and buttery-without-the-butter dough answer an old-fashioned cookie craving. True, they’re hardly sugar free, but, hey, cookies that taste this good sans butter and white flour are a birthday-worthy win in my book. Happy birthday, Sis!