The chickens are still not laying and they're just a little over 6 months now. It's getting unbearable, anticipation of finding a tiny egg between the straw. Instead, all I have found is a small and timid mouse I tried to shoo away with the back of my glove. But, I'm waiting as patiently as I can, watching their combs grow a little darker, closing the barn door when the sun goes down.
I'm trying to keep busy while I wait. Finding new things to do with the time that autumn somehow offers me. I'm reading more, taking a bath in the evening. I'm cleaning the garage and painting the living room. We're visiting my sister, going out to dinner for my birthday. Spending more time together. Starting new TV shows. Falling asleep by ten, waking up at six to feel the morning fog that surrounds us in the mountains.
And with all this extra time I find, I'm practicing my piping skills. My unsteady hand and lack of artistic talent prevented me from trying it for too long. But, now I'm eager. Now I want to learn. Now I have the patience to sit down and sketch what's in my head. And now, with it slightly chilled by 6 o'clock, I don't mind spending time in the kitchen with the stove on and the dogs waiting patiently for samples.
So I made a cookie. I adapted a recipe I had for childhood desserts I wanted to reinvent. This one was originally an oatmeal cookie, the crisp and chewy iced ones you buy in a 30 pack at Wal-Mart. But so sharp and brittle, so thin and browned, it felt less like a cookie cake and more like something else. With its iced border and buttercream center, I got to calling it a galette. A cookie galette--which will henceforth be my stripper name and the new rebrand for cookie cakes. Join me in this, won't you?
Oatmeal Cookie Galette!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup +2 TB AP flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 TB honey
- 1/2 TB molasses
- 1/2 TB pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350*F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
- In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until light and pale
- Add your egg and beat to incorporate
- Add honey, molasses, and vanilla
- Now, using a wooden spoon (I found the stand mixer mixed the dough too much), slowly add in your flour while stirring
- Stir in oats until fully mixed
- Transfer dough to a floured work surface (I just did mine directly onto the parchment) and roll out to about a quarter inch
- Using a dinner plate, cut dough into a circle and tap the edges in a bit if they crumbled slightly
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are browned and center is firm, but not burnt
- Allow to cool before decorating (see notes below)
Decorating note: As always, feel free to decorate however you'd like. For me, I whipped together 1/2 cup shortening, 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon orange juice, and 1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar until light. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with
