Sunday, August 18, 2013

NOT your Weight Watchers Recipe...

As you can probably imagine, my love of baking and my desire to lose weight as a Weight Watchers member are not always compatible. This weekend was one of those times... If I could exercise 10-12 hours a day, I might not have a problem. However, since that is totally undesirable and entirely impossible for me, I have to either wear a face mask (which I have actually done in the past) or hide the culprit items. Yesterday it was chocolate all day, and today it was cookies... not just your average cookies, but probably some of the best oatmeal cookies I have ever tasted. The cookie dough is to die for (ask me how I know). :) They are chewy, chunky, and soft-just the way I like. I have been looking for a really good oatmeal cookie recipe for quite some time-one that has other things added besides just oatmeal, and does not go flat at our altitude. I found this recipe, thanks to Pinterest and Lil' Luna, with a few tweaks on my part. Enjoy! And oh, if you're trying to lose weight, don't forget to hide them or give them away after one or two. 



Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips ( I use dark chocolate)

Cream together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients, coconut, cranberries, pecans, and chocolate chips together in separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Spoon or scoop onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. I baked mine for 11 minutes. Every oven is different, so watch closely. Do not overbake. Let set on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, and then remove to cooling rack. 

Note: I have been experimenting with my new oven. Just made these cookies again tonight, and baked them for only 9 minutes, so it really does depend on your oven. Watch them closely, and write down the perfect timing for you.

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