Oatmeal Cookies-Yes They Are Simply the Best

I'm doing the little macaron dance today and I didn't even make macarons. Just a little note for those who don't make macarons-when you bake those luscious little cookies and the feet form perfectly you are so ecstatic that you do the little macaron dance around your kitchen. It's really something to behold-pure unadulterated joy ! So now that you have that image let me tell you what I'm celebrating. That fabulous couple, Todd & Diane, also known as White on Rice Couple are doing a photography shoot out in Los Angeles . They invited 12 local bloggers to participate and opened it up to readers of their blog. If you wanted to be selected you had to send them a little comment about why you wanted to attend and what you wanted to learn.

 Naturally, since I love their blog, I submitted my comment and yes , I was one of 8 people selected to attend. Wahooooo...the macaron dance doesn't begin to explain how joyful and excited I am. I'm going to have to rename the macaron dance, the White on Rice dance ! What is so awesome about this talented couple is that they are doing this gratis-no charge-in order to form a sense of community among local bloggers and those of us from out of town. The concept is  everyone gets together to encourage and help one another build skills in food photography. How awesome is that and how awesome are they ?

To celebrate this fabulous opportunity I wanted to bake cookies.  Cookies always make me feel joyful, they make me feel 10 years old again sitting on the back porch with a glass of cold milk and a plate of my favorite cookies. The biggest challenge-what kind should I bake, chocolate chip-one of my favorites ?  Or maybe Poilane's Punitions-love those to death.  As I was doing some research on  croissants I stumbled upon this blog Weekend Bakery.

 As I paged through their posts and drooled over their photos I found this recipe.  It sounded so simple and sweet I knew I had to try it.  They call these Simply the Best Oatmeal Cookie-that is an understatement.  I am terribly ashamed to admit I sat down and ate 6 of these in less than 30 minutes. And I couldn't stop.  They are a cross between a Florentine,  oatmeal cookie and a sweet caramel butter cookie.  I'm making a second batch , not because I ate the first batch-pretty close to it though !  But because these are so incredibly delicious I know that J is going to devour most of them after dinner tonight .

 They are light and crisp and have a  hint of caramel to them. When you bake them make sure you  only bake them for 20 minutes.  Don't think they are under baked when you remove them from the oven and they are all soft and bubbly looking.  Trust me, don't touch them,let them cool and they will turn into heavenly bites.  Let me know how you like them and how many you ate in one sitting !  I'm going back to my kitchen to do a little dance and make some more cookies .

Simply the Best Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
makes about 3 dozen

60 grams (2.12 ounces) of wheat flour
140 grams (5 ounces) of soft brown sugar
170 grams ( 6 ounces) of oatmeal
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 small pinches  of salt
150 grams (5 ounces) of butter
If you have a scale use it to measure in grams which is how this recipe appeared.  I used an online converter to list the ounce equivalent.
Making the oatmeal cookies

Preheat the oven at 300F. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and cut into little pieces using two knives. Knead into a ball with a cool hand-you want flecks of butter throughout like a good pie dough. Make 25 small balls and lay them out on a parchment or silicon sheet lined  tray. Leave about 2 inches between cookies as these spread out. You can press lightly on the little balls to flatten them just slightly.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Leave them to cool for a few minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack.
Tip: Use a small ice cream scoop (about 2 teaspoons) to scoop out the little balls.

PS. Not only are these cookies simply the best so are Todd & Diane from White on Rice Couple