Back to School, Back to Baking...

  

  
     After a three day polar vortex extension,  the Christmas break is officially over and my kids are back to school.  I must admit, I was sad to see them go. We enjoyed some good times over the holidays and as they get older and 'wiser' I am afraid that they won't want to partake in my cheesy holiday traditions much longer.
    
     Each year as I take down the tree and pack away all of our special ornaments I contemplate what lies ahead in the year to come. It's a melancholy endeavour.  When my kids were still little, I started the yearly tradition of giving each of them a special ornament to call their own. They  are allowed to open it on the day we decorate our tree and hang it next to the ones they have come to treasure.  Come January, as I remove the decorations, I put the kid's ornaments away in their own individual boxes.  One day, when they grow up and move on, they'll have their own box of Christmas memories to help them begin their own traditions.       

     I'm sure you now have a better understanding as to why this time of year makes me a little blue. And if you are a follower of this blog, you know what I do when I'm feeling down... I bake.  Can you guess what was waiting for my brood when they arrived home from their first day back at school? Cookies, hugs and a teary mom.
  
    I may not know what the future holds, but what I do know is that my past if full of happy Christmas memories. Memories that I will continue to make as long as my kids will let me. The tree is down and the boxes have been stored away. Our living room, no longer festive, looks empty, but my heart is full.
    

• 2 1/2 cups oatmeal, blended
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

~ Preheat oven to 375
~ Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder
~ Cream butter and both sugars
~ Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined
~ In a separate bowl, mix together oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda
~ Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined
~ Stir in chocolate chips
~ Roll into balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet
~ Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown
~ Allow cookies to cool 1 minute on cookie sheet before moving to a wire cooling rack