the right bite

R has loved oatmeal raisin cookies for as long as I've known him, and I have yet to bake the perfect version. I just seem to mess it up every single time--they're usually these flat, oily discs of a cookie, and who wants to eat that?

I'm getting closer, however. I finally realized that I overmix the dough with my mixer, and I also don't follow high altitude directions. Mixing with a wooden spoon and adding more flour yielded this tasty batch. {Most of you are probably saying "duh."}

But I'm new to this cooking stuff, so bear with me. I don't know how many batches I've tried, but it's been many, and I'm a little embarrassed I didn't tweak my technique sooner. Maybe I didn't care? "At least I baked SOMEthing," was probably my thought as I bit into poor-excuse-for-a-cookie-that-I'd-eat-but-hubby-wouldn't-touch.

Suddenly I'm home with a baby with time to try new things and a desire to please my husband. It feels good to break my old mold and actually care why I'm not getting the results I'd like with something as simple as a cookie. You bet I care, because I'm mom now! And aren't moms supposed to know these things...? I don't want my baby's friends to come over years from now and refuse a cookie. So baking R's favorite is a great place to start. Yesterday was a great time to bake, too: cloudy, rainy, drizzly, crummy... The kind of day I love because we don't get enough of them here, as my grass can attest!

Anyway, I halved the recipe and increased the flour to 1 cup, and when they were done I brought one up to Raul in the study for approval. He tasted thoughtfully and nodded, which I knew was a good sign; the batch years ago with way too much salt had a much different face to it... :)

Olivia and I also ventured out yesterday to meet a couple of friends for lunch, and Liv sported the flapjack hat I knit last November for the first time:

Isn't that such a Charlie Brown face? She wasn't such a fan, but warmed up to it once nicely bundled in her carrier. Sigh. I so love this girl.