Cranberry white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

Liz Black, devoted and loving wife to Kevin, is the first guest author in the history of Kevin Eats. She offers us her world renown cookies for our Saturday dessert recipe.

Well, what can I say? I am utterly honored to be the first "guest blogger" of Kevin Eats. My first thoughts were, "How can I possibly live up to Kevin's eloquent and articulate style? What if people read this and think, 'wow, Kevin is definitely the writer of the family.' " I'm a little rusty at writing in general and especially creative writing. With that disclaimer and in my own style, here I go.

Today's Saturday dessert recipe is one that I bring out time and time again. It is quite simple and accessible (printed on the back of the craisins bag), though each time I make these cookies people are amazed by their uniqueness and deliciousness. They quickly assume it's a recipe from the latest Gourmet magazine. If I am ever in need of compliments, all I have to do is bring out the cookies and they start flowing freely. It's quite humorous how quickly a plate of 20 cookies disappears in the presence of only three or four people. They just slide down so easily... The greatest part is that they turn out exactly the same every single time!

There are a few tricks to keep in mind with these particular cookies, though, but otherwise they are almost completely foolproof.

Trick #1: Hershey white chocolate chips are a MUST. Unfortunately, the "heaping metropolis" of River Falls (Kevin's words), does not carry these. Only Nestle and a few other brands. I taste-tested the two brands (Hershey and Nestle) one time and was amazed at the difference. The Hershey brand was startlingly sweet and pure, like real white chocolate, but the Nestle brand tasted like sweetened candle wax. Very artificial and NO comparison. This is the biggest reason that the number of times I've made these cookies since we moved to River Falls has really dwindled. In fact, I almost wrote a letter to Hershey telling them how great their chips were in comparison to other brands, but never quite got around to it. To clarify, I have tried MANY other brands and they all taste artificial. Hershey is the only way to go.

Trick #2: Take them out of the oven before they appear completely done. This is crucial. They only maintain their softness and flavor when they are taken out early. They may then be left on the pan for a few minutes to continue to bake out of the oven. The outer edges can be slightly golden brown, but the tops should still appear slightly doughy.

Trick #3: Stir by hand, not with a mixer. This makes for much better textured cookies. Do not get lazy.

If these three tricks are followed, these cranberry white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies will turn out perfect any time. Thanks again for allowing me to grace your blog space, Kevin. I love you.



Ingredients:
2/3 cups brown sugar
2/3 cups butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flower
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
2/3 cups white chocolate chips
1 - 6 ounce package craisins
Bake at 375 until done

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