Raspberry Oatmeal Cookies

I struggle with desserts. Replacing cane sugar and corn syrups result in experimenting with honey, maple syrup, stevia, pureed fruits like banana or date, but I have learned that the sweetener is an essential part of the dessert’s ratio. Ruhlman taught me that.

But living on my own or, for the moment, with just one other person, I’m typically left with leftover desserts… or bread… or anything in excess that, in reality, I only wanted one or two servings of. And so I don’t really experiment with the sweet stuff as much as I’d like unless there’s a lot of people to share it with.

On the other hand, I do make exceptions. When CK arrived in Malta for our summer together, berry season struck the island. The local green grocer near my work’s office was selling small plastic boxes of his favorite, raspberries, for a reasonable price. Sadly, anyone who loves raspberries knows how quickly they can spoil; and so, another buy later, we had roughly 120 g of them to work with after picking out the already molding ones.

I don’t know whose idea it was to use them for cookies, but the recipe turned out to be what CK referred to as “the best cookie he’s ever had”. Tart, savory, sweet, and buttery, with a satisfying cookie that doesn’t crumble more than it should. They spread out beautifully on the tray while baking, and rose slightly due to the presence of leavening agents.

Once I get around to making these chocolate chips, I think I’ll incorporate them into my next batch of these cookies. But really, these are quite delicious as is. They are an adaptation of Ruhlman's 1-2-3 Cookie Dough in Ratio, but I added one egg and replaced the sugar with honey.

Raspberry Oatmeal Cookies

60 g Honey
120 g Unsalted butter, softened
90 g CGF Rolled oats*
90 g Chickpea flour
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/8 tsp. Baking soda**
Dash of Cinnamon
Pinch of Powdered ginger
1 Large egg, lightly beaten
120 g Raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C and lightly grease or lay out parchment paper on a sheet tray (half to two thirds size).
Combine the honey and the butter, and mix until it is evenly distributed and the butter is light in color, followed by the egg.
Fold in the oats, chickpea flour, spices and baking soda gradually and continue to stir until a uniform dough is formed.
Add the raspberries and carefully stir to the point of breaking down the berries into smaller pieces, but not so much as to turn it into a puree.
Form the cookies using about two tablespoons of dough for each cookie and place them at least 2 inches apart (you don’t need to press them down, they spread out on their own).
Place the sheet in the center of the oven to bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges turn a light golden brown.
Remove from the oven and place the cookies on a rack to cool.

Makes 12 cookies.

*The oats I used has a "pulsed" look, so I would recommend putting your oats in a food processor or blender and pulse a couple times.
**I initially used 1/4 tsp. baking soda, but it tasted a bite too soda-y for my preferences.

Graduated.

Almost two months since a post. A first on the Meals with Morri site.

I’ve completed the Conflict Analysis and Resolution MS Program. My last class technically finishes on Wednesday, but I turned in my assignment early so I would have the weekend devoted to catching up on sleep and spending time with CK. This will be our longest time spent together, and my first summer spent with a partner ever, so you can imagine my excitement.

A lot has happened in two months. I took six credits worth of highly intensive schoolwork (as in, two graduate-level classes in the half the time) alongside working part-time and full time at my internship. I wasn’t sleeping well. I stopped exercising. I was a nervous wreck. I struggled.

But I did it. I’m done. Now, halfway through my internship, I feel like I can enjoy Malta for the rest of my stay.

I’m a bit behind in recipes, and I’m still processing the post-Graduate inevitability (sound familiar?), so please bear with me. My goal is to resume regular posting in August. For now, I'll be editing the website and brainstorming ideas on how to refine the Meals with Morri focus as well as what in the gods' names I'll be doing as a career.

In the meantime, thank you for visiting my area of cyberspace, and feel free to email me suggestions on what recipes you'd like to see in the upcoming months.

Risotto is an Italian classic, and one of my favorite rice dishes out there. CK and I have made it over Skype and together, and it’s one of those dishes that is easy to make and easy create variations with little to no effort at all. Pea and mint is a fantastic combination, and recipes for this risotto variation can be found everywhere.

Sweet Pea and Mint Risotto

25 g salted butter (or olive oil for a dairy free and vegan risotto)
1 Red onion, finely diced
400 g Arborio rice
1 glass of white wine*
200 g Fozen peas
1 tsp. dried mint
1 L water, hot (preferably boiling)**
Sea salt and cracked peppercorns, to taste

Parmesan cheese, to top***

Finely chop the onion and “sweat” (known as soffrito in Italy) it very gently in the butter over medium heat in a large saute pan or pot.
Add the rice and cook until it has a transparent look (this shouldn't take long) followed by the mint, wine, and peas.
When the wine is more or less gone, add the water (or stock) a little bit at a time (never submerged).
Keep stirring it and keep adding more liquid as it cooks away, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Taste to see if the rice is done: the rice should be soft, but have enough bite to it to feel the individual grains of rice.
Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese*** on top.

Makes 4 – 8 servings.

*A traditional risotto usually calls for a dry to semi-dry. I had a bottle of Maltese white wine that was sweet but with a dry aftertaste. It gave the risotto a wonderful depth of flavor that harmonized well with the sweetness of the peas and the coolness of the mint.

** One easy way to maintain the heat is using an electric kettle.

*** For a dairy-free/vegan cheese replacement, I recommend nutritional yeast.