Pudding Cookies - Good to be Home

So I've been back home in Alaska for about two weeks now after 3 years in Minnesota, and my heart is slowly easing back into it's rightful place; it feels good.

I tried so hard to make the Midwest feel like home and somehow it just never fit and I feel such a relief after accepting that it's just not my cup of tea. Since returning home I am reminded how wonderful it is to be a wanderer, to adventure, to not have all the questions answered.

I'm slowly coming around to the idea of going to culinary school in the fall instead of the more responsible, safe pathway of an MBA I was considering and allowing myself to be me and still be figuring it out. It's somewhat comical actually because after being somewhat of a nerd in high school and doing fairly well in college and finally spending two years employed at the Mayo Clinic, I am much more interested in having a significantly less defined, professional career. and in Alaska I have examples, and support in this style of life which is incredibly liberating. Although, when someone asks me what my end goal is or what my physical address is I literally have no concrete answers which never fails to befuddle him or her. 

"So you're just... living all over and working where you can for as long as you want?"

"Yep."

"Oh... that sounds so nice..."

And you know, aside from the occasional panic I feel about not having a plan, it really is quite wonderful.

So yesterday I went on a Forrest Gump kind of walk. You know, the kind of walk where you just head out and then, all of the sudden, it's two hours later and you're realizing that maybe flip flops were not the best choice in footwear. 

It was completely worth it.

I walked and walked and thought I might come up with some answers, but I didn't. All I was left with was knowing that right now I'm in the right place and some very sore feet.

I'm reading a book right now on how important the location and culture of the city you live is so much more important now than it ever was before. It's called Who's Your City? and it talks about the evolution of information sharing, ease of travel, and metropolitan expansion vs rural stagnancy, and how these things influence the culture and lifestyle of different cities. I'm not too far, but as a wondering soul, I am very curious to see what Richard Florida thinks about where I should live. 

Here's what I know my requirements are so far:

• transient demographic - I love being surrounded by people from all kinds of cities who are similar to me in searching for their life's next adventure. It not only makes for more interesting conversation, but it also inspires me to do more of my own adventuring - we only get one life, it might as well be exciting.
• outdoor activities readily available - I need to be outside. I don't need to summit mountains or spend months camping, foraging, or "roughing it," but I do need to be able to go hiking, downhill skiing, and have the occasional bonfire.
• NO TORNADOES - after the Midwest, I am sick and tired of some freak storm whipping though and taking down my entire life's possessions in one fell swoop. How anyone lives anywhere near tornado alley is beyond me and I'm sorry, but the panic and uncertainty that taints what should be an enjoyable spring and summer season with devastation and sorrow is not something I'm signing up for. No, thank you.
• foodie culture - I love food - have I mentioned that? - and I need to be around people who enjoy it the way I do. 
• family - having family nearby is a huge perk. After all, they are the best and most loyal friends I've got. Plus, travelling for the holiday's is a bitch.

With that said, have you ever tried pudding cookies?

Pudding Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 (3.4 oz) package of instant vanilla pudding

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups AP Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips, adjust to your taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl of stand mixer, or large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add in pudding mix and stir until well blended. Add in eggs and vanilla.
3. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt and gradually mix in to the wet ingredients - I like to do this part by hand to avoid over mixing.
4. Just before dry ingredients are entirely combined, begin to add in chocolate chips. Stir until flour mixture and chips are fully incorporated.
5. Scoop into 1" balls and place on cookie sheet with a Silpat if you have one, if not, directly onto the cookie sheet is fine. 
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges just begin to brown and let cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet before placing on cooling rack.

If these don't make you feel at home, then I don't know what will.

Enjoy!

THE oatmeal raisin cookie

I found it. I really, truly found it. I found the best oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. As an avid baker I have often been stumped by oatmeal raisin cookies. It seems like every time I set out to make them I never have to right kind of oats rolled? old fashioned? quick-cooking? instant?. It's like some curse was cast on me so that I am always ill prepared for this kind of cookie; this is not the case for chocolate chip - I always find the ingredients for chocolate chip, regardless of who's kitchen I'm in. And if by some miracle I do find all the right ingredients the cookies look great fresh out of the oven and then immediately flatten into some lumpy, dark mound, moist mess which are impossible to remove from the sheet either because A) they have spread out so far they are not one giant gooey mass, or B) they disintegrate instantly upon contacting the spatula to place them on the cooking rack.

So what's different about this recipe? There is one ingredient that solves all the road blocks stopping my oatmeal raisin cookies from obtaining perfection: corn syrup. Now I know it's not the most popular pantry staple out there with some of the recent health crazes out there but it's one tablespoon and it seriously works plus, you're eating a cookie, if you really wanted to be healthy you'd be having an apple instead. The corn syrup helps keep these cookies soft and chewy for several days and creates an incredible texture for the perfect cookie.

Try them for yourself, the proof is in the cookie.

THE Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbls corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups oats (I did 50% quick cooking and 50% old fashioned)
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer, combine butter, shortening, and sugars. When evenly mixed together add in eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. 

Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. 

Finally, mix in the oats and raisins.

Drop cookies onto baking sheet, flatten out slightly if you prefer a less mounded cookie, and bake for 9 minutes until edges are just golden brown.

Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes and then move them to a cooling rack by 'cooling rack' I mean your hand where you can immediately begin enjoying every morsel.

Enjoy!