Baking my way through the trials and triumphs of life!

Seriously, a bowl of cherries doesn’t do much for me… but a bowl of rum-soaked cherries is definitely something to get excited about.  I sent my parents off on their road trip with oatmeal raisin cookies (my dad’s favorite). Since I was already making oatmeal cookie batter,  I found dried cherries in my cabinet and decided to experiment. These cookies were supposed to have chocolate chips in them as well,  but in all honesty I was on my second glass of wine and completely forgot to add them. I remembered to add chopped up walnuts to the batter, which is a twist on my go-to oatmeal cookie recipe.  The people at the Fisher Nut Company were kind enough to send me a whole variety of nuts to use with my holiday baking. The cherry-walnut combo was great. I really think the cherry-walnut, and chocolate combo would be even better, so you’ll have to let me know if you bake a batch.

The boy is in the play-offs for baseball this week, which causes lots of anxiety (for me, not him… he’s fine). Why my son decided pitching was his calling in life, I’ll never know. I try to remind myself that it’s just for fun, but watching the boy up there on the pitching mound is nerve-racking… not what I’d call “fun”. I think  I now have just the trick to make it more enjoyable. If you’re at the game tonight and see me with a ziploc full of cherries, it’s our little secret that they’ve been soaking in rum, okay?

I will be back tomorrow posting some great Thanksgiving printables!

Oatmeal Cherry Cookies (Adapted from my Go-to Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups oats (not instant)

1 1/2 cups rum soaked cherries

½ cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup chocolate chips (don’t forget)

Directions

Pour dried cherries into a glass bowl. Pour 1/2 cup dark rum over cherries (spice rum works too). Add enough water so that all cherries are covered in the liquid and let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, set aside. Combine butter, sugar, dark brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla with a hand mixer on low. To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the color lightens. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible. (Over mixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie.) Now add the oats, nuts, and cherries; stir to incorporate.

Fill cookie scoop with dough. Drop 2-inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake 11-13 minutes (on center rack), until golden, but still moist beneath cracks on top. Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

The boy helped all of us get through the aftermath of 9-11. When we arrived in DC. the Pentagon had gold plaques of those who had been killed. The boy looked right at my Uncle Karl's plaque (see the middle picture, top row). This is one of my favorite pictures we've ever taken (and yes that is me holding the boy with hair way too dark ten years ago.)

 I couldn’t let today end without posting, but in all honesty, I couldn’t wait for today to be over.  Many of you know that my Uncle Karl was killed in the Pentagon on 9-11. He was my dad’s older brother, and only sibling. It’s hard to believe it was ten years ago today that life changed so drastically for so many families. I try not to watch t.v. at all on 9-11. It’s kind of the same reason I won’t watch the video of giving birth to my son. Matt could never understand that. I lived those events. I remember all of it intensely. Life changing events are better as memories (if that makes any sense).

Blake was just over four months old on 9-11. I had been up all night with the boy who never had time to sleep. Sleeping would mean missing out on life, so I learned early on, this child would sleep as little as possible, so not to miss out on any of the fun (still holds true today). It took my sleep-deprived brain awhile to even comprehend what Matt was telling me… a plane had hit the Twin Towers. By the time I was actually up and functioning, we got word of the plane crashing into the Pentagon. My mom and my sister came and camped out at my house. My dad continued to work… to stop working would mean to think of the possibility of losing his brother. It was a few days before we found out that Uncle Karl had been killed. We held out hope until we knew. My parents flew out as soon as they could and spent a lot of time being briefed on what was known. When they arrived home, a package was on their doorstep… from my Uncle Karl. The morning of 9-11, before heading into the Pentagon, he sent a package to my dad. Strangely enough, the package included a CD that had funeral marches on it. My dad also received a book with a note in it from his brother. What an AWESOME gift to come home to. Hours before my uncle lost his life, he was thinking of his brother. It’s one of those things that is much more than a coincidence.

A few weeks later, services were arranged and we all flew out to DC. Blake was now five months, and I was absolutely terrified to put him on the plane. Back up a little while… when I found out I was pregnant, I was pretty shocked. The boy wasn’t planned per say. I had just been named Orange County Teacher of the Year, and my focus was entirely on my career. He was a great surprise, but I didn’t know how wonderful of a surprise until after 9-11. I’m not sure how we could have gotten through it without him. It’s hard to be anything but joyful when you have a happy baby smiling back at you. He was an incredible blessing, and since birth has absolutely adored his grandparents.

So tonight, I’m thinking of Uncle Karl, thinking of the loss my dad has had to cope with, and thinking of all of the other families who have been effected by 9-11. Nothing is ever certain. I feel so blessed to be a daughter to two amazing parents, a sister to one I have always looked up to, and a mom to a boy I love more than anything in this world!