“Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.”  ~J.K. Rowling

Okay, how about we share our most recent embarrassing moments today. I’ll go first! Let me preface my oh-so-embarrassing moment by saying that I am preparing for my last round of testing and am juggling way too many tasks. On Monday, someone from an outside scoring company I use emailed me to inquire about an issue with an invoice. I promptly emailed back saying, “I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused on your end…” It would have all gone according to plan had I spelled the word “inconvenience” correctly. I pride myself on being a pretty darn good speller – I’m a teacher, it’s kind of expected. Well, my spell-checker decided to play a serious joke on me and changed my misspelling of the word “inconvenience” to “incontinence” without me realizing it. So let’s reinsert that word back into the beginning of my email for your reading pleasure. It entered Cyberspace like this, “I apologize for any incontinence this may have caused on your end.” I was dying of embarrassment and praised God repeatedly that this was someone I would never interface with. What followed was uncontrollable laughter. I think I frightened the boy and his pup. I tried to explain my faux pas, but neither of them seemed to understand. The moral of this story.. never, I repeat NEVER trust spell-check!

Now for something you can trust…  these oatmeal raisin cookies!  I’m always in search of the  end all - be all oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. Awhile back I made Smitten Kitchen’s version and the cookies got a big thumbs up. This time around I put a new spin on this classic cookie for my dad for Valentine’s Day. These were amazing cookies! I may never try another oatmeal raisin recipe.

My secret technique, make happy raisins – soak them in rum. Even someone who does not like raisins will like these cookies. Kosher salt gives them a nice texture and the nutmeg gives them a subtle, warm flavor. Cinnamon brings the right amount of sweetness to make this my favorite oatmeal cookie to date!

Tips for making trustworthy, never to embarrass you, oatmeal cookies:

• Allow wet ingredients (eggs, butter) to come to room temperature before creaming.
• The longer you cream the ingredients, the lighter the cookie. If you cream until just incorporated, the result will be a chewier cookie.
• For plump raisins, soak in hot water and dark rum in an airtight glass container. (spice rum works too).

                                                                                                                                               Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Adapted from Recipezaar)

 Printable 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

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups oats (not instant)

1 1/2 cups rum soaked raisins

Directions

Pour raisins into a glass bowl. Pour 1/2 cup dark rum over raisins (spice rum works too). Add enough water so that all raisins 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 and raisins; 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.