As we are both fascinated by the life of French fashion designer Coco Chanel, last week Nancy loaned me her latest book purchase “The Gospel According To Coco Chanel” by Karen Karbo. Exploring Chanel’s life and philosophy on a range of subjects, it is a lively look at a woman who was a visionary and lived, for better or worse, exactly as she pleased.
Peppered throughout with aphorisms, a favorite theme of Chanel’s was regarding time: “There is time for work, and time for love – that leaves no other time.” My darling, I would love to do the laundry/ironing/vacuuming but, alas, there is no time. Or “Every day I simplify something because every day I learn something.” While this may be debatable, I do believe in a “less is more” approach – whenever I am struggling with a particular design challenge, once I pare it down to its essential elements, the answer is usually right in front of me.
In the spirit of “cut to the chase and don’t fool around with the extra stuff”, I am sharing a recipe for chocolate oatmeal cookies – also Nancy’s – that uses a minimum of ingredients. Flour and eggs? Non. Baking? Absolument pas. Try them with or without the optionals – I added dried cranberries this morning but have had no difficulty scoffing them down without the extras.
CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES
1-1/2 tablespoons cocoa
1-1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, etc. optional
1. Heat in saucepan: cocoa, milk, butter and sugar. Bring to a full boil; boil one minute. Remove from heat.
2. Add peanut butter, oatmeal, vanilla and optional bits if desired. Mix well.
3. Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto wax paper, working quickly. Cool. Especially yummy when stored and eaten from the fridge or freezer.
Yield: 12-18 cookies, depending on size.
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Susan Manfull
August 1, 2011 at 2:36 pmWow! Those look easy and perfect for these hot summer days when the very thought of a hot oven is an anathema. Nice to read your posts again, Doreen!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 2, 2011 at 11:06 amThank you Susan! It's nice to be back and I hope you enjoy the cookies.
Gaelen
August 2, 2011 at 1:45 pmYum and a gluten free recipe! Can't wait to give this a spin 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
August 3, 2011 at 12:23 pmGaelen – thanks for mentioning the gluten free aspect! It never occurred to me and I have a friend who would love the indulgence.
El
August 4, 2011 at 3:03 amNice quotes. These look great. Love the addition of dried cranberries.
Anonymous
August 4, 2011 at 5:05 pmEntertaining blog – kudos. I thought your blog was pretty intriguing. Thanks!
Cocoa & Lavender
August 5, 2011 at 10:53 amThank you both for reading!
Anonymous
August 5, 2011 at 9:41 pmUGH…. sorry, had my blogger account hijacked, that was not my comment above!!!! I have reset my password, etc…. So sorry for that lame comment above. That aside, me too, I'm very fond of CC, her designs and the allure behind her name.
Cocoa & Lavender
August 6, 2011 at 2:31 pmNot to worry and glad all is back on track with your account.
Anonymous
August 11, 2011 at 2:33 amBe careful dubbing this recipe "gluten-free!" While that's technically true as long as the oats have not been cross contaminated, their secondary storage protein is avenin. It's molecularly similar enough to gluten to trick many immune systems! Yes, it's GF folks' responsibility to know this, but the authors' seal of GF approval could be unintentionally hurting newbies =(
(PS – I ADORE your blog! Not hating, just mentioning. Please keep being wonderful! <3)
Cocoa & Lavender
August 12, 2011 at 12:08 amI appreciate your comment and will be mindful not to suggest that a recipe is/may be gluten free. Thank you for reading and the heads up!