Boobie Bake Off!

"What to make for the Boobie Bake Off?" This is a question that has been floating around in my mind for the past few days. The only restriction is that it has to be pink, so...something berry-based? something dyed with pink food coloring? something dyed with beet juice or other red food so it would be more natural than food coloring? what can I make that's chocolate and pink? The answer ended up being somewhat of a compromise...it's cranberry, chocolate, and contains an ingredient that's been dyed pink....Oatmeal Cranberry M&M Cookies!

I took my Grandma Arnold's recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies and adapted it by adding dried cranberries instead of raisins and some special pink breast cancer M&Ms. The result isn't really all that pink, but they sure taste good! The idea of the dried cranberries and chocolate came from some dark chocolate covered cranberries D and I bought in Rockport this summer (in a fudge shop where the guy at the counter surely thought I was nuts because I was vigorously scratching my leg--turns out I had a fierce case of posion ivy...but I digress).

Here's the (approximate) recipe for Oatmeal Cranberry M&M Cookies:

1/2 c. softened unsalted butter
1/2 c. white granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. water
a generous pour of vanilla extract
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. quick oats
1 1/4 c. dried sweetened cranberries
1 c. pink M&Ms
3/4 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter with sugar. Add egg, water, and vanilla and beat until blended. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until smooth. Add oatmeal and cranberries and beat until combined. Fold in M&Ms and chopped nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to cool on wire cooling rack. Makes about 2 dozen (depending on how much dough you eat). Note: I used light and dark brown sugar because I ran out of light brown sugar. 1 cup of either light or dark will suffice.

Now, to make them more pink you just use the power of Picassa:












To see the other entries in the Boobie Bake Off and vote for my entry (by making a $1 donation to the National Breast Cancer Research Foundation) just go to Baking Delights or Apron Strings and Simmering Things on November 2nd!

Here's the original recipe for my Grandma Arnold's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (the best you've ever had):

1/2 c. softened butter (or corn oil margarine)
1/2 c. white granulated sugar
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. water
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves (or allspice)
3 c. quick oats
1 1/4 c. raisins
1 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven tom 350. Cream butter and sugar. Mix in egg, water, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoonful onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 12-15 minutes. Wait a minute or 2 before removing from pan.

A side note: I can tell that my grandmother wrote out this recipe after my grandfather had bypass surgery---she restricted all butter from his diet and henceforth most of her recipes called for "Promise" (corn oil margarine) instead of butter!!