My dark hair has been graying for a few years now, and my approach to that is to dye my hair increasingly fun shades of whatever. Right now it’s kind of cherry cola red, but I really wanted to go blue for winter. Kenny vetoed that choice, but the game isn’t over yet. There’s always next winter!

But now it’s summer, and for some reason, I always think of butterscotch when things heat up. One of the best combos ever is butterscotch and oatmeal. These oatmeal scotchies are the perfect lazy day snack!

Back to the hair, though. Sorry, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. We all age, but I’ve decided to age as gracelessly as possible. Instead of deciding that I’m too old for the stuff I love, like blue hair, Converse sneakers or t-shirts with obnoxious messages on them, I’m just gonna keep on trucking with the trends.

Part of the problem is that I teach in a high school, so I’m very much aware of what’s on trend. My goal is not to dress like a teenager, because that would be ridiculous. But I also don’t want to dress like a grown-up a lot of the time, because that’s boring. Kenny describes my style as “funky,” and I’ll stick with that. Funky is forever.

I’ll also keep eating like a teenager, because you know, they actually eat really well. My students always have apples around them, or cheese sticks. They seem to get the importance of nutrition. Gotta say, they’re a lot healthier than I was at that age. Back then, I regularly ate Little Debbie’s snack cakes for lunch.

They do, however, love eating cookies, so I’ll do that too. Because really, what’s better than a cookie that’s chewy and yet still crispy at the edges? And full of butterscotch goodness?

This one is a classic, and I enhanced its oatmeal flavor by baking the cookies with oat flour. That makes them even chewier. It’s a win all around.

Whatever you might be doing this summer, try and have some fun with trends. Summer is a great time to experiment with new fashion or food. If that means you go running for the pink hair dye, so be it. I’ll be right there next to you!

Well, sort of. I mean, I’m not ready. But this is the closest I’ll be. We can’t spend life on a beach. Or maybe we can’t. I keep wondering if I could change my life and live on a beach. I mean, they need teachers everywhere, don’t they?

While I’m contemplating a change in location, I might as well bake. In fact, it’s one of the things that keeps my life grounded. Whether I stay in colder climes or not, I will always love crumb more than anything. These bars are all about the oatmeal crumb, which sandwiches a layer of fudge. The whole thing gets topped off with M & Ms. Did I say these were happy? Or was that just too obvious?

There’s so much I can share about my vacation, but I’m going to start with the fact that whenever Kenny and I go away, our getaway quickly becomes a test of how much physical activity we can squeeze into whatever time we have. Example: in one morning we rented both kayaks and paddleboards, and this was after an hourlong workout and a long beach walk. And that was just the morning. We kept the exercise up all day long.

We both love being fit, so when I realized that there was a barre studio across the street from our hotel, I called them and set up a class. If you don’t remember, I’m a huge barre girl. I started doing the workouts over two years ago, and I’ve stuck with them. I have my own barre at home, and I alternate cardio and barre (or do both) every day of the week.

The best (in my opinion) technique so far is Physique 57, which is one of the original barre methods. However, I tried another popular name-brand studio this time, feeling kind of guilty for cheating on P57. Don’t worry: the guilt didn’t last.

Friends who have done live barre, please share: does your studio amp the music up so loudly that you can only kinda sorta hear the instructor? Because that’s what happened in Florida. Everyone seemed to be in a state of confusion. One woman was following the next who then followed the one after her, resulting in a bizarre body game of telephone where the last person in the row (ahem, me)  had to improvise a lot. And all the while, the instructor was walking around praising everyone (even me) for doing different things, not even noticing that some feet were pointed while others were flexed, or that I was making up a push-up series out of my own head.

So I apologized to the gods of Physique 57 in my head, and I’ll never cheat again. Well, probably. It’s hard to resist a barre studio on vacation, especially when you and your spouse are hell-bent on spending the day being active.

I’ll probably pick another day this week to talk about the sun and warmth, since I have to give a little time to these bars.

They’re heaven. That’s it. Oh, and no mixer. Just some microwave action!

It’s rough being back in the grind, but my baking will never desert me. Now all I have to do is think about whether life in D.C. can really trump a life at the beach!

Lately, I’ve been all about the recipes you throw into a bowl and mix together. No mixer, no butter to cream. Not only is that absence of butter healthier, but the actual baking process is just a teeny bit simpler. So why not?

This particular bread is filling and hearty, but full of chocolate chips just to brighten your Friday morning breakfast. Anyone wanna argue with that? I didn’t think so.

If you’ve heard me talk about my job before (my other one, not the blogging gig) as a high school English teacher, you know I love it. There’s not much that is more energizing than spending the day teaching and learning, and if not for the whole having to grade papers thing, it would be the perfect job.

I’m heading into my 17th year as a teacher next year, and it’s given me a lot to reflect about. When I first began teaching, there was so much fear. I thought I wouldn’t be able to reach kids, or help them, or manage a classroom. And while I worked through those fears as the years went on, this job allows nobody to become complacent. The second I decide I have it all figured out is when I get knocked for a loop.

Humility is a huge part of staying successful in teaching, and probably in other fields as well. Every now and then we read about actors or athletes whose stars burn brightly and then explode (in a bad way). Among these stories is a common thread: they weren’t humble enough. They thought they were irreplaceable.

Sadly, we’re all expendable professionally. I might be a good teacher, but there are a bazillion more lined up and waiting to do my job, so I have to give it my all. And in order to do that, I need a good breakfast every morning before I face my amazing students.

This oatmeal chocolate chip bread is incredibly simple. As I mentioned, all you do is mix everything up. No special equipment is necessary. And when you’re done, the result is a not-too-sweet breakfast treat. Actually, I also ate it after work.

However you spend your professional time, it’s important to realize how lucky we are to be given opportunities. Having self-confidence is important, but translating that to an over-inflated sense of ego is where it can all go wrong.  Be good enough, and strive to be great. But never forget that it takes constant effort and humility to keep your star in the sky.

Holiday cookie baking has begun! Start your engines, ladies and gents. It’s going to be a great season!

With everybody baking out the wazoo this time of year, it can be hard for our gluten-free eating friends to join in the fun. Honestly, so many of the gluten-free cookie options out there are both overpriced and dry as sawdust. It’s something about the flour replacement that doesn’t quite ring true.

But worry not! These cookies have passed the ultimate test, i.e., Kenny ate them. And liked them. If you don’t know how special that is, keep reading. But I’ll tell you one thing for sure: these cookies are packed with oats, peanut butter, and chocolate for the perfect snacktime pick-me-up.

So, here’s the thing about Kenny: he is not a happy gluten-free camper. His Crohn’s Disease means he’s not allergic to gluten, but he feels better if he stays away from it. What does that mean? The boy cheats. A lot.

I try to provide incentives for him to stay on the straight and narrow by developing some tried-and-true GF recipes. I’ve got brownies and cake down pat, not to mention oatmeal cookies. I used my oatmeal cookie dough as a base for these monster cookies, adding peanut butter for more kick. I promise you this: you will never miss the flour. There’s no weird dryness or textural question marks. These cookies are just good.

Too much of a good thing can also backfire. I love baking cookies, but as a baking blogger, my house is always a goldmine of dessert. That’s where the freezer comes in super handy, and anytime it’s possible, I use it. The best part about cookie dough is that you can roll it up into a parchment paper log, stick the log in a freezer bag, freeze the whole thing, and pull it out when you need it. Sometimes I slice off a couple of cookies, and sometimes the whole log. Either way, this recipe will get you two good-sized logs.

Back in the day, I used to wrap my cookie dough in aluminum foil. It never worked out well for me. The dough would stick to the log and I’d wind up with shreds of foil everywhere when I tried to unwrap it and bake. For many years now, I’ve been a parchment paper convert, and these Reynolds cookie baking sheets make the process even easier. Having pre-cut sheets means I don’t pull waaaaay too much paper off the roll and wind up wasting a ton. Plus, the sheets aren’t just for wrapping up dough in the freezer. They are tested to safely withstand oven temperatures up to 420°F and  they fit into cookie sheets beautifully to provide a perfect base for cookies to bake up evenly and slide off the sheets when done.

I can get these parchment sheets at Target, a.k.a. Mecca. If I told you how much time our family spends at Target, I would have to leave the country out of embarrassment. I buy everything there. Everything. Case in point: while I was picking up cookie-baking ingredients, I also bought yet another pair of fuzzy slippers. You should have seen the raised eyebrow Kenny gave me. Suffice it to say, I have a lot of fuzzy slippers in my life because you can never have too many. It’s really hard to get out of Target once you’re in without buying loot, especially if you have little assistants shopping with you.

While these cookies are for Kenny, don’t think for a minute that I didn’t help him eat plenty, along with the kids. The trick to GF baking is to make sure that the kids (who eat lots of gluten on their own) don’t feel deprived. I think we can consider that crisis averted. These cookies are definitely addictive, and I played a little bit with the traditional monster cookie construct. For instance, I took out the raisins. Can we all agree on that decision? And while these have peanut butter in them, it’s not overwhelming. The subtlety is definitely a bonus! You don’t have to include the M & Ms, but for me, it’s a must. You decide!

This holiday season, think about all the different ways you can cookie. Yep, that’s a verb. The holidays are creeping up on us, and the best we can do is think ahead and freeze as much as possible before everyone descends to eat all the dessert in sight. Whether you’re dealing with special dietary needs or just picky eaters, it’s so important to be able to plan ahead and get that dough made and frozen before the hoopla begins. Think about how you can get ahead of the game! And some ideas from the pros at Reynolds won’t hurt, either. Happy baking!

Yep, that scary thing that happens when a dangerous criminal is on the loose and everyone locks doors, closes blinds, covers door windows with a black sheet of construction paper, and waits in the dark for the all-clear signal.

I guess I’m supposed to be a reassuring presence to students in times like these, but I’m pretty short and harmless-looking. I also have the unfortunate habit of cracking jokes when I’m nervous. So in times of stress, I try to keep my mouth shut, my face calm, and my attention focused.

Life can get serious sometimes. Better to get back to my usual frivolity. And when I got home that day and kicked off my too-high-to-teach-in heels and indulged in a super primal scream just to release some tension, I also ate one of these cookies. Because cookies fix almost everything.

Hey, better cookies than crack, that’s what I always say! And these cookies are pretty special. They’re gluten-free and nobody knows they are. They’re too busy stuffing their mouths as fast as they can. Bless their hearts.

I’ve heard that in the South if you “bless her heart,” you’re actually insulting that person. I think that’s kind of funny, because when I say it, I’m expressing true appreciation. But I digress.

These cookies were baked so that Kenny would have something to eat at my daughter’s third birthday party yesterday (cake coming up later this week). He loves gluten, that man. It makes it so much harder that he can’t have it. So I invented these cookies so he’d never know the difference.

And for those of you who have the ongoing raisins or chocolate debate going on with oatmeal cookies, this settles it. Yes, I put chocolate chips in there along with the Raisinettes. I know I’m misspelling that, by the way. Why is there no “e” on the end of that word, as in “Rockettes?”

Okay, I know I’ve covered a bazillion topics in this post. Forgive me. My nerves were jangled up a bit the other day. I guess a lockdown will do that to most people. But I love my job every day. And that sentiment goes double for cookies!

But later. Because now, I’m doing yet another tricked-out version.

See, while the basics are fun, tricking anything out is exciting. Like my bathtub. A few years back, I decided that the only room left in the house where I could potentially get any privacy was the bathroom. It has a lock and all. Very fancy.

So we had the existing tub ripped out and it was replaced by a jet tub with lots of bells and whistles. As it turns out, life with a jet tub is better than life without. Was redoing the bathroom in amazing red glass tile necessary? Nope. But I’m very happy. Red is great, both in tile and in food. That’s why raspberry jam rocks.

How’s that for a transition? See, these tricked-out brownies start with a fudgy base, but then a layer of raspberry jam goes on top, followed by a layer of oatmeal cookie dough. They all go so well together.

I made these brownies for my mom. My mother hosts a lot of meals for company (see, her small child days are over, thus the time to host), but she doesn’t enjoy baking dessert. So, I baked it for her. And she likes healthy stuff, so I put the oatmeal on there to pretend that it was. Hint: it’s not.

From what I gather, people ate them. And then ate some more. So, mission accomplished. You know that chocolate and raspberry are a great combo, but add the oatmeal and there’s some nutty sweetness that blends in just fine.

Let’s face it: fancy, tricked-out brownies are a lot of fun. I might get back to basics soon, but for now, I’m just having a good time cranking out more ideas!

Oh, I was so young and stupid. The salted caramel trend was still a few years away from starting and I never stopped to consider that salted baked goods were the best thing to happen to the dessert industry since peanut butter and chocolate. But like I said, I was not that clever. I was in my twenties and had perfect skin. But I was dumb.

Anyway, eventually I climbed onboard the salty dessert bandwagon. And here I stay, until long after it will be considered trendy. I’ll be one of those annoying grandmothers who still bakes salted caramel stuff while her grandchildren roll their eyes and say, “But Grandma, it’s all about sardines dipped in ganache right now.”

These bars seem wholesome because they’re full of oats. I mean, they are wholesome, but they still have chocolate and caramel and butter. Butter happens. Accept it.

That said, these bars don’t contain flour, so they are healthier. Instead, I’ve used my trusty oat flour to make these work. And my lord, do they ever. They’re sticky, too! You’ll be licking caramel off your fingers for a while, which will just prolong an already fun snack!

When you make these bars, you layer the various elements. But when they bake up, the layers are indistinguishable. So why layer, you ask? Because when you put salted caramel between the oatmeal dough and add in some chocolate, it gives the middle an irresistibly chewy, gooey texture. The chocolate I used came from Trader Joe’s. It’s a butterscotch salted caramel covered in chocoalte. But if you can’t get that in your area, you can use another kind of chocolate-covered salted caramel, or even Rolo minis with sea salt sprinkled on top! It’s all good.

And in case you didn’t realize it, chewy and anything with oatmeal go together, but not like peas and carrots. I’ve never understood that expression. It just grosses me out in a vaguely unpleasant way.

These will not have that effect on you, I promise. They’re delicious. Here’s how to get your chew on!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups oat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 jar salted caramel sauce (I used Smuckers brand)
• 1 package chocolate-covered salted caramels (I used Trader Joe’s brand)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. Gradually add the oat mixture, beating each time until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

Press half of the mixture (it will be sticky, so use a spatula) into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Pour on the caramel sauce (the whole jar) and then sprinkle on the chocolate-covered salted caramels evenly. Drop the remaining dough on the top, patting down. You need not cover the whole pan, but try to make sure that the dough is distributed throughout the pan.

Bake for 30-35 mintues untl the middle is no longer jiggly.

Allow the bars to cool and then cute into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Sometimes the medicine needs some help, though, and that’s where gluten comes into the story.

After a few hospital visits, we decided to try dramatically lowering my husband’s gluten intake, to reduce his dairy consumption, and to have him avoid white flours and refined sugars even when he did “cheat.” After all, it couldn’t hurt, and it might help.

Six months later? Wow. He does cheat sometimes, but he’s so much better. And I’ve gotten better at baking him recipes that convince him not to miss the wheat.

One of those recipes is right here, and it’s so good that nobody ever realizes it’s flourless. These oat cookies use oat flour instead of regular flour. Oat flour is just oats ground up very finely, but for those of you who can have NO gluten, beware: you have to buy the gluten-free oat flour, like the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Other oats not designated specifically gluten-free can contain traces of gluten and therefore don’t count. The same  goes for your rolled oats. Only get the kind that is certified as gluten-free!

The reason this recipe works so well is that the oat flour just makes the cookies even more intense with oatmeal goodness. Honestly, I would never go back to regular flour after making them this way. A few weeks back I brought some of these into work along with other goodies, and guess what was gone first? Yep. These!

Now, for all you oatmeal raisin people out there, sorry. But if given the choice, I’ll put giant chocolate chunks in my oatmeal cookies any day. Raisins are for other things, like…eating raisins. By themselves. Not to go in my cookie. I have very strong feelings about this. Feel free to hate me forever. Or to just disagree. Taste is subjective!

The great thing is that you can put other add-ins into this oatmeal cookie base if you like. I promise I won’t get angry.

Cookie time! And I’d love to hear how you feel about the oat flour, especially those of you out there missing wheat. I made these for you!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 and 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chunks

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. Gradually add the oat mixture, beating each time until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chunks.

Chill the cookie dough for an hour. If you’re heading out, leave it in the refrigerator covered up until you’re ready to bake. Note: do not leave it in the fridge for more than two days.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet.

Scoop the dough into 1 and 1/2-inch balls and place them on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are beginning to crisp and the middle is mostly set. Do not overbake.

Allow the cookies to cool and then remove with a spatula. Eat or store in an airtight container for up to one week. Don’t worry. They won’t last that long!