Cranberry-Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Today is September 3, 2011.  Wait, September??? I'm moving back to school today??? SUMMER IS OVER!? When did this happen!?

As unbelievable as it may seem…summer is essentially over, and fall is quickly approaching.  I'm actually pretty excited about this, not even gonna lie.  I absolutely adore fall; it's without a doubt my favorite season.  I love the feeling of finally getting to bring all my chunky sweaters to the front of my closet, and trading in my casual, lazy day summer flip flops for my favorite pair of leather boots.  Not to mention that the arrival of apple desserts and all sorts of spiced goodies and the thought of warming up the house by baking fresh bread sound simply lovely to me.  Oh yes.  I am totally a fall kinda girl.  

Since fall is coming up so soon, I made some cranberry-pecan oatmeal cookies.  I think they're the perfect way to get my mind in a fall mood.  I've made these cookies as the recipe is originally written more times than I can possible count.  The original recipe makes a pretty delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and it was my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe up until I made these.  

Since I like the cookie base in this recipe so much, I figured that if I took out the chocolate chips, and added some cranberries and pecans instead, it would make for a nice oatmeal cookie.  I also figured that adding some traditional fall spices like cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and allspice would compliment the cranberries and pecans nicely…and they sure did!   

These cookies are really simple and basic to make.  Anyone can make them, no excuses!  This is a chewy oatmeal cookie that has a nice crunch from the pecans, a tiny bit of tartness from the dried cranberries, and helps bring to mind the warm flavors of fall that I am just itching to get to play around with.  Enjoy!

Also, stay tuned for a new and totally different type of post next week!

Cranberry-Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup shortening (I used Crisco)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar, scant
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Grease or line two baking sheets with silicone liners/parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together, the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla extract.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until the mixture is fluffy and the eggs are fully combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture, beating after each addition only until the flour mixture is just incorporated.  Once the flour mixture has been added, gently stir in the rolled oats, cranberries, and chopped pecans.

Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing the cookies two inches apart, as they will spread during baking. 

Bake the cookies in the oven until they are golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheets before carefully transferring to wire racks.  Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing in airtight containers.