"Boscoe Bakes"......."Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters"

I've learned that there are two types of attendees present each week at my Wednesday evening social get togethers. There are the "Cookie Monsters" and the "Pastry Profiteers", and both camps have their own strategies in place to ensure the biggest score and ultimate victory.  Yes, I am now hosting my own version of "Survivor" and the competition seems to be getting more aggressive and creative as the weeks go by. The "Cookie Monsters" are looking for snacks and luncheon companions for their trip to the office tomorrow, while the "Pastry Profiteers" must amass a collection of goodies to please the sweet tooth of a wife, husband or significant other waiting patiently at home. And of course for the later, their hero status yields benefits that money just can't buy. I won't go into that here, because after all this post is rated PG. 

Tonight, things got a little crazy when I announced that some of the chocolate used in the Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters was from the three Amano Artisan chocolate bars I had just reviewed. I chose to share this news and the chocolate in this fashion, since I always have several guests and not nearly enough chocolate so that everybody could enjoy their own piece.  My guests had seen the review, heard me wax enthusiasm over the superb quality, and now ALL of them were determined to sample the same chocolate bliss that I had so quietly enjoyed just a few hours earlier. Never mind the fact that there were several people who had been munching on these delicious cookies and singing their praise throughout the evening, now even the "Pastry Profiteers" who were busy inhaling my banana cake, wanted in on the action. Suddenly these peanut butter infused oatmeal cookies with the gourmet chocolate "chips" were all the rage, and pandemonium nearly erupted.  Thank God, I had 4 dozen of these beauties available, so that in the end, everybody was a winner. The real kicker here is that most of the chocolate chips were from another source, and it was the combination of chunky peanut butter mixed with the other ingredients that truly made these cookies shine. The recipe for these "to die for" cookies can be found in Dorie Greenspan's newest book......"From My Home To Yours" on page 73.

"Boscoe's Bakes"... White Chocolate Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Crisps

Yesterday my friend Deb from Smitten Kitchen provided me with the inspiration I needed to decide which cookie to bake for a friend. She posted her fabulous experience making crispy oatmeal cookies from a recipe provided by Cook's Magagzine. http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/crispy-salted-oatmeal-white-chocolate-cookies/#more-497  and was completely in awe with the results. Having made these wonderful cookies previously, but not with white chocolate,  I decided to add the white chocolate and include minced cranberries and orange zest as well.  The results were absolutely wonderful.  With each crunchy bite, you encounter smooth white chocolate married to cranberries with a lovely citrus touch. These highly addictive cookies are great plain, or make a wonderful dunking companion with coffee or milk. I doubled the recipe, only used 4 cups of oatmeal and added 1 cup of "real" white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of minced orange flavored cranberries and 2 teaspoons of orange zest. The combination of white chocolate, cranberries and orange zest.......Priceless!