Perfect Cinnamon Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

We have been overcast and rainy for a few days out here in good old Utah, and when it gets cloudy, all I want to do is bake. So today I baked, and I hope you will make these cookies the next time you are hankering for a treat. They are so delicious. Rich, textured oatmeal, a perfect balance of cinnamon and brown sugar, indulgent buttery flavor, and a sweet shot of chocolate in each bite. Perfection.

I first made these cookies about 10 years ago when I was in high school, and made them regularly for a long time. They were my "go-to" cookie recipe when I needed a large batch for my students. Then, in the midst of trying a million new recipes, I forgot about them. I haven't made these in at least four years. Last week I had to whip up some treats for kids at my church, and the memory of these fragrant cookies popped into my head. I made them immediately. They were every bit as good as I remembered.

Sigh. Again, these are not healthy, but in sticking with my "homemade is better" philosophy, they are for sure better than anything you can buy at the store. Simple ingredients of butter, flour, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate and oatmeal are so much better than high-fructose corn syrup and Red Dye No. 5. Just make them and share them with a lot of people and you'll be fine.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Quinoa

I have an obsession with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH). I learned about it from a friend with some special dietary needs about four years ago, and have been hooked ever since. If you don't eat/use quinoa, I really recommend trying it. Quinoa is a super grain. It cooks quickly, similar to rice, and is gluten-free and PACKED with protein, rich in amino acid, and has great flavor and texture-check out the page at WHFoods for more information. I love to use quinoa in place of rice and pasta, and as a nutritious add-in for a variety of recipes. One of the advantages to using quinoa in your cooking, in addition to the obvious health and nutritive benefits, is that quinoa will take on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Because of this, quinoa makes a great substitute for oatmeal and is an amazing breakfast food.

I can't sing the praises of quinoa highly enough. It is an amazing food-I call it the super grain. I really encourage you to try it and to make it a staple in your diet. I do have a few pieces of advice for using quinoa.