As you’re reading this, I’m either driving up to New Hampshire or already there, spending four days in the mountains and 100% off the grid to celebrate finishing my second year of law school. So when deciding what to bake this week, I wanted some kind of treat we could bring with us, but still felt hearty enough to eat on the trail. That’s how I landed on spiced oatmeal cookies.

But before getting into all that, a quick shout out to my cousins, Teddy, Jack, and Madelyn, for sending evidence along that the mug brownies were a success. These three are going to be doing big things some day, but for now I’m glad to see their kitchen adventures are still going strong.I have to say, I was pretty pleased with the response to the Mug Brownies. I had a feeling that people would give it a try, but I was happy to hear so many people tell me that they did so! If you are making any of my recipes, let me know – it’s nice to find out people read this on occasion.

Anyways, these camping cookies. First, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. I wish a picture could capture how good this smells. You’ll just have to try for yourself to see what I mean.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed. Increase to medium speed and add the brown and granulated sugars, continuing to beat for about 4 minutes, or until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scrapping down the bowl each time. Beat in the vanilla extract to incorporate. With the mixer running, slowly add the flour mixture, followed by the oats, and continue beating until blended. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon sugar. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll in cinnamon sugar mixture, and place about two inches apart on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.My cookies spread a lot here – either it was because Cambridge decided to indulge us with some summer heat, which made my kitchen a sauna, or it was the batter itself. I’m leaning towards the former. If you want more compact cookies, I’d refrigerate the dough for a bit before handling.Anyways, they ended up crispy and cinnamony and oaty – almost like oatmeal snickerdoodles. I’ll let you know if they held up on as a hiking treat.

Enjoy!

Spiced Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (7 ounces) light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups (9 ounces) old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar & 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon for coating

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. Set  aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat in brown sugar and granulated sugar, for about 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition.
4. Beat in vanilla extract to incorporate.
5. With mixer running, slowly beat in flour mixture, followed by oats.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon for coating.
7. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll in cinnamon sugar, and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
8. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. Allow to cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.