Hell Hath No Fury...

Anger, action and comfort food

My original post for today was to be about the whimsical desserts I made while watching the hearings this week and how air fryer tofu could make even satisfied omnivores consider vegetarianism.

But we all know what happened this AM at the Supreme Court. While not surprising, it still came has a gut-punch. I cried a little, but only after reading a Planned Parenthood tweet written in a reassuring voice. Really, though, I’m angry. Angry for how we were played by the long political game of the Republicans. Angry for the hard work of women who fought for equal rights. Angry for the women who will not be able to finish high school, go to college and have a job that pays enough to support their family. Angry for the world my son and daughter now live in, where they will be Generation Sisyphus, and have to re-fight battles already won over and over. With hard work though, and my last scintilla of hope, I dream they can become Generation Phoenix and rise out of the pile of rubble and ashes we’ve left them.

I apologize for the rant. Better out than in, as my Grandma Jenni used to say. Please feel free to share your thoughts below, where I’ve also left some links to resources.

As for recipes, I will be making these, possibly for dinner—with oats, peanut butter and whole wheat flour—these certainly eat like a meal. Days like today call for comfort and simplicity and a reminder of some of the best of America: the chocolate chip cookie.

Peanut Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

This craggy mountain of a cookie is tender, yielding and rich in peanut butter flavor with outcroppings of dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and oats.

Don’t be snobby about butterscotch chips. Peanut butter and butterscotch make a stellar combination.

Baking note: You may be a tad surprised to see how long I ask you to beat the butter and sugar together, a well as the eggs. It’s one of the secrets to the delicate crumb of these cookies.

Peanut Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: About 4 dozen

What You Need:

1/2 cup (45 grams) old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all-purpose white flour

1 cup (113 grams) whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces, 226 grams) butter, softened

1 cup (213 grams) light or dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (405 grams) smooth peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural)

1 cup (236 grams) butterscotch chips

1 1/2 cups (250 grams) dark semisweet chocolate chips (I use Guittard)

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.

2. This step is unnecessary, but I like to chop up the oats so they blend into the cookie better. I just pour the oats onto the cutting board and chop until most pieces are at least cut in half, if not thirds. You do what suits you.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

4. In a stand mixer, beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar together on medium speed for 5—count ‘em—5 minutes. During those 5 minutes, stop the mixer at least twice to scrape down the sides and beater to make sure the mixture is blending evenly.

5. Add both eggs to the mixture, and blend on low speed for one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. (This is definitely a cookie dough for which the ABC [‘always be scraping’] rule applies.) Raise the speed to medium and beat for a further 2 minutes, stopping to…yes, you guessed it, scrape down the sides.

6. Add the vanilla and peanut butter, and blend until creamy, about 1 minute. Guess what you need to do now? You need to give the peanut butter-covered spoon to the dog. He asked. Also: scrape down the sides of the bowl.

7. Add the flour mixture in two additions. Blend on low speed until just incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl (!), and then give the mixture the thrill of a whizz on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips and mix on low speed until evenly distributed. You might, possibly, um, want to consider scraping down the sides of the bowl. You know, just to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

8. Scoop 2-inch balls of dough onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart Resist the urge to flatten them. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until ever-so-lightly browned on the outside. If you touch them they should feel ‘just’ firm. They should not appear damp on top.

9. Eat while warm, with a cold glass of milk. Eat while cold with a hot cup of coffee. Eat any way you gosh darn like, because if you are like me and my daughter, you will gosh-darn like them any way you eat them. And: It’s YOUR GOL’ DAMN RIGHT TO EAT THEM HOWEVER YOU WANT.

SIGH.

Things you can do, other than eat cookies non-stop:

Support the ACLU. Buy a t-shirt. Wear it proudly.

Give to Planned Parenthood. Gifts are being matched 1-to-1.

When you need some ironic laughs, read The Onion, which basically reads like the letter of record right now.

And here’s a picture of Bosco in a jaunty hat, so we end on a nice photo: