Cranberry Oatmeal Almond Cookies

A common thread throughout my life has been my knack for odd encounters with people. Anyone who knows me well will attest to this as truth. "Only to you, Kala, could such a thing happen" I've heard countless times. I'm not sure what it is about me that tells the especially colorful and odd stranger to walk up to me. Perhaps I have a friendly face, emit a certain pheromone that beckons them, or perhaps they can sense that I too, am a bit odd... 

For example, yesterday I was trying to enjoy a nice cup of coffee at a local bookstore and finish a Rolling Stone article. A seemingly harmless enough early twenties fellow planted himself next to me reading some Tattoo magazine. I was feeling perfectly contented to not interact with people at this particular time, being an introverted sort, and wanted to be left alone to recharge from my day. " Whatcha reading?" inquires young Joe blow. I flipped up the cover to show him without a word, trying not to be rude, but to dodge the inevitable weirdness that would follow:

Joe blow " Nice day out, huh? Do you have any tattoos?"

 me: " Um, yeah." 

Joe blow: " Me too! I'm learning how to do them now, my friend got a gun, I'm studying up with this here magazine!"

me: "Huh."

Joe Blow: "I'm actually looking for people to experiment on, would you want a freebie tat by any chance? I could have my friend fix any mistakes for you!"

me: "Hell no, are you serious? Has anyone ever taken you up on that?"

Joe Blow, laughing " Not yet, but how else am I going to get good?"

me: "I have no clue, man, good luck."

Then I left with my house blend, wanting to distance myself from the weird guy with weird boundaries and who actually thought he could get a stranger over to his house with the promise of a crappy free tattoo. I'm sure there are horror movies that start that way..... 

When my friend Kristen got a tattoo gun, she asked if I could think of anything small I wanted so she could practice, and the only small thing I could think of was a chocolate chip. She figured it was highly likely that it would look like a mouse turd. Needless to say, I don't think tattoo guinea pig is anymore likely an occupation for me than math teacher. Especially when the artist is a stranger looking for skin subjects at Barnes and Noble.

 My weird encounter inspired me to make a cookie with "nuts" in it, because that's what these off beat encounters with strangers always inspire.

Cranberry Oatmeal Almond Cookies

-1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

-3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

-1 large egg, beaten lightly

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water

2-/3 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1 t. almond extract

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 1/2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats

-1/2 cup chopped almonds

-1 cup dried dried cranberries 

Directions: In a large bowl cream the butter with the brown sugar and beat in the egg, the baking soda mixture, the flour, the salt, and the vanilla. Stir in the oats, the almonds and cranberries and combine the dough well. Drop rounded tablespoons of the dough about 4 inches apart onto greased baking sheets and with a fork dipped in cold water flatten and spread each mound into a thin round, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake the cookies in batches in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden, transfer them with a spatula to racks, and let them cool. The cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days.

The cranberries tart flavor with the delicious nutty taste of the almond make these a real treat. They're great to dip in coffee or black tea too, if you're into that kind of thing. Enjoy!