Fall just feels like oatmeal cookies to me. I used to make them for football games, because my mom made them for football games, so I’m sure that’s a part of the reason. This week I started to wonder how I could make them even more “fall” feeling. So I swapped out the raisins for craisins and added butterscotch chips (which are literally what fall tastes like). I think they are a pretty epic fall cookie. What do you think?

Fall Oatmeal Cookies

makes about two dozen

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup quick oats

2 cus butter scotch chips

1 cup craisins

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Whip until light and fluffy.

STEP 2

Combine together the flour, baking powder and oats - then blend into the stand mixer. Blend until just barely combined.

STEP 3

Toss in butterscotch chips and craisins and blend until totally incorporated.

STEP 4

Scoop on to a baking sheet and bake 12 minutes until browned on the edges. Let cool on a wire rack and keep in an airtight container for up to one week.

These go perfectly with a cup of hot apple cider. 😉

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Apple Cider Cocktail

4 ounces fresh apple cider

2 ounces bourbon

1/2 ounce allspice dram

Fill two cocktail glasses with ice. In a pitcher, stir together all ingredients. Pour the cocktail over the ice dividing it equally between both glasses

Cin cin!

The perfect seasonal cocktail. Literally. The combination of honey, sage, orange, and bourbon create a seasonal flavor that’s perfect. It’s like what you wish those candles at Bath and Bodyworks actually smelled like.

TURKEY TAIL

serves 2

STEP 1

In a saucepan combine honey, water and sage leaves.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and stir until combined.  Let cool.

STEP 2

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine bourbon and 1/2 oz sage syrup.  Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.  

STEP 3

Serve with a sprig of fresh sage and a round of orange.

4 oz bourbon

½ cup honey

½ cup water

8-12 sprigs sage leaves

1 orange sliced

POMEGRANATE RUBBED TURKEY

serves 16

STEP 1

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Unwrap and rinse the turkey (be sure to remove the insides). Pat the turkey dry and place in a roasting pan. Rub 1/2 of one of the pomegranates all over the turkey coating the skin entirely. Be sure to squeeze as you go so you really get the juice out.

STEP 2

Slice the second pomegranate into 4 pieces and stuff inside the bird alternating with the sliced onion. Give the pomegranates a gentle squeeze so some of the juice comes out - but not all of it.

STEP 3

Season the top of the bird with salt, pepper, and the crumbled sage. Pop it into the preheated oven.

STEP 4

Check the turkey every 20 minutes and baste when the skin appears dry. When the temperature inside the turkey reads 100 degrees, rub the remaining 1/2 of pomegranate over the turkey and top the skin with the butter.

STEP 5

Reduce the heat to 400 degrees and continue to cook. Use a thermometer to check for doneness. The temperature should read 180 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.

STEP 6

Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and let rest on a cutting board for 20 minutes.

NOTE

Gage the time it will take by assuming each pound will cook in 15 minutes. For a 16 pound turkey, that’s 240 minutes or 4 hours.

1 - 20 lb turkey

2 large pomegranates

2 large onions, sliced into quarters

1/4 cup dried sage, crumbled

4 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces