Frosted Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

Food blogger by day, ninja superhero by night! That’s my new adopted motto. Or at least it would be, if I was, you know, famous enough to have a motto.

Right now my motto is “get through these next 24 hours and I’ll give you [you being myself] a cookie.”

Pretty sweet (ha ha yes I’m sufficiently hallucinatory to find that funny) deal, right?

Speaking of alter-egos and frosted goodness, though, every good superhero has an alter-ego. Nobody in their right mind is just a superhero. They’re usually your plain average Joe or Jane, only endowed with extraterrestrial or gadget-inspired awesomeness that’s a smidgen above the rest.

Batman had Bruce Wayne. Spiderman had Peter Parker. Sailor Moon had Serena/Usagi, although how anyone ever fell for that is beyond me. Alter-egos abound in the superhero world, and it’s only a matter of excruciating amounts of suspended disbelief that keeps that balance safe.

But what about the rest of us? I mean, how many times do we come home ready to face-to-bed from work, only to have to slap on a huge smile (or at least an apron and a frown) and play the mom/dad/chef because, oh wait, you are the mom/dad/chef of the house and you have hungry mouths to feed?

I haven’t been the mom, dad, or chef. I’m just saying. It could be a hard life. I’m sure some of you generously patient child-rearing souls out there know what I’m talking about.

Even without the responsibility of another human life on my conscience, I go through so many personalities day in and day out that it certainly feels that way. If Clark thought he had it hard trying to juggle two measley personae, imagine what the rest of us average people must feel juggling, say, fifty.

Anytime I get unduly stressed, as is happening at this very moment as I stand here before you as a newly-inducted undergraduate teaching veteran (I had my first discussion sections today! and they went extremely well, thank you very much), I never fail to make lists. Lists, lists, lists. Sometimes I even make lists of my lists, to keep track of the sheer number of lists I have.

And then I make another list to express all my conflicting emotions about how I have to write lists to make sense of the world. Huh. (If you’ve lost me, no worries–so have I.)

So here’s a list of some of the things I am. I’m a:

Daughter: And a darned good one, if I say so myself. Family is a priority here.

Sister: Maybe not always such a great one. A bit on the harsh side, but a fun baby of the family.

Friend: Also known alternatively as “the hyperactive one,” “the listening ear,” “the neglectful-too-popular gal,” and “just….Ala.”

Roommate: Although my roommate is finishing moving out today–boo!

Student: A second-year English graduate student, to be precise.

Funflour Fact #5: Did you know that James Franco is teaching a class this quarter in my department, in my building?

Classmate: That girl who got her paper and reading done a week early. Again. (I actually hate dealing with this so-called perceived “persona”–lots of people get the wrong impression that I’m doing it as a form of overachieving rather than a) sheer peace of mind, and b) usually a time-sensitive schedule, like vacations or something. As a result, I keep all of my work on the DL now when I can.)

Teacher: Elementary, middle school, high school, enrichment workshop, undergraduate…check, check, check, annnnd check!

Writer: I started sharing my creative work in senior year of high school, when I wrote *ahem* Sailor Moon fanfiction. Since then, I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting loads of delighted readers, fans, and other writers in the Moonie fandom (yes, that’s an actual thing–don’t judge) and elsewhere.

Blogger: Along the same lines–but I didn’t start officially blogging here until this summer, when I started meeting all of you wonderful people. How the time flies!

Flour Power: If you’re looking for a great way to support your local farmers, consider signing up for Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes! These are a great way to encourage the farming of fresh local produce, and a fantastic way of staying excited about your food variety, too.

Cook/Baker: FYI Until junior year of college, I used to be the girl who overboiled the ramen noodles. Again. Now I just can’t stop baking and trying new recipes to share, to everyone around me’s eternal delight. Maybe not so much the delight of their waistlines (but don’t tell them I said that!)…

Swimmer: Jumped into the water at age 0.5 years, when I nearly drowned my mother, who can’t swim. I’ve been swimming and competing ever since (go figure)!

Disney Gal: Currently reading the Disneyland Encylopedia. Proud owner of about 10 Pooh shirts, numberless Disney posters, and about a dozen Disney mugs.

Swing Dancer: A newly-acquired hobby of mine since last year–can’t say the going’s good, but the going’s definitely going!

Inspirer: The high-spirited, go-get-’em gal who inspires others to do what they love, and love what they do. This is by far my favorite–and most consistent–persona.

I was a billion and one personae today, and now I’ve only got enough energy for one more:

Sloth.

Oh, and glutton. Go make these cookies! I made a few dozen and they got eaten up by like, 10 people in one sitting. They taste just like the old-fashioned Mother cookies you buy in a package, except (dare I say it?) better.

Rebel. Oh yeah. Done.

What persona/skin do you wear when you go out? Which one are you most comfortable in?

Frosted Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

Slightly adapted from The Novice Chef

Yield: 2.5 dozen medium frosted cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• For Icing: 1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In food processor, pulse oats until they are ground into a coarse (rather than fine) meal. Combine with flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together melted butter and sugars until smooth. Mix in egg until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and mix in until just combined. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, refrigerate dough for 15 minutes. (The original recipe doesn’t call for this step, but I found that the cookies’ shapes were easier to control if they didn’t spread too much while baking.)
3. Grease a cookie sheet, then form small rounded balls with dough (about 3/4″ diameter) and set them two inches apart on the sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate your sheet and continue baking for an additional 6 minutes, or until cookies are a golden brown. Immediately use a spatula to flatten the cookies (gently!) into a nice round flat cookie. Allow to cool slightly, then transfer onto wire rack and cool completely.
4. To make icing: Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until completely smooth. Spoon over cooled cookies, spreading as necessary to achieve an even coating of the top (and a drizzle over the edge if you’d like!). Allow glaze to harden before serving.