End of summer

We spent our Labor Day weekend at home, visiting, baking, and organizing. Not a bad weekend in my book - glad to have some quiet (and not-so-quiet when the kids were involved) time with friends. The weather was hot and humid but my mind is already focused on fall. We're thinking about back-to-school and fall birthdays. I made a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Adapted from The Foster's Market Cookbook: Favorite Recipes for Morning, Noon, and Night

Makes about 6 dozen 2.5-inch cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets and set aside.

Cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until well blended.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a separate bowl. Stir dry ingredients together with a whisk.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not overmix. Mix in chocolate chips.

Scoop dough with a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop or by a heaping tablespoon and drop onto the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Press the cookies flat with the back of a spatula.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes for soft, chewy cookies; 15-18 minutes for crunchy cookies. Enjoy!

While I'm ready to usher in a new season, I also have moments where I wish I could just preserve time. My 4-year-old Jack told me today he wants to go to Lego camp and he wants me to be his girlfriend. Can we hit the pause button just for a bit? Happy week ahead!