Truly Delightful Contest ...

The good folks at Quaker have recently launched a line of premium granola bars called True Delights®. In honor of the launch, Quaker and Foodbuzz have teamed up to sponsor the 2009 True Delights Be Delighted Recipe Contest. Contestants must submit a recipe that contains at least one of the 9 ingredients found in Quaker® True Delights bars. With such luscious ingredients as: cashews, chocolate, raspberry, almonds, bananas, coconut, macadamia nuts, cherries or cranberries - entrants are limited only by their imaginations. The contest is open to all, limit one entry per person/per email address.

It should come as no surprise that this weekend found me donning my apron, dusting off the mixer and getting down to some serious baking. I love a challenge and more than that I love the list of suggested ingredients. To be perfectly honest, I can live without granola bars - premium or not - but throw those same ingredients into some dough and I'm all over it. Sure, I might have dreamed up a more inventive concoction ... could have submitted a sous-vied breast of twice plucked guinea hen, glazed with a cashew infused raspberry-almond demi-glace ... but who the hell wants that when you can have a cookie?

And if those cookies are made molten with dark rich chocolate and bursting with luscious dried berries then color me delighted indeed.


Loaded Oatmeal Cookies:

• 2 sticks of butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup mixed, unsweetened, dried cranberries and cherries
• 3 cups of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats, uncooked
  
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
• one 11.5 ounce bag of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the white flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and whisk well to combine. Reserve.

Place the softened butter in the bowl of your electric mixer and to it add the granulated sugar, cream together on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add both brown sugars and continue to mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla and mix well until thoroughly incorporated. Add the reserved flour mixture, one third at a time, beating well after each addition to in corporate. Add the dried cranberries and cherries, the macadamia nuts and the oats and mix well to combine. Add the chocolate chocolate chip and mix carefully to combine well but gently so as not to break up the chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an un-greased cookie sheet and bake in the middle of a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool. As written, this recipe will yield 48 to 55 cookies. Serve and enjoy!

You'll note the mix of dried cherries and cranberries - my market sells them packaged this way, but feel free to mix your own or use either fruit alone.


I've been making these cookies for quite some time now and had only to add a bit of macadamia to enhance them for the contest. This is the recipe I've submitted and I think its a winner. Make no mistake, this is not your average oatmeal cookie - that description is far too tame. These beauties are heavy hitters; loaded with flavor and just silly with texture. A cookie this good should be illegal. A cookie this good should win me a trip to Chicago ... and if they don't that's ok too ... maybe *you'll* be the lucky winner instead?

Why not hit that link and enter the contest yourself? The link up top will take you to the rules and the rest is self-explanatory. If contests aren't your thang but granola is ... click here to score a free sample of the new True Delights®.

So what's your favorite cookie? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetit!