The fall weather this weekend has me ready to jump straight into my favorite jeans (wow, they are tight after a summer of eating pastries), throw on a scarf and sit outside at my favorite coffee shops nibbling on coffee cake and sipping something caffeinated with spicy fall flavor, like a chai tea latte.
I am quickly reminded that it is still technically summer, by the 80-degree days that follow the 65-degree days, However, I'm stuck on fall pastries now, so we can explore, at least a little, the deeply complex flavors of fall in Sugar Lovin goodies.
While summer flavors tend to focus on fruits and the light, refreshing side of sweets, fall explores the depth of a late summer harvest and the headiness that a well placed spice can give a sweet treat. We'll begin with "fall-light" pastries. Something that can easily straddle both sides of the summer/fall fence based on the recipe you choose-an oatmeal cookie.
The summer side of an oatmeal cookie begins by adding a touch of honey and nixing those traditional raisins. With dried fruit abundantly available, you could easily go with apricots or cherries to give it a summery flair.
Try this recipe for a summery oatmeal cookie to help you transition to fall.
For the fall end of the spectrum, we go back to our traditional oatmeal raisin recipe. But this time, we are going to add some cinnamon and some cloves to amp up the seasonal flavor. Raisins, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and walnuts all go so very well in the fall version of this cookie.
Try this recipe for the fall version of the oatmeal cookie.
While we are talking about cookies, in general, we should probably discuss the fact that cookie bakeries are fast becoming the new cupcake bakery. Milk and Cookies in NYC and Cookie Bar in Chicago are showing us that specialty baking doesn't start and end with cupcakes. And if you'll notice, both places have the classic oatmeal raisin cookies, though Cookie Bar is taking oatmeal cookies in all kinds of fun places with their Red, White and Blue cookie and the Oatmeal Chili Mango Macadaemia cookie.
Here in Pittsburgh, we don't have a cookie bakery per se, but we certainly have a few shops known for outrageously delicious cookies. Nancy B's in Homestead was rated the best chocolate chip cookie in all of Pittsburgh by Pittsburgh Magazine, but she also boasts a long menu of different cookies to try. I'd recommend her oatmeal raisin. It's pretty delicious.
While I would typically recommend avoiding the traditional bakeshops for cookies (Potomac Bakery and Prantl's come to mind- their cookies just aren't a point of focus and it shows), Bethel Bakery does do a pretty good job with most of their cookies. The oatmeal raisin is a solid choice.
Shockingly, Giant Eagle Market District does a nice oatmeal cookie. You can get oatmeal raisin, oatmeal cranberry, and more. They usually are fresh and have a nice buttery, spicy flavor.
Light and summery or spicy and delightful, an oatmeal cookie is a great place to start when beginning to explore the fall spectrum of Sugar Lovin goodies. We have many more fall items to explore this week, so stay tuned!
Giant Eagle Market District's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie on the Sugar Love Scale:
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