Finally, Some Cricket! Finally, Some Cookies!

All right!  Tomorrow's a big day for me because there's finally some international cricket going on.  There's the third Ashes test, and South Africa is playing India, 1st test.  Very interesting cricket indeed!  I'm so happy!

And here's a bit of Ashes news...Steve Smith, the all-rounder, is back on the Australia side!  Now here's a kid that I like a lot.  I've seen him bat against the Pakistani side,and he kept his composure against Mohammed Amir, the wonderkid swing bowler and had lots of really good knocks.  Which is rare against Mohammed Amir.  So Steve Smith is a good addition to the team and maybe now Australia might have a fighting chance.  I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow!  Yeah! YEAH!!

And a bit of bad news for Pakistan fans;but don't get your knickers in a knot, it's not that bad:  according to the Pakistan Cricket facebook page, test captain Misbah ul-Huq has twisted his ankle and will be out of commission for a few days.

Misbah ul-Haq, teaching his opponents a lesson

According to the source, he should be all right to play by the time the test match happens.  I wish you a speedy recovery, Misbah ul-Haq.  You're just awesome and I'd like to see you crush the New Zealanders like a grape!

I am so excited!  And you should be too, because today I'm finally going to show you how to make my famous Scottish Oatmeal Cookies.  I say famous because my Scottish grandmother was famous in her highland village for this recipe, and I used this generations-old recipe to start my own business when I lived in Mexico.  That's right, Mexicans became mad for scottish cookies and I made a bundle of cash, enough to pay my university tuition and the bills!

What makes these cookies so good are the great raw ingredients.  If you're in Pakistan, these cookies will turn out particularily well because of the fabulous punjabi butter and oats which are available there.  If you're in Mexico, take advantage of the beautiful Veracruz vanilla, and if you're in Canada, you should use Roger's Golden Yellow sugar (the light brown sugar) and not the darker brown sugar.  Golden Yellow sugar gives the best flavour!  But if that's not available , brown sugar still works very well.  Right on!  Let's make some cookies and have some FUN!

Scottish Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
1.5 cups of oats, regular or quick cooking
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raisins (kish-mish)
1/3 cup chocolate chips or a small chocolate bar chopped into small bits (optional)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (use mexican vanilla if possible, it's the best)
1 tablespoon water

Preheat your oven to 375 F or 190 C. 
Stir together the oats, flour, salt and baking soda, and add the kishmish and optional chocolate chips.
In another bowl, cream the butter , and add the sugars gradually, using either an electric beater or a wooden spoon. 
Lightly beat the egg in a separate container with the tablespoon of water.
Add the beaten egg and water to the butter/sugar mix, and add the vanilla; stir with the electric beater or wooden spoon for a couple of minutes.
Add the oats mix, and stir in with the wooden spoon.

Drop the cookie dough by the big tablespoon-ful on a greased cookie sheet. This recipe should give you about 12 big cookies.  Bake at 190 for about 15 minutes, until they're nice and brown.  Eat with a nice cup of dhudhpatti on a cold day.

One last note: you'll notice that there's only 1/2 cup of butter in this recipe.  Most modern recipes call for 1 full cup, but there's no reason to use that much.  Stick with the old-fashioned 1/2 cup.  It's better for you.  You'll also notice there's water in this recipe; that's so the oats absorb the moisture and you'll get a nice, soft cookie.

So give these a try, make them today and enjoy them tomorrow during all the fabulous cricket that's going on.  Have a good one!

Happy Cricket, and Happy Cookie!