Hoosband Cookies and Spatula Giveaway!

The Setting: A frosty apartment warmed by an over-achieving oven; the aroma of chocolate mingling and melding with butter, sugar, and flour.

The Soundtrack: The Family Stone.

Steaming up the Oven: Hoosband Cookies, Stracciatella Biscotti, Homemade Graham Crackers

The Scenario: Prepping for the bake sale and taking my new spatula for a test drive!

Baking is in full force in the Crumm house today.

On the list for the bake sale:

Hoosband Cookies

Stracciatella Biscotti

Homemade Graham Crackers

Spicy Cheddar Snowflakes

Peppermint Bark

Plus whole wheat bread, cookies, muffins, and more coming from many wonderful volunteers.

I am so excited!

...and nervous.

On one hand I hope we'll have enough baked goods, but on the other hand I hope we won't end up with a table full of yumminess and no one to buy it all.

Here's hoping it all goes well and ends with a decent donation to Cookies for Kids Cancer!

Hoosband Cookies

Called Hoosband Cookies because Hoosband helped develop the recipe, giddily suggesting more and more additions to our standard Crumm House Chocolate-Chip Cookies until we came up with these hearty, delicious, addictive little devils.

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup peanut butter

11/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp large, flaky Celtic salt (or 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt or 3/4 tsp fine grain salt)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup oats

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 373 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together on med-high speed till light and fluffy.

Add egg, vanilla, and peanut butter. Beat on medium speed just till evenly incorporated.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, salt, soda, and powder. Add to butter mixture, beating on low speed till well-mixed.

Add remaining ingredients, beating on low just to distribute.

Drop large, rounded spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared pans, spacing 2-3 inches apart.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 minutes or till golden and crispy on the outsides and slightly underdone in the centers.

Cool completely or at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before eating.

Like my cute, new spatula?

It's a lean, green, cookie-flipping machine, and it (well, one just like it) could be yours!

To enter the giveaway, simply...

1. Become a follower of Being the Secret Ingredient either on the blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

2. Then tell Being the Secret Ingredient your all-time favorite cookie either by Tweeting @BeingTSI, commenting on the blog, or leaving a wall post on our Facebook page. Increase your chances by doing all three!

Must enter by January 15, 2012. Winner will be selected by a drawing and announced January 16. Winner must be a resident of the 48 contiguous United States.

For more information on the OXO "Good Cookie" Spatula, see this post: Cookies for Kids' Cancer--And a Giveaway!

For more info on Cookies for Kids' Cancer, visit www.cookiesforkidscancer.org.