Ranger Cookies

Shortly after my potato chip cookie experiment, I got out my baking stuff to make our week’s supply of treats and my husband asked “Can we just – for once – have something ordinary?”  

I baked Ginger Crinkles.  I’ve been trying to stick to well loved recipes ever since.

I enjoy our well loved recipes but Pinterest is a constant temptation to me.  There are a lot of interesting cookies on Pinterest!  I want to try them all, especially the more curious combinations.  They pique my curiosity.

How to balance my guy’s desire for “regular cookies” with my desire to try something new? 

By trying new recipes while avoiding the more over-the-top end of the Pinterest cookie spectrum. 

No Oreo stuffed peanut butter cookies or bacon and caramel confections for us…at least for a little while.  I’m on the lookout for family recipes that other folk are kind enough to share.

Meaningful Mama recently shared her recipe for RangerCookies and it looked perfect to me.  Ranger Cookies are not common here but they looked just right:  A fairly plain cookie with oatmeal and Rice Crispies mixed in for texture and flavour.  They’d afford me the opportunity to try something new but would appeal to my husband too.  I decided to give them a try.

I had all the cookie ingredients laid out ready to photograph when my husband happened into the room.  He sized up what was on the table and asked “Can we have peanut butter chips in those?”  and, since we had some in the pantry, I thought “Why not?”

I made my Ranger Cookies just as specified in MeaningfulMama’s recipe but I doubled the batch and added in the peanut butter chips at the end.  They turned out well enough to find a permanent place in my baking repertoire. 

To make Ranger Cookies, you’ll need:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 2 cups Rice Crispies
• 1-300 gram (10.5 ounce) package peanut butter chips

Cream the butter and sugars together.  Beat the egg and add it to the butter and sugar mixture, stirring until all the ingredients are well combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to make a fairly stiff dough. 

Mix in the oatmeal, Rice Crispies, and peanut butter chips.

Form the cookie dough into balls and place them about 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.  (I made mine about 2 inches in diameter.  They don’t spread much as they bake so next time I’ll make them larger.)

Bake the cookies at 350F for about 12 minutes, until they’re lightly browned.  

Allow the cookies to cool completely, on racks or brown paper, before storing in an airtight container.
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This recipe is linked to the Lunch Box Link Party hosted by Addicted to Recipes.