Baking time: Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Mom asked me to go traditional this year with a pumpkin and apple pie for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to make something a little different too. And since, we didn't have time for a Thanksgiving lunch at work, I decided to make some cookies to share with my co-workers.

I wanted to make something seasonal, something more than just a chocolate chip cookie, so I decided on Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies. Since this time of year is all about baking from scratch (and let's be serious, it just tastes better that way), I stocked up on butter, flour and sugar and got started.

I used this recipe as a starting point. It's a pretty basic cookie recipe, just cream the butter and sugars, add the eggs and vanilla. Then combine the dry ingredients and add it to the butter mixture. Then you stir in the  cranberries and you're ready to bake.

I added some extra salt to my cookies, and also omitted the nutmeg and cardamon. The extra salt gave them just the right touch.

You can make tons of variations with this basic oatmeal cookie recipe. You can go more traditional with raisins, or use any other dried fruit. I think the addition of walnuts would also be yummy and go great with the autumn feel of the oatmeal and cranberries.

This has been just the start of my Thanksgiving baking for this year. Today I will attempt to make pie crust from scratch. Wish me luck!