sunflower cookies

(My apologies for dropping off for the past few weeks. Daily life ramped up a bit and the truth is, I missed sharing my little stories and pictures. I keep up this space because blogging is a nice reflective exercise for me. I very much look forward to hearing from friends and readers. Thank you for sticking with me.)

This is a cookie recipe from my mother. In the recesses of childhood memory I can see her pull a roll of this dough from the bottom drawer of our freezer. My older sister re-introduced me to the cookies a few years back and everyone I share them with genuinely loves them. It is a beautiful brown sugar oatmeal chewy cookie with amped up nutty flavor from the sunflower seeds. It is such a basic, simple cookie but the combination of oats and seeds is kind of addicting.

The pictured batch was baked up after one heck of day- the kind of day that leaves you stumbling exhausted and graceless through the front door, just relieved for the quiet of home. When days are rough like that, I long for the methodical rhythm of kitchen tasks, the comfort of familiar smells and tastes. Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for yourself is make some cookies.

sunflower cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups quick oats
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla.

3) Add flour, salt, baking soda, and oats. Add 1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds. (I stir the seeds in by hand. Helps avoid overworking the dough.)

4) Form into long rolls (1 1/2" thick) and wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour. (plastic wrap or parchment paper works).

5) Slice into 3/4" thick pieces and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

6) Bake on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. After removing from oven, allow cookies to cool briefly on sheet before transferring to cooling racks.

7) Enjoy! These cookies are so very good served warm with an icy cold glass of milk but will also keep   for several days, stored in an air tight container.