Oatmeal-Pear Caramel Glazed Cookies

I am starting to see a few signs of fall here and there, and I am almost sure I smelled it as I walked out of church last night.  The fact that I have to go get on the lawn mower today is proof that it's not quite here yet, but still....I dream of autumn colors, and I burn apple cider scented candles and take inventory of my scarves in preparation.

I also bake cookies.

So I have a couple of pear trees that produce more pears than I know what to do with, and even though they are spotty on the outside (maybe the variety or maybe a disease?), the fruit still tastes delicious.  I grate a couple of pears and throw them into the dough along with some warm cinnamon.  And I just think they needed a little bit of something extra, so I top them off with a caramel glaze.  They're soft cookies and are perfect to usher in fall.

Here are my notes:

-Squeeze the excess juice out of the pears before you stir them in.  Really important.

-Some nuts would go well in these too.  Go for it!

-I'm also thinking some nutmeg would be a nice addition.

-My cookie scoop measures one tablespoon.  I think I got about 40 cookies.

-Place your cookies on a rack over a baking sheet before drizzling with the caramel glaze, to catch the glaze that will run off.

-Break one cookie in chunks, then swipe it through the glaze on the pan that has dripped off the other cookies.  Immediately shove it in your mouth.  This is my bonus tip. 

 Oatmeal-Pear Cookies with Caramel Glaze

Printable Recipe

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup quick oats

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup grated pears (about 2 large pears), squeeze the juice out

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugars on medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Mix the flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Slowly add to wet ingredients and mix until combined.  Stir in the grated pears by hand.  Scoop dough onto baking sheet with a medium cookie scoop. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until edges just start to turn golden brown. Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet.  

Caramel Glaze

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or other sea salt (optional)

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Stir in brown sugar. Cook stirring often, for 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir in the evaporated milk. Bring to a boil. Cook for two minutes stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar.  Immediately drizzle over cookies.  Put cookies in fridge until glaze hardens, but store at room temperature.  About 40 cookies.

The Dillard House, Dillard, Georgia

On our trip to the mountains, we stopped by The Dillard House in Dillard, Georgia, where you don't just eat dinner, you experience it.  I was introduced to this restaurant by my husband on a trip in 2009 when we ate there for breakfast, but we wanted to try their dinner menu this time.  On the way in I told Richard that I sure hope I didn't over eat because I had been doing so well on our trip so far.  After he laughed his head off at my statement, we went in and were seated, then were greeted by a sweet grandma-looking waitress in a cute little apron.  Her grandma buddies must have been in the kitchen cooking up our meal because that's what it tasted like--grandmas cooking in the kitchen.  This is country food at it's finest, people.

From 2009

From 2009

The casual dining room is open and full of windows, with a spectacular view.

You don't order at the Dillard House.  You just sit.  Your server will begin bringing bowls, baskets, and plates of food to your table.  It's all served with a smile, family-style.

For starters, we were served some fresh melon, sliced tomatoes, slaw, apple sauce, and a chow-chow type relish.  The tea was perfectly sweetened, which is really important to me.   I don't like it when my sweet tea isn't sweet enough or it's too sweet.  I'm kind of picky like that.

Then the food started coming.

Virginia ham, fried pork chops (the best I have ever had), and fried chicken.  There was a sweet potato casserole that made my non-sweet potato loving husband proclaim "I think I like sweet potatoes now!"  Do you think those are hush puppies in the picture?  They are actually pineapple fritters.

The corn on the cob melted in our mouths.  There was a cabbage casserole with cheese that I have never had before--to die for.  Creamy homemade macaroni and cheese.  Fried okra, green beans, lima beans (or some type of bean), and all perfectly seasoned.  Someone there knows how to add just the right amount of salt.  And the bread basket?  Corn muffins, biscuits AND yeast rolls.  With all the butter and jelly you want.  I think I may have missed a few items.

Yes, coffee and dessert too.  A homemade cobbler a la mode. I was so full by then I couldn't even push the shutter on my camera to take a picture.

There's much more than just the restaurant.   The grounds and buildings there are just beautiful. 

Go there if you are in the area.  But wear loose clothing.

Smoky Mountain Trout House, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

My husband loves trout.  Me?  I like it, I don't love it.  But there is one restaurant that we always go to when we visit the smoky mountains that makes us both happy--the Smoky Mountain Trout House in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  We discovered it on our honeymoon and have been going there for thirteen years.  They know how to do trout.  It's casual dining with a variety of trout dishes to choose from.  Let me tell you about the meal we had while we were on vacation last month.

Trout Fritters

We started with the trout fritters.  We always start with the trout fritters.  Do not go there without getting the trout fritters.  Do it.  They are fried golden balls of trout and potatoes with peppers and onions, incredibly moist on the inside, crispy on the outside with a creamy dill dipping sauce.  These fritters are what inspired me to send in my very first entry into a recipe contest years ago.  I tried to recreate them at home.  The waitress told us there was a secret ingredient in them.  Then she cautiously looked around and whispered it to me under her breath as she was walking away.  Unfortunately, I did not catch it because apparently, granny needs a hearing aid.

I ordered the trout cakes for my entree, which were delicious also, but basically it was the same mixture as the trout fritters but in cake form.  I wished I would have branched out.  Richard ordered the Smoked Mountain Trout.

Smoked Mountain Trout.  And yes, I know this is the worst picture ever.

I'm not sure I have ever tasted a more flavorful piece of fish.  Hickory smoked with sauteed mushrooms and onions and a little cup of bacon pieces in butter for dipping.  Sweet mercy it was delicious.  I will say that I wasn't all that impressed with the hush puppies and coleslaw, but I'm from Mississippi--we KNOW how to do hush puppies and coleslaw--so my standards are quite high.  But everything else was wonderful. 

Go there.