I can't believe it's been so long since we had any cookies around here. I admit, I got so caught up with delicious summer fruit and ice cream and preserves that I forgot how nice it is to have a little portable sweet treat lying around. These are the chewy centered, crispy edged variety of oatmeal cookies which just happen to be my personal favorite and I like to sprinkle them with a little salt before heading into the oven too. If sweet/salty isn't your thing feel free to skip the step, but if you've never tried it, give it a go with a cookie or two. They would make a great lunch box dessert if you have kiddos heading off to school this fall and after you tuck one or two in their lunch boxes you can eat a few for breakfast with your morning coffee. I mean, they're made of oatmeal right?

Oatmeal Chocoalte Cherry Cookies

adapted from BAKED

yield 18 cookies

3/4c flour

1/2t baking soda

1/2t sea salt (plus a bit more to sprinkle on top of the cookies)

1/2t cinnamon (I used Saigon Cinnamon from Penzey's that was super strong, so if you use another variety you may want a little more here)

a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1/2c butter

3/4c brown sugar

1 egg

1t vanilla extract

1 1/2c rolled oats

1/2c chopped dried cherries

1/2c chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375ºF

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a bowl with a hand mixer) cream the butter and the sugars, then add the egg and mix until combined, then add the vanilla.

3. WIth the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Then remove the bowl from the mixer, add the oats, chocolate and cherries and stir them in by hand.

4. Divide the mixture into 18 even balls, I used a cookie scoop about the size of a generous tablespoon and place on two parchment lined cookie sheets. Gently press the cookies down to ensure they spread and sprinkle each one with a tiny bit of sea salt.

5. Slide the sheets into the oven and bake the cookies until lightly golden on the edges and soft in the middle, about 12min. Don't forget to rotate the pans halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the sheets for a few minutes then remove them to a wire rack and try not to eat the whole batch all at once.

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for about 3 days.

I know zucchini and summer squash aren't as glamorous as some other summer produce. Anyone who grows the stuff is probably so sick of it by now that they have been sneaking it in to their neighbor's mailboxes for weeks, but I've been busy sneaking mine into baked goods. I have to admit, it makes me feel pretty wholesome to use a vegetable to make cake, but make no mistake. This cake is dessert. A deep cocoa tinted batter is studded with chopped bittersweet chocolate and the shredded zucchini breaks down and lends an incredible moistness to the finished cake. It is so tasty that all it needs is a snowy white dusting of confectioner's sugar to serve, but if you feel like gilding the lily, dollop some whipped cream on there too.

Chocolate and Zucchini Cake
adapted from Clotilde's legendary recipe

120g all purpose flour
120g spelt flour (or use all purpose)
60g cocoa powder
1t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1/2t cinnamon
1/2t sea salt
180g light brown sugar
115g (1 stick) soft, unsalted butter or 1/2 cup olive oil
1t vanilla extract
2T strong cooled coffee
3 large eggs
350g finely grated zucchini (I used one small zucchini and one small, yellow summer squash)
160g chopped chocolate
confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat your oven to 350º . Butter and flour 6, 6oz ramekins and place them on a sheet pan or butter and flour, 1 10'' springform pan or an 8'' square. Really, just about anything would work here.

1. Sift together the flours, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
2. In a mixing bowl combine the chopped chocolate and grated zucchini, then 1/3 of the flour mixture and toss to combine.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract and coffee. Scrape down the bowl and stir completely to combine.
3. Add the remaining flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and stir gently, then fold in the chopped chocolate and zucchini.
4. Divide the batter between the ramekins, slide into the oven and bake for 30-40min until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Serve warm, dusted with confectioner's sugar and maybe a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream on top.