Saying Thank You with Cookies

One main reason that Jamie and I have continued to go back week after week to the same church here in Sierra Vista is the nursery volunteers in Hadley’s infant room. They have been a huge blessing to us! We’d only left Hadley in the nursery once before we moved out here, so needless to say we were a little nervous the first time we checked her into this church’s nursery that we knew nothing about!

By week two they were greeting her by name with eagerness as soon as they saw us round the corner. There was also one Sunday when I wasn’t feeling well and we decided to leave right before the sermon started, so we had to pick up Hadley at a time they weren’t expecting us. We were so pleased when we walked up to her room to see the both of the ladies down on the floor playing with all of the babies. If I could scoop up these two ladies and take them with us to Kansas, I definitely would!

I’m positive they have no idea how much we first-time parents have appreciated the time they’ve volunteered in the nursery so that we could have that peace of mind while in the service, so I wanted to do something small to just say thank you since tomorrow is our last time to attend this church before the move. I found this oatmeal cookie recipe on pinterest and got to baking since we already had everything on hand! I’ve always been indifferent about oatmeal cookies, but these are good. Really, really good!

I put the cookies into a few cellophane bags (I made an extra bag just in case there’s an extra volunteer), secured them with bread ties, and then finished them off with a ribbon. Hopefully the girls will overlook my attempt at pretty ribbon-tying and just enjoy the cookies. 🙂

I don’t know anybody who doesn’t enjoy feeling appreciated, so if you’re looking for a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to say thank you (or any other thoughtful message), some simple homemade treats may just be the way to go.

Ingredients – 1 cup butter (melted)
– 1 cup brown sugar
– 1 cup flour
– 1 cup white sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 T vanilla
– 1 t baking soda
– 1 t salt
– 2 T cinnamon
– 1 T honey
– 5 cups oatmeal
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine white and brown sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and melted butter to sugars and mix. 
3. In separate medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk.
4. Slowly pour dry mixture into wet mixture. Whisk or use a hand mixer.
5. Add honey (supposedly the secret ingredient!), stir, and then slowly add five cups of oatmeal (I ended up having to work the dough with my hands because the oatmeal made the batter so thick).
6. Roll 1″ balls of dough and place on greased cookie sheet. For flatter cookies, use a spoon to thin them out. Bake for 11-14 minutes. Enjoy!