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These Mocha Roca Oatmeal Cookies are oatmeal cookies with coffee, brown sugar, and chopped up pieces of Almond Roca toffee.


Today I received a large (think dozens and dozens…almost the kind you would see at a funeral or wedding size) bouquet of white roses.

Which the average female would have loved to receive.

Except me.

#1 they came from a guy I already let know I wasn’t interested in.

I’m not playing hard to get.

I don’t play anything.

If you let me know you are interested and I tell you I am not, I’m not.

I’m pretty transparent that way.

#2 I don’t like roses.

I like cabbage roses, but not traditional roses.

And they make my allergies go insane.

So I could have kept them.

I could have thrown the out.

Instead I thought of my mother.

My mom used to volunteer at the Assisted Living Center (you know them as the old folks home) when my grandmother stayed in one.

She went every day.

My mom would often drag me, mostly in the summers, to help her run Bingo.

She would read the numbers in English and I would follow in Spanish (Phoenix has a large hispanic population).

But I remember how sad she would be for the people who day in and day out had no visitors.

So I thought, clearly we have an assisted living place around here.

We do.

Several.

So down I went with my white rose extravaganza to find a woman who never gets visitors.

I told the nurses what I was doing.

And I asked if there were any females who never got visitors.

Sadly that number was higher than I had wanted to hear.

So I asked who could carry on full conversations.

And I got Anne.

In I walked with my large bouquet and sat them down in front of her.

Of course, she had the do I know her look on her face, which I told her she did not (then she asked me if I was from one of those do gooder churches and I loved her immediately).

I told her no church, just had some spare roses and that I was just stopping by to wish her a happy Thursday.

She smiled super big.

I sat down and had a chat with her.

Anne very nice woman, who just happens to be a retired school teacher, and so we had lots to talk about.

On my way out, I asked the nurses if Anne was diabetic or anything that would not allow her to have sweets.

They said no.

But told me that she loved oatmeal raisin cookies.

I go back in two weeks, cookies in hand.

I think the movie UP is giving me a soft spot for seniors. 🙂
These cookies were made even before I went.

These, of course, are not oatmeal raisin, but they do have oatmeal in it, and I found it kind of ironic that I had made those the day before.

This is the time of year when they sell the Christmas candy cheap, which means Almond Roca (which can be pricey) goes on sale, as long as it was in a gift pack type thing.

So I bought some.

Chopped it up and put it in Mocha Roca Oatmeal Cookies.

It is super important that you grease the heck out of your cookie pans or use parchment paper.

The toffee when it melts will stick to pan…big time.

If you let it cool completely they are a much easier to remove from pan.

But as much as they are kind of a pain, they are really yummy.

P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook Holy Sweet!

Want More Cookie Recipes?

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White Chocolate Chip Creamsicle Cookies

Vanilla Bean Caramel Thumbprint Cookies

Mocha Roca Oatmeal Cookies

Mocha Roca Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. instant coffee (I used Starbucks Via)
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3 cups oatmeal (old fashioned or quick)
  • 1 ½ cups Almond Roca, roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.
  2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. 
  3. Add eggs, instant coffee, and vanilla; beat well.
  4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
  5. Add oats and Almond Roca; mix well.Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a super greased cookie sheets.
  6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes (my oven was running more on the 10 minute side) or until light golden brown.
  7. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack.
  8. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.
© Peabody



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Comments

  2. Peabody! That is such a great story!! I bet A loved having you visit. Do you think it will be a regular thing? Or was this truly a random act of kindness? You are so sweet 🙂

    Reply

  4. As a person who worked for 8 years in Long Term Care Facilities, I thank you! It is people like you that make a difference. A difference to one lonely person. I wish more people did it. And you have reminded me that I have not volunteered in a long time.
    Inspired me, you have!
    Thank you.

    Reply

  13. Aww, you are so sweet and old people rock! And I loved the movie UP. Russle is so adorable! I want a pocket sized version of him! :* Well anyways, these look like fantastic cookies!

    Reply

  16. What a fantastic idea! You’re really inspiring.
    Made me remember my grandpa…every time I visited him it was very sad to see a LOT of people with no visits at all.
    Cheers from Argentina!

    Reply

  20. This is a great post! I love the movie UP, and think it’s so great you’re taking it to heart 🙂

    Please come and take a look at my new blog, it’s similar to “Peabody.” Looking forward to hearing from you!

    Thanks.

    Reply

  23. Good for you Peabody! My mom works in a nursing home and for years dragged us (when we were still living at home) to come talk to the old folks; now that I’m a mom, I plan on doing the same with my kids–it can be a really rewarding and interesting experience!

    Reply

  25. Dude, I almost cried while reading this post! And it takes a lot for me to cry these days.

    You are just too sweet. Really.

    (And why don’t guys EVER listen when you tell them you’re not interested? Must be some male pride thing.)

    I need to investigate the almond roca situation at my supermarket. These sound delicious!

    Reply

  30. This story made my heart grow, Im sure the feeling you got from doing such an amazing thing was better than all the roses in the world!

    Reply

  31. I bet you made her day!

    I worked at a nursing home for 5 years and it broke my heart knowing how many of our residents rarely (if ever) had visitors! We need more people like you!

    Reply

  32. That was very, very sweet and what a nice way to truly bring a smile and happiness to someone. My dad has dementia and is in a Veterans facility and it is so sad to see the people that have no one. I’m sure you made her day….

    Reply

  33. Peabody, I love how honest you are. I also don’t really care for roses,( much rather have tulips), and the re-gifting was a wonderful act of generosity. You are a bright light of friendship to one older lady and an inspirations to me.

    Reply

  37. That is raising the bar, for sure. Thanks for setting a good example. It takes a special person to go to the old folks home (or the VA hospital). And, when I make sticky cookies I just throw down the parchment paper so I can just peel it.

    Reply

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