Oh!ts

Don't be fooled. This is not a real cookie mix but Quaker should consider!

Class: Marketing 3100

Assignment: Come up with a new product or product line extension and create a successful marketing plan. ---- Well, my next move was obvious. Let's do something related to food... preferably something that requires baking. :)

This project required the works: real market research, surveys, budget planning, advertisement design, product samples (yay!). So in the event I ever decided to make a boxed oatmeal cookie mix I'm pretty well informed on start up costs (and efforts). I had fabulous groupies and made about 3 test batches before I ended up making over 120 cookies in 2 hours! Thats about 4 or 5 batches of small cookies (at least.. I'm not sure.. I lost track between measuring, baking and bagging). 

Our product was an extension of Quaker Oats Oatmeal. We decided to make a packaged oatmeal cookie mix. The container could be used as a cookie jar for the baked cookies, storage after the cookie are all gone or a piggy bank so kids can save their allowance and buy more cookies... (I thought that was a pretty decent marketing strategy ;)   Yep. I designed the label and made the little baggies that we distributed to the class. Cute huh? :) (pictured above).  My group also had some awesome add designs and did great research.

Well on to the more exciting stuff... The COOKIES! They were a hit! Friends wanted the recipe and another friend of mine sold one for $1 walking to his car from class! Yes, I claimed my hard earned profit and made him pay up :)

I'm so proud to say we made the top grade in the class, a 98!!! Thats two points from perfect.... I'd say those are pretty darn good cookies! ;o)

This recipe was adopted and modified from Emerile Lagasse.

Oh!ts Oatmeal Cookies

yields 24 cookies

• 1 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted (optional)
• 1 cup dried cranberries, raisins, cherries or other dried and chopped fruit.
• 1 cup chocolate chips (see below for mix-in ideas)
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1.5 cups quick-cook oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups light brown sugar (you can use dark brown too)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Position one oven rack in the center and another in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.

Line and spray two baking sheets with parchment paper and non-stick cooking spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together at medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract, then beat until thoroughly combined.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and stir to combine.

With the mixer turned off, add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until dry ingredients are just combined, about 1 minute. Turn the mixer off. Add remaining dry ingredients and the mix ins: raisins, craisins, cherries, pecans, chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch chips, walnuts, the list goes on and on! Mix at low speed until just combined.

Using a 1/4-cup measure, scoop the cookie dough into 24 equal portions and place 12 of the dough balls 2 inches apart on each of the prepared baking sheets. Press the dough down to make a slightly flat, round cookie.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes (per usual, mine took way less time - around 13 minutes..but it just depends on your oven. You want to make sure the cookies are still very soft, almost doughy when you take them out...they will continue to cook as they cool)

Enjoy!! and have fun with this!! Here is an idea of flavor combinations we came up with for our project:

- White Chocolate Craisin (made these, they were delish!)

- Dark Chocolate Cherry

- Mini marshmallows and chocolate chip s'more cookies

- Try other mix ins like: peanut butter chips, all kinds of dried fruit chopped, any kind of nut, etc....