Blueberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies--No Butter!

So I really like to bake and I haven't had a ton of time to do this this year because of teaching.  However, as the year winds down and we head into finals, I found myself with a little more time on my hands.  I think I also just felt more prepared in general when it came to teaching.  I have grown so much more confident and comfortable as the year has gone by and so last week, after ensuring I was ready with my review activities for my students, I made some cookies!

Also, as the year winds down, I have been wanting to go back and visit middle school.  So, yesterday when I did not have any finals to sit through, I drove over to the middle school and visited my students and cooperating teacher.  It was so wonderful to see all of them and it put this huge smile on my face.  As students entered the classroom they looked at me, looked slightly confused, and then smiled.  They all remembered me and wanted to know if I was back to teach them.  I explained that as a student teacher you do half your teaching in middle school and then half in high school and that now I was in high school.  They were still very excited to see me and I hung around to help out during class.  I also got expressions like, "Where did you go?", "Hey look, I'm taller than you now..." and, "How are you? Where are you gonna teach next year?"  It was so cool to chat with them.  They were the bunch that really taught me my first lessons about teaching and classroom management.  Plus, it was great to see the 8th grade team.  This group of teachers, especially my cooperating teacher, helped me to learn so much about myself, teaching, and working as a team.

After my visit, I returned to high school to get some work done and then it was back home, a nice 6 mile run, and then dinner with Bri.  Yesterday was such a great day and it makes me so excited to get grounded in my new school next year.  I can't wait to have those experiences every year as I meet new students, teachers, and make connections.

But back to those cookies, I made some Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and I used Coconut Oil instead of butter! The result was one fantastic tasting cookie. I shared them with the teachers at high school and everyone was a big fan.  Plus, they were shocked to learn that there was not a single stick of butter in the batter!

Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup virgin coconut oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flours, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, beat coconut oil with brown sugar until well combined.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla.  Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Stir in the blueberries and white chocolate chips.
4. Form 1 tbsp - 2 tbsp sized balls of cookie dough and place on prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cookies will start to brown around the bottom.  Let cool.

Enjoy :)