Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My favorite type of cookie ever is oatmeal raisin. I think it's because they trick me into thinking I'm eating something nutritious. Anyway, here's a great recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies that features a good amount of delicous spices.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; stir into sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes.

Low-fat cupcakes

I know what you're thinking: Get those damn low-fat cupcakes outta my face. I don't blame you. I don't usually care for low-fat or lite anything, but I'm really trying to eat less sugar now that I have Il Bambino coming. These cupcakes are so easy and so good that you won't miss the fat--or the butter, the eggs ... .

All you need is a cake mix and a can of Diet Coke. I swear. That's all you need. (I used Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge SuperMoist cake mix.) Anyway, you use the soda in place of the eggs, oil/butter, water, and whatever else the mix might call for. The carbonation in the soda is what helps the cake rise and stay nice and fluffy. Then you bake it according to the directions, and you can bake it in a 9x13 cake pan, two cake rounds, or cupcakes, whatever the box says you can do. Obviously I baked them as cupcakes, and they turned out truly delicious. Very moist, very full of flavor. Yummy!

One of my favorite parts of this "recipe" is that you can let your imagination run wild with it. I used Diet Coke and chocolate cake, but you can do cinnamon cake with Diet Pepsi Jazz, lemon cake with Diet 7-Up, vanilla cake with Orange Crush, whatever you can think of.

Guilt-free sweet snacking. Sounds very good to me!