"The life cycle of doughnuts"

There is a scene in Truth & Beauty (2004), Ann Patchett's memoir of her friendship with the writer Lucy Grealy, where Patchett describes half an hour they spent together just watching doughnuts being made at Krispy Kreme:

We went to the Krispy Kreme doughnut factory where the Hot Doughnuts Now sign was burning its pink neon light. From the other side of a glass window we watched the doughnuts roll down the conveyor belt and then drop into the boiling channel of oil where they bobbed, little doughy life preservers, and then were scooped up and rolled through the wall of liquid sugar. They came steadily, in a slow and orderly fashion, sailing off on a higher belt, rounding the corner out of sight. The life cycle of doughnuts was enormously comforting.

Reading that reminded me of bringing Dylan to the old Krispy Kreme store on Route 29 when he was just a tot and how much he enjoyed watching as the doughnuts made their journey. Dylan would stand on a chair with his nose right up against the glass and watch the doughnuts go round and round. It's not the same as being there with an awestruck little kid, but it is still nice to have the new Krispy Kreme close by in 5th Street Station to enjoy an occasional Original Glazed® Doughnut hot off the conveyor belt.

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We had a surprise visit from Cassie this week when classes were canceled at FSU before Hurricane Michael tore through Tallahassee. Mom and I had already planned to have a meal with Brad in Harrisonburg before going to the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra concert in Staunton Saturday evening, so Cassie got to come along and spare Brad from being the sole focus of our attention again. Unfortunately, the meal was only marginally better than the hideous movie (49% on Rotten Tomatoes is seriously generous) Cassie suggested we watch on Netflix the preceding evening. Scratch one off my list of restaurants to try in Harrisonburg over the next 3½ years.

Luckily, the concert was much better. The highlight was Rex Richardson's performance of the world premiere of the full orchestral version of Allen Vizzutti's Three World Winds for Trumpet and Orchestra, which calls for the soloist to play three separate trumpets: piccolo, B-flat, and flugelhorn. When Peter Wilson, the WSO's conductor, spoke after Richardson's encore, he said the orchestra might not be able to play the final piece in the concert because there were no notes left after Richardson had "played them all" during the third "Cyclone" movement of the concerto. (You can hear the third movement here on Spotify.) Dylan would have been seriously impressed.

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I had already planned to make these oatmeal-raisin cookies for Brad the next time we saw him, but with Cassie here, they turned into oatmeal-cherry cookies (with chocolate chips and nuts, too). Either way, they're really good cookies.

Oatmeal-raisin cookies with cherries to appease Cassie

Chewy Chocolate Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Adapted from Ben & Birdy and Smitten Kitchen

Time: 36 minutes to when the cookies are removed from the baking sheets (plus any resting time in the fridge)

95 grams (~¾ cup) all-purpose or white spelt flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or ½ teaspoon kosher salt
113 grams (½ cup/1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
125 grams (~⅔ cup) light brown sugar
1 large egg (50 grams out of the shell)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
120 grams (~1¼ cups) rolled oats
80 grams (~⅔ cup) raisins
130 grams (~¾ cup) chocolate chips
65 grams (~¾ cup) toasted walnut or pecan pieces, optional

    1. Line two 18-by-13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
    3. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed (4 on a KitchenAid) until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients, then the oats, raisins, chocolate chips, and nuts until just combined. Do not overmix.
    4. Using a #40 scoop (1½ tablespoons), scoop the cookies onto one of the baking sheets, if chilling the dough, or both sheets, if baking right away. If you have the time and the patience, you get a superior cookie if you’re willing to park the dough in the fridge for at least an hour at this point. Either way, when you’re almost ready to bake the cookies, place the racks in the center of the oven, and heat to 350 degrees.
    5. Divide the dough balls evenly between the two baking sheets (about a dozen per sheet). Bake for 6 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking until the cookies are golden brown at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on the top, about 6 minutes more. Cool on the baking sheets for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.