Perfect Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
My 4 year old begged me to bake cookies last week on a snow day. I dug around the pantry and decided that we would make some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies because that is what we had stuff for. I told her in an excited tone that we were going to make my favorite kind of cookie. Her reply? "Awww, but I want to make MY favorite kind of cookies!!!" (complete with appropriate emotional protest). She was out of luck because we had no M&M's, so I reminded her that life is tough and she could decide she didn't want any cookies at all......luckily, she chose wisely and we had no regrets with this particular recipe. In true-to-myself form, I made a different cookie recipe because I am still deciding which cookie recipes I think are perfect. Let me say that this one is it. I hereby proclaim that this is my go-to Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie until further notice, of course. These cookies have a lot of oatmeal in them, which makes for a very dense, chewy cookie. A real workout for your jaw, especially after they cool. I find really chewy cookies to be so satisfying on a sensory level (That's the OT in me talking, just ignore it). I also love that they have no shortening in them, only butter. A lot of butter is good where baking is concerned, don't you think? Plus, they actually looked pretty when they were done, which NEVER happens for me. I always bake ugly cookies, so you can imagine my delight when I took these babies out of the oven.
Enough small talk, let's get down to business.
Classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
-from melskitchencafe.com
- 1 cup butter (Yes, that is two whole sticks. Pick your jaw up off the floor.)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 2 3/4 cups oatmeal
- 2 cups chocolate chips (an entire 12 oz bag)
Cream together the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. Add baking soda, powder, salt. Finally, add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix until combined. I used a 2 T scoop and dropped them into balls on a greased cookie sheet. If you are a pansy and only eat small cookies, use a 1 T scoop. I grew up eating big cookies, so I bake big cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes (not quite as long if your cookies are smaller) at 350 degrees. Do not over bake (they firm up considerably when cooled), unless you like a crunchy cookie to dunk in your milk. I'm about to preheat my oven right now...I froze half of the dough balls (about 20) on a cookie sheet, then put into a freezer ziplock bag for longer storage. I can have hot, fresh cookies in about 20 minutes. Oh happy day!