‘I NOW can no longer eat any other kind of oatmeal cookie’

Honestly, I can say that I know how to cook. When it comes to baking? Forget it! I tend to struggle a bit. That’s because when cooking you just keep adding until it tastes delicious. Baking on the other hand requires precise measuring and baking times. I like to throw ingredients together rather than using exact measurements. But my husband asked me to make some oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies and after warning him that they may not be very good, I thought I’d give it a try. It turned out that he said, “I can no longer eat any other kind of oatmeal cookie” and I concur, these are the best (and I’m not exaggerating). Whether I was eating the cookie dough or tasting the final bake – YUM. Add some vanilla or cinnamon ice cream ala mode and you will be in heaven.

Here is your shopping list:

1. 1-1/2 cups rolled oats

2. One ‘Heaping’ Tbsp Cinnamon

3. One tsp salt

4. ½ tsp baking soda

5. Two cups all-purpose flour

6. 1 12-oz bag of ‘Milk Chocolate’ chips

7. Two sticks ‘unsalted’ butter, softened

8. ½ cup granulated sugar

9. 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar

10. Two large eggs

11. 1-1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until completely incorporated.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, oats, cinnamon (make sure it is a heaping tablespoon), salt and baking soda. Stir to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed until the dough starts to form. Add the bag of milk chocolate chips. Mix in with a wooden spoon. Place the bowl of dough in the refrigerator to chill. This is important so that the dough doesn’t spread while baking.

Take an ungreased baking sheet and place parchment paper on top. With an ice cream scoop, take chilled dough and place on the parchment paper 2 inches apart. Do not press down. Keep it in round form. Put the bowl of dough back in the frig to keep it chilled until you are ready to bake the next group.

Bake on the middle rack for no more than 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

For the cookie-dough thieves, guard the project between mixing and placing on a baking rack! As for the finished product, it will make your whole house smell better than a scented candle.

Note: Feel free to add your own favorite chocolate chips like semi-sweet or dark. Maybe you’re more of an oatmeal raisin lover or maybe even coconut or nuts. Substitute with whatever you’d like. The milk chocolate chips in this recipe made the cookie creamy while the softened unsalted butter made it chewy.