Back in the olden days, before kids, when I could eat anything I wanted an not gain a pound, I used to make big batches of cookies. I'd take them to work and share with anyone who wanted to munch the delicious morsels.
Eventually, all good things shall pass. All I need to do is look at a cookies or cake and the pounds start multiplying - right onto my hips.
But, now we have two growing girls who love to bake. So I dusted off my recipe book where I wrote down my own modified recipes for future reference. The recipes have origins that may be well-known, or not. The fact is, I don't remember where the original recipes came from. I claim the modified food algorithms as my own, but who knows? If you see a recipe posted here that you recognize, please kindly let me know in the comment section. I will gladly give credit where credit is due!
Here is one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. I am not one for pancake flat chocolate chip cookies. I like my cookies to have a bit of a chewiness and some substance. I'm the only one in the family who adores nuts, so if I want cookies with nuts, I usually make a 3rd of the recipe with them, and the rest is nut-free (unlike the inhabitants of our household).2 c. butter 5 c. blended oatmeal 4 c. flour 1 tsp salt 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 2 c. sugar 2 c. dark brown sugar 4 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 12 oz. chocolate chips 12 oz. white chocolate chips 3 oz. chopped macadamia nuts
(Recipe makes about 112 or so. Lots and lots of cookies. Freeze some dough for later... if you like.)
- Measure oatmeal, then blend in food processor (or blender) until the oats turn into a fine powder. This is a must. If it's not a fine powder, you'll have oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. This is not what we're going for. Got that?
- Cream butter and both sugars (you may substitute margarine for butter with no degradation in flavor or texture. It just works. )
- Add eggs and vanilla to creamed sugar and butter mixture in previous step.
- Now for the hard part: Thoroughly mix together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Done mixing? Rest your arm for about 4 minutes.
- Now mix in all the chocolate chips. Once the chocolate chips are mixed in, and if you're going to divide the batter, this is when you do it, before adding the nuts. Divide and conquer - add the nuts to the batter and mix.
- Roll into balls and place about 1-2" apart on the cookie sheet. I like to use baking parchment paper rather than greasing the pan. No muss, no fuss. Unless you don't have parchment on hand - then grease the pan with your favorite pan lubricant.
- Bake for 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
- Cool and enjoy!
