Great Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been making chocolate chip cookies forever. I've tried dozens of recipes that have been good but I could never find that one special recipe that produced the perfect cookie. I like my cookies a little chewy, a little puffy, and chock full of oatmeal.

While I am a daring cook, I'm not very daring when it comes to baking. Baking is more science than art and sometimes over tweaking a recipe can yield unwanted results. That being said, I've tweaked and worked this cookie recipe until I found just the right combination of ingredients. It's really become my go to recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. Bake a batch today you won't regret it.



Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
  
• 1/4 c. peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
• 3 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. hot water
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 3/4 c. old fashioned oatmeal (yes, that 3 and 3/4 cups) (not instant or quick cooking oatmeal)
• 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 - 1 cup bittersweet/dark chocolate chips (alternately you could use white chocolate or peanut butter chips)

1. Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium size bowl and set aside.
2. Cream together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3. With mixer running stir in vanilla, hot water, flour mixture and oatmeal and mix until combined.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonful on to an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until the middle is set and the edges start to brown.

Let rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Store in an airtight container. These keep well for about 4 days and the freeze very well.

Makes 6-7 dozen.

Note: I like to pull these out just before they are completely baked, they finish baking on the pan while they are resting for a minute or two.

Another note: I use medium sized dough scoop instead of a spoon. If you have one, it works really nice because the cookies are roughly all the same size and there's no mess getting the dough off the spoon.