Cookies give me pause, but not for  long!  In an instant they disappear, as I chew them, devour them, not leaving a crumb.  Yes, that’s how I deal with cookies.  This is especially true when  chocolate is one of the main ingredients.   When knobby dark-colored studs peek out from a cookie, I gobble them up. In a nano second, as the chocolate  touches my lips, tongue, palette – it’s history!  This new cookie measures up,  takes  the challenge, winning honors wherever I take it.

Although the status of brownies for snacks and dessert are high, (because of my father being a baker, brownies were always around),  chocolate cookies rank higher in ratings. They are quick,  no fuss, simple.  People may stay away from cakes, and other fancy sweets, but cookies  take just a minute to wolf down, vanish– but the memory lasts!

And too cookies can often be adjusted with ingredients, adding this, removing that, making changes which  please us and our diners. Share with me what changes you make when you bake cookies?  Do you follow the recipe exactly? Do you change it completely, or just a little?

I never used oatmeal in cookies until recently and now I love it, when added judiciously.  Previously I thought oatmeal was just a breakfast cereal, or only added to meatloaf!  (Earlier generations added it in meatloaf.) so, if a recipe calls for it, I use a bit less, then sometimes add another ingredient to replace it, or not.  I see where my mood takes me.  How about you?  And, almost regularly, I plop an extra chocolate chip or two on my cookies.  Sometimes I do this before the baking process, othertimes I’ll poke in several chips when the cookies are a few minutes out of the oven, and still warm.

 

INGREDIENTS                                                                         YIELDS:  3-4 Dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened

1  1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 large egg, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup oatmeal, not quick or instant

1/2 tsp  baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup semi-sweet chips

1/2 cup coconut, shredded, sweetened or not

1/2 cup any flavor chips for topping (optional)

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

 

PROCESS

1  Using a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars into the bowl and mix on medium high for 2-3 minutes.  Add the peanut butter, both eggs and mix for several minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.

2   In another bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut or other ingredients, if using.  Slowly, in two or three batches add the dry ingredients  to the wet in the mixing bowl. Don’t overmix. Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in the cup of chips by hand. Chill the dough for 1-2 hours or overnight, covered in the refrigerator.

3   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator, letting it  come close to room temperature for fifteen minutes.

4  Using a small-medium size cookie scoop, or two spoons, shape balls and place on a greased cookie sheet or one covered with parchment paper. Pat the balls very slightly with your fingers to lower then just a bit. Add a few additional chips if you wish now.

5  Bake 8:50- 10 minutes.   Remove just when the underside is faintly golden, but the center may still looked undercooked, but still remove them from the oven. They will continue to cook  for a few minutes once removed from the oven. They will be soft and chewy this way. Leave the cookies on the on the sheet for 10-15 minutes until they cool.

6   If you choose, cool the cookies just for five minutes, then add the additional chocolate chips, peanut butter or white chocolate chips on top of the cookies, if you wish, if you have not added them at step 4.

 

TIPS AND TWEAKS

•  Add raisins, about half a cup.
•  for a different flavor, add 1/2 cup pine nuts.
•  Other nuts add a nice crunch, add 1/2 cup or more.  In these cookies I like walnuts or almonds.