Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Every day, as part of our afternoon, we put out lemonade and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. We quickly learned that although our guests appreciate the lemonade, they can’t seem to get enough of our cookies.

Because we’ve been asked so often for the recipe, we decided to post it here on our Web site. And this is just the beginning ... we DO give away all of our secrets. So if you have a breakfast you love (and you will!), we'll be happy to supply the recipe.

Ingredients:

	1½ cups rolled oats
	2 sticks butter, softened, but still firm
	¾ cup granulated sugar
	¾ cup packed brown sugar
	2 eggs, room temperature
	1 tsp. Vanilla extract
	2 cups flour
	1 tsp. baking powder
	¾ tsp. Salt
	12 ounces chocolate chips
	2 ounces grated semisweet chocolate
	1½ cups pecans or walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place oats in a blender or food processor and blend until very fine.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars until light (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time and beat 20 seconds after each one is added. Add the vanilla and beat for 15 seconds to blend.

Whisk together the flour, processed oats, baking powder and salt. With a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, blend the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. This will be difficult since the batter is very stiff.

Add the chocolate chips, chopped chocolate and nuts.

Form dough into balls about 2 inches in diameter and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake 14 to 15 minutes in the middle oven rack or until the bottoms are browned.

The cookies will not spread very much and should still feel a bit soft when you take them out, looking even undercooked. They will harden as they cool. Do not overcook them or they will become very hard and dry when they cool.

After you remove them from the oven and let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to cooling racks. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

Makes 30 to 36 very large, very memorable, cookies.