Monday, June 23, 2008

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My old college roomie graciously shared this cookie recipe with me after reading my lament about my lack of cookie-baking prowess. She makes this cookie all the time and seemed pretty confident that I would adore it. Now, I trust this friend, more so than some random blogger who recommends a recipe to me, so I rushed to the kitchen (okay, I thought about rushing to the kitchen, then made the cookie a week or two later).

My first attempt to make this cookie was a little bit disappointing. The original recipe says to bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes. I baked mine for about 19-20 minutes and they came out a little too crispy and dry. I know everyone has their cookie consistency preferences (chewy/crispy/cakey/raw/etc.), but I prefer chewy. Of course, that didn't stop me from eating all of the cookies. Oh, just kidding, not all of them. I let my husband have a few.

Now usually when I try a recipe once and it doesn't knock my socks off, I don't make it again. But like I said, I trust this friend and her judgment. If the cookie didn't come out as I had hoped, it was probably my fault and not the recipe. So I tried it again - this time letting the butter soften a little more, and cooking them for 15-16 minutes (just long enough for the edges to brown a little). The first sheet spread a little too much, so I put the rest of them in the fridge for 5-10 minutes before they went in the oven. I also just baked one sheet at a time (the first time I baked two sheets at once and rotated them halfway), and made the cookies a little bigger than I did the first time.

The result? Oh so chewy and delicious. I'm glad I didn't give up on this one. The cookies are substantial given all the oatmeal in them. They make a perfect dessert or afternoon snack. The first time I made them, they were still good 4-5 days later (and actually had softened up a bit), so they last a fair amount of time. So to my roomie - thanks for the recipe! I owe you one.

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