Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I was a kid I used to go through breakfast phases in the blink of an eye.  My mom was tortured by my ever-changing demands.  I would want Lucky Charms for two and a half weeks, and by the time my mom had stocked up on the Charms I would be demanding bagels.  Ugh, no more bagles, now I want muffins.  She always got stuck eating the excess of whatever breakfast I deemed inedible anymore.

Things are different nowadays.  I've been eating oatmeal for breakfast for about 3 years now, and I'm loving it.  A nice, warm, soothing breakfast tastes amazing (with agave and fresh fruit) and also keeps me full a lot longer than sugary cereal.  I even got John hooked on the stuff.

Needless to say, we have plenty of oatmeal around the house, but usually only the quick-cooking kind.  This recipe calls for old-fashioned oats, so I headed to Whole Foods to raid their bulk bins.  Unfortunately for me, there wasn't much oatmeal left, so I spent about 5 minutes crouched down near the bin trying to scrape every last oatmeal flake into my plastic bag.  The other shoppers looked at me like I was a bit nuts, as I can understand.  Geez, that girl really needs every last drop of oatmeal, doesn't she?  Well, fortunately my embarrassing behavior paid off and I ended up with just enough oats to make this recipe - 2 cups.  And it's a good thing I had the oatmeal, because these cookies turned out amazing.  Crispy and chewy at the same time, with big melty chocolate chunks.  You can never have enough oatmeal in your life, right?

Like most cookie recipes, you start by whipping butter.  This recipe asks you to whip two sticks of softened butter by itself first.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 2 cups old-fashioned oats, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

While the stand mixer is on medium speed, slowly pour in 1 3/4 cups sugar and beat until light and fluffy

This is the first jar of molasses to make its way into my pantry - and it will probably be there for the rest of my life.  Not the same jar, people, different ones!  Molasses adds a deep, rich flavor to sweets.

To the sugar-butter mixture, mix in 4 teaspoons dark molasses.

Beat until just combined - the butter will be nice and golden.

One member of the family isn't a raisin fan (ahem, John), which is why I needed to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  The recipes uses lots of bittersweet chocolate chips/chunks - 12 ounces.  Try not to eat all of the chips before they make it into the dough.

Add two eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, and mix well after each addition until fully incorporated.  Then mix in 2 tablespoons whole milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon salt and mix well.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in all of the flour mixture at once, mixing on low speed until combined.

This dough will be very soft and sticky, which makes for a slightly more difficult shaping process.

On cookie sheets lined with parchment, place cookie dough using an ice cream scoop.  Use your (clean, please) fingers to flatten the cookies until they are 2-3 inches wide.  Keep a bowl of water nearby and wet your fingers to make the flattening a bit less sticky.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes until lightly browned on the outside but still pale in the middle.

Allow the cookies to cool on a rack before devouring a dozen under the guise of eating healthy oatmeal.  I'm not sure if it was mental, but I did find these cookies to be more filling than your average cookie.  Maybe it wasn't the oatmeal, but the fact that these cookies were pretty gigantic.  They are meant to be thin and chewy, and most importantly, chocolatey.  One taste of these and you'll be willing to scrape the bottom of the oatmeal bin in front of shocked onlookers too.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Tartine

12 oz. bittersweet and/or semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups (285 g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups (170 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup (two sticks) softened, unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups (350 g) sugar
4 tsp blackstrap (or other kind of dark) molasses
2 large eggs
2 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and rolled oats (not quick cooking).  In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat two sticks of softened butter on medium-high speed until creamy and light.  Slowly pour in the sugar while mixing on medium speed until the butter is very fluffy.  Scrape down the bowl with a spatula as needed.  Add molasses and beat until combined.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition until fully incorporated.  Add milk, vanilla, and salt and mix well.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in all of the flour mixture at once, mixing on low speed until combined.  Dough will be soft and sticky.  Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate).  On cookie sheets lined with parchment place cookie dough using an ice cream scoop.  Keep a bowl of water nearby and lightly wet fingers and flatten cookies so they are about 2-3 inches wide.  Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned on the outside but pale in the center.  Cookies will spread, so leave plenty of room.  Remove to cooling racks and enjoy.