Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies: National Oatmeal Day

October 29 is National Oatmeal Day. I've posted Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies several times. As with most chocolate chip cookie recipes, you can never have too many! Variety, after all, his the spice of life!

Epicurious has a great recipe for Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. The steel cut oats (Scottish oats) give it a very chewy-crunchy flavor you'll love. If you don't have steel cut oats, you can use old fashioned oats, but you'll have a softer cookie. I use DARK cocoa powder for an even richer chocolate-y taste and dark chocolate (85% cacao bars, broken into small pieces) instead of chips, but you can use either.

Ingredients
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract
2 tablespoons steel-cut oats
1/4 cup dark chocolate (75-85% cacao, broken into small pieces or dark chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter large rimmed baking sheet. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat until moist clumps form. Mix in oats with spatula until evenly distributed (dough will be very firm). Add chocolate pieces or chips and knead gently to blend.

Using moistened palms, shape 1 generous tablespoon dough into ball. Place on prepared sheet; flatten to 2-inch round. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing rounds about 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until center is slightly firm and top is cracked, about 14 minutes. Cool on sheet.

Celebrate National Oatmeal Day!

Photo: Epicurious