VANISHING OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Oatmeal Month!

It should come as no surprise that January is National Oatmeal Month! Cold snowy and rainy days are the perfect time to have a steaming bowl of oatmeal, but you can also have oatmeal goodness in a cookie! Traditional Oatmeal Cookies are made with raisins, but really? what's a cookie without chocolate? So, here's an adapted recipe from Quaker Oats for Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies but the raisins are switched out with Chocolate Chips. The original recipe is found on most Quaker Oats boxes...and on the website.

VANISHING OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 Cup plus 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 Cup Chocolate Chips 
 (optional) 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.
Add oats and Chocolate Chips and chopped walnuts (optional); mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Alternative: Bar Cookies
Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Cut into bars.

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: Guest post by Eve Calder

Eve Calder: 
Chocolate and Mysteries: The Perfect Combination  

Writing the Cookie House mystery series lets me indulge in two of my very favorite things: chocolate and mysteries. In the latest book, Sugar and Vice, pastry chef (and amateur sleuth) Kate McGuire bakes up several batches of delectable oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. This is the recipe that she (and I) use -- courtesy of Mark Bittman's cookbook classic How to Cook Everything The Basics.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Time: About 30 minutes
Makes: 3 to 4 dozen

Ingredients
About 1/2 pound chocolate -- preferably dark chocolate (or whatever kind you like to eat)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats (not instant oats)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon pinch salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Chop the chocolate: Use a chef's knife with a rocking motion to cut the bars into pea-sized pieces. You should have about 1 1/2 cups.
2. Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs on a flat, hard surface, add them one at a time, and beat until well blended. (If you prefer stirring by hand, you can also start with a whisk for the butter, sugar and eggs — then switch to a rubber spatula to add the dry ingredients.)
3. Mix the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt and baking powder together in a small bowl. Alternating with the milk, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing on low. Stir in the chocolate and vanilla.
4. Drop tablespoon-sized mounds of dough about 3 inches apart in rows and columns on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool for about 2 minutes on the sheets before using a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks to finish cooling. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for no more than a day or two.
Recognizing doneness: Cookies are usually soft when they're ready to come out of the oven. The best way to check is to peek underneath and see if they're golden brown.

***

Eve Calder is the author of the South Florida-based Cookie House mysteries from St. Martin's Press. Her new book, Sugar and Vice, mixes lost pirate treasure, missing relatives, and a diabolical murder plot -- plus a bakery full of delicious cookies. Visit her website at: https://cookiehousemysteries.com/

VANISHING OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Today is National Oatmeal Cookie Day! You could make traditional Oatmeal Cookies with raisins, but where's the chocolate? A food holiday without chocolate is not a holiday to celebrate! So, here's an adapted recipe from Quaker Oats for their Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Chocolate Chips (or Chocolate Chunks) instead of raisins. The original recipe is found on most Quaker Oats boxes...and on the website.

VANISHING OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 Cup plus 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 Cup Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Chunks
 (optional) 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.
Add oats and Chocolate Chips (or Chocolate Chunks) and chopped walnuts (optional); mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Alternative: Bar Cookies
Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Cut into bars.

Chocolate Chip Day: Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Round-Up

Today is Chocolate Chip Day on the food calendar. And, because my first reaction is Chocolate Chip Cookies, here's an updated Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Round-up from DyingforChocolate.com! Perfect for Chocolate Chip Day! Do you have a favorite? Post a link in comments.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE ROUND-UP!

Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies 

M&M Chocolate Chip Party Cookies

Rainy Day Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crisco Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: 2 Recipes

Chocolate Chip Cookies Secret Ingredient: Lemon Juice

Sea Salt and Thyme Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Toll House Cookies: Vintage Ad & Original Recipe

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies

Gooey Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Retro Chocolate Chip Cookies Ad & Recipe

Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Red & Green M&Ms "Chocolate Chip" Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk/Chocolate Chip Cookies: National Oatmeal Day

Chocolate Cricket Chip Cookies

Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies: Baking with Honey Tips

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies: National Zucchini Day

Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sea Salt & Thyme Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hilary Clinton's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar

Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar

Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies

Toll House Stars and Stripes Cookies

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Oatmeal Cookie Day!

Today is Oatmeal Cookie Day! Who doesn't love a good oatmeal cookie? I do! But I especially love them when they're filled with chocolate chips rather than raisins!

Here's a great simple recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, recipe adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook!

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup sweet butter, softened
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1-1/2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or 6 oz chopped chocolate)
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Enjoy the Day!!!