It is currently snowing where I live, which means that I am declaring it officially a snow day! (I can do that, right?)
I absolutely love snow days. My two years of graduate school were spent in a very snowy state, which means that I declared “official” snow weekend days frequently. Mornings were spent snuggled in bed with a cup of hot, sweet tea and a book and afternoons were spent in the kitchen whipping up sweets and treats… because dessert and snow days go together!
My favorite dessert to whip up on snow days were cookies. They are easy to make, require minimal kitchen equipment, and I always have cookie ingredients in my pantry. Plus, cookies are delicious. Who doesn’t love a warm cookie to munch on as you watch a movie while snow is steadily falling outside your window?
After rummaging in my pantry and checking out the cookie ingredient situation, I decided that I was going to make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. (best. decision. ever.)
This cookie is a riff on my family’s favorite cookie of all time, the Oat Bran Chocolate Chip Cookie. We all love that nutty flavor the oat bran gives the cookies, so I thought that rolled oats would bring that same nutty flavor as well as some good texture to the cookies.
So the dry ingredients for the cookies include all-purpose flour, rolled oats, baking soda, and salt.
Then you need to break out your mixer – either stand or hand. Grab a bowl.
And toss in a stick of butter and a stick of margarine. I just love how margarine makes the texture of cookies chewy and soft, while the butter allows the bottoms to get crisp. But if you only have butter on hand, you can use two sticks of butter in this recipe with no issue.
Cream the butter and margarine together to break them up and then add in some brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat everything together until light and fluffy.
Then with the mixer on, slowly add two eggs one at a time. And then add in some vanilla extract.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Seriously, make sure it on low speed – don’t be like me and get flour all over your clothing, counters, cabinets, and cat.
Mix the cookie dough until everything is just combined.
And then add in some chocolate chips – I am obsessed with dark chocolate chips. They add a nice richness to the cookies! But we’re snow day baking, so if you only have semi-sweet chocolate chips, those work perfectly well too!
Then throw your cookie dough into the fridge and let it chill for a couple of hours.
To bake, line some baking sheets with parchment paper. Then grab your trusty, rusty kitchen scoop (or a tablespoon) and dish out the cookie dough.
To help the cookies spread out a little, press the cookie dough down slightly with your fingers. Then pop the cookies into the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Perfection.
Snow day baking success!
So, kiddos, what are you doing on this snow day?
Your snow lovin’, cookie bakin’ friend,
C
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ½ cup of unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
- ½ cup of margarine (1 stick)
- ⅔ cup of brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup of granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 12oz of dark chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, oat bran, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add in the butter, margarine, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat ingredients together until well combined.
- Add in eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla extract.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix the cookie batter until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover the batter and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Portion out cookie dough into golf ball-sized portions and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown.
- Serve warm with a big glass of milk!
Ingredients:
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[…] making my favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, she spread a long sheet of parchment paper on the countertop. She spooned the cookie dough […]