Recipe: Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I recently ran across this recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies on AllRecipes. The reviews were positive, so I decided to try the recipe.

It worked out great—soft and rich, but with a delicious chocolate and pecan accent. I’ve added just a few comments as well:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 roll parchment paper [You aren’t going to eat this, but you’ll need to have some on hand—you can find parchment paper in the same aisle as the wax paper and aluminum foil.]
• 1 cup (110 grams) of chopped pecans (or chopped walnuts)
• 2 sticks (227 grams) of butter, softened (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Miyoko’s Vegan Butter, which I found at Target.)
• 1 cup (198 grams) packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup (99 grams) white sugar
• 2 eggs (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, which I found at Target.)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups (178 grams) all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons Diamond Kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
• 3 cups (295 grams) quick-cooking oats [These may be labeled as “quick-cooking” oats or 1-minute “instant” oats.]
• 6 oz (170 g) dark chocolate from 70%+ bars (alternately: 6 oz / 170 g of chocolate chips)
• Optional: Maldon sea salt, for sprinkling atop the cookies after they come out of the oven (You can find Maldon sea salt at Kroger and Safeway, among other stores.)

Directions—Toasting the Nuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the chopped nuts in a single layer. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 5–6 minutes.

3. Take out the nuts and set them aside to cool. (You can pick up the parchment paper by the sides to form a U-shape to make it easier to transfer the nuts to a small bowl.)

Directions—Baking the Cookies:

1. Lower the oven temperature to 325° F (162° C).

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended.

4. Roughly chop the dark chocolate bars. It’s fine (and even preferable) if not all the chopped pieces are the same size—aim to have most of the pieces no larger than around ½ to ¾ inch (1 to 2 cm) on any given side.

5. Mix in the quick oats, pecans, and chocolate chips.

6. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven.

   (They should puff up ever so slightly when they bake; if you take them out of the oven and they’re completely flat, they haven’t baked quite long enough.)

7. Optional but recommended: Immediately after taking the cookie sheets out of the oven, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sea salt.

8. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.