Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies give you the best of both worlds–the warmth of cinnamon and the sweetness of chocolate. The first batch of these that I tried were a 10/10 on flavor, but something was missing in the texture and shape of the cookies. Considering the first batch was made after 10:30pm, I may have been short on time and only refrigerated the cookie dough for 10-15 minutes. The second round, when I had more time to spare, I refrigerated the unbaked cookies for 2 1/2 hours. What a difference in the shape and texture! I encourage you to play around with the refrigeration time to get the cookies to fit your personal preference. I do like crispy, crunchy cookies, but I also like them to keep their shape rather than flattening out so I think anywhere from 1-2 hours would be ideal!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg (room temperature)
• 1 1/4 cup ground old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups whole old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Dash of nutmeg

**The second time I made these, I didn’t have the full amount of brown sugar so I used 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 white granulated sugar, and 1 Tbsp. molasses. I like the molasses in there so much I think next time I will still add a tablespoon for the added flavor and texture.

Instructions:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
• Take the butter and egg out of the refrigerator to bring it to room temperature. Grind 2 cups of oats and measure out 1 1/4 cups and set the rest aside for another time
• Beat the butter and sugar together with a mixer until it’s fluffy
• Beat in the vanilla and egg
• Stir in the ground oats, whole oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt
• Mix with a wooden spoon until combined
• Stir in chocolate chips
• Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup and pack in the dough then turn each cookie out onto the parchment-lined baking sheets
• Add 6 cookies to each sheet
• Refrigerate the unbaked cookies for at least 1 hour. I kept mine in for 2 1/2 hours
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Bake the cookies 10-15 minutes ; up to 18 minutes to make sure the middle bakes through
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes
• Move the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely
• Store in an airtight container