My Mama's Cookies

Have you ever just had one of those days? Or maybe one of those weeks? A bunch of small-ish things just tick you off - bats, tendinitis, the summer finally deciding to get ridiculously hot - and man, by Friday you are just a grumpy bumble. (Excuse my strong language.) Well, I happen to find baking very therapeutic, and my mama's cookies were some of my favorite things growing up, so today I decided to whip up a double batch of my mama's chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

Now, I need you to realize something. I like these cookies so much that when I went off to college I brought this recipe with me. I wrote it down. On paper. No digital shenanigans. That's how good they are.

You need flour, baking soda, salt, shortening, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, chocolate chips, and oatmeal. 

The recipe says sift flour, baking soda, and salt together, but I don't have time for that. I threw them into the mixer and used the whisk for a minute. It seemed to work just fine. 

Ooh, mixy. 

Next (put the dry ingredients aside really quick) add shortening,

white sugar, 

brown sugar,

vanilla and water to the mixer. Put the paddle attachment on. Mix that baby up. 

So creamy. So delightful. 

 Stop the mixer, scrape the sides, and then beat in the eggs. 

The dough gets much wetter now, but that's exactly how it's supposed to be. 

Stop and scrape the sides again. 

Next, add in the flour mixture. I mix about 1/3rd of the flour mixture in at a time. 

It should be dry enough to cling to the paddle, but not completely. I took a couple minutes to scrape the sides again, and tried to get as much dough off the paddle as I could. 

Add in the oatmeal and the chocolate chips. The original recipe calls for the whole 12 oz package, but that's always seemed a little crazy to me. I usually add 1/4 to 1/2 of a package, and I haven't been disappointed yet.

Well now this is where I realized that I don't have nearly the amount of oatmeal that I would typically add. The recipe usually calls for 2-3 cups, and I only had about one. That changes the overall look, but they still taste amazing. Don't be scared if you're short on oatmeal. 

Mix all that goodness together until the chocolate chips and oatmeal are thoroughly incorporated. 

At this point, do not eat the dough. Eating raw cookie dough has never, ever helped someone's crabby day.

 Just kidding!

I will not tell you to eat raw cookie dough as it has uncooked eggs in it. I will tell you, however, that I did. And it was delicious. If you choose to eat raw cookie dough, do so at your own risk. 

Po was helping. 

Kira wanted to help, but it was too hot. 

Because I didn't know how these would bake with as little oatmeal as was in them, I lined my pan with parchment paper. Greasing the pan or using parchment paper will ensure that your cookies don't stick while baking.

I tend to roll my cookie dough balls by hand, but it was very hot, and the dough was stickier than normal. To save myself some time, I just used two spoons to plot the dough onto the pan and then to shape the dough into a cookie-ish shape. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie start to turn golden brown. 

Again, because of my lack of oatmeal, these cookies spread out waaaaay more than they typically would. I clearly put the dough too close together this time. 

These ones are a slightly better shape. Who really cares about shape though? They're delicious. That's what matters. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a minute or two. When they're firm enough to take off without falling apart, transfer them to a cooling rack until they are the desired nomming temperature.

Oh my goodness. 

These cookies. 

You do not have to dunk your cookie into milk. You also don't love to like happiness. It's your choice. 

I can feel my day getting better already.


Recipe: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Prep Time: 30-45 Minutes | Cook Time: 10-12 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 2.5 Dozen

Ingredients (Note: the pictures above represent a doubled batch)

• 2 1/4 cups Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 cup Shortening
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Water
• 2 Eggs
• 12 oz package Chocolate Chips
• 2-3 cups Oatmeal

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Cream together shortening, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and water.
4. Beat two eggs into the shortening mixture.
5. Add flour mixture, about 1/3rd of the mixture at a time. Mix well.
6. Mix in chocolate chips and oatmeal.
7. Spoon dough into cookie shaped blobs into a cookie sheet. It can be greased or lined with parchment paper. 
8. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
9. Allow cookies to cool for a minute before transferring to cooling rack.
10. Om nom nom.