Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies

If I remember clearly, the first time I made this recipe I was about seven years old. My sister and I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies and we found this recipe in an A-B-C cookbook for kids. Originally, we beat the sugars, butter, and eggs with a wooden spoon and then mixed in the flour and chocolate chips with our (clean) hands.I only forsook this method of mixing a few years ago, when I realized a mixer was a lot easier (but not half as much fun).  If you’re making this recipe with children, I beg you to let them mix in the flour with their hands; they’ll have so much more fun baking than if you use technology to make it ‘easier’ for them.

The original recipe is for chocolate chip cookies, but I added old-fashioned oats and cinnamon for a change. If you want to make oatmeal raisin cookies, you can use this recipe and substitute raisins for the chocolate chips. I’ve experimented many times with this recipe and haven’t been disappointed (remember: I’ve been making this recipe since I was seven or so; it’s as familiar to me as the back of my hand).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/3 cups butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and eggs. Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture; beat well and then add the rest of the flour. Stir in the cinnamon, oats, and chocolate chips until well combined.

Make the dough into balls and then place in a prepared baking pan. Bake at 375F for about 10 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before enjoying with a glass of milk!

~The Teen