Fannie's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been going back and forth for about a week trying to figure out what to post next.  I have a spring soup that I really want to share but then I love me some fish tacos, and have gotten a recipe I use often, to the perfect place.  I don't think it needs any more tweaks and should be ready for you guys. BUT....buuuuut, then there are these cookies.  Oh, for the love of Pete, these cookies.

I had a mini epiphany when I realized I hadn't posted anything about baked goods yet... specifically sweet ones, muahaha.  Now, I am not going to lie, I enjoy cooking much more than baking because it's less science and more "a lil bit o' this, a lil bit o' that." There's plenty of room to play. However, I really enjoy eating baked goods, specifically sweet ones :)

Do you know Fannie Farmer?  OH, YOU DON'T???  You really need to meet her.  It's really all about first impressions so we'll introduce you to Fannie via her oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies.  YEAH, I said it, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE- Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!!! What?  Those aren't your favorite? Um... awkward moment. You should probably think about that long and hard.

Whenever there is an opportunity to sample an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, I take it.  I really don't know how many versions of the cookie I have sampled but it may or may not be...a lot.  They are all pretty great, but I have never tasted one that made me say, "Uhhh, this is the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie I have ever had.  I never want another version..." well, until I tasted Fannie's.

At a yard sale a few years ago, I saw a bunch of cookbooks hanging out to the side of all the odds and ends. Fannie was one of them.  The cover was ripped, it was dusty, some pages were yellow, it smelled like a cellar, it was $3...so I bought it.  My mom has another Fannie Farmer cookbook and it always has the greatest recipes, so I hoped this one would offer me the same kind of awesome.

I slowly started cooking my way through the pages (not ALL 527 pages yet, but I am determined) and everything was just as I had hoped- reliable, comforting, easy, and delicious.  Then I got to the cookie recipe, and after making one batch, her little red ribbon bookmark that came attached to the book found a permanent home on page 435.

I will probably be sharing quite a few of Fannie's recipes with you along the way, because she is just the greatest.

With a chocolate chip cookie, cooking time is probably the most important element.  I don't care what goes into the cookie, if you overcook it and it loses that chewy goodness, game over.  That's why I am going to be very specific with you guys on the size of dough dollops I put on the cookie sheet and how long they cook.

Fannie's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes 15 cookies)

• ½ c. unsalted butter
• ¼ c. brown sugar (I cut back on the sugars)
• ¼ c. white sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda whisked in 1 T hot water
• 1 c. unbleached white flour 
• 2 T wheat flour (Fannie uses all white, but I like to sneak healthy things into not-so-healthy things)
• ½ c. oats (I use old fashioned, she suggests quick)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375º F.
Cream the butter then beat both sugars into the butter, until light and smooth.
Stir in the egg, salt, baking soda in water, flour, oats, vanilla, and chocolate chips.
Mix well.

Drop 2T-size dollops onto a buttered cookie sheet, 1 inch(ish) apart.

Bake for 9 minutes (10 if you reallllly feel the need). Don't second-guess how they look after the 9 minutes...they are done.

Leave them be and let them cool or if you are like Peter, and really can't handle the cooling time, just take one when I'm not looking.  It will be gooey, warm, and highly unregrettable...and that is not a word but that is how you will feel.

Place on a cooling rack.  They will continue to cook for a bit and firm up.

*Just an idea- I love keeping these cookies in the fridge because they stay really chewy but the chocolate becomes this satisfying, cold, crunchy bite mixed into the chewy.  I think it's the perfect combo.

Eat warm, cool, cold, now!