That lovely little joke, as well as the following recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies came to me in the form of a little cookbook put together by my great-grandmother and her church friends in 1979.
She called them Family's Favorite Cookies.
Here's the recipe, with a few additions of my own.
Preheat oven to 375*
- 1 1/2 cup sifted flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbls coffee (or hot water, if you don't have a pot brewing)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 - 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 package (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips (or half a package of milk, half of semisweet chocolate chips)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)
Sift flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add the hot coffee or water. Mix in sifted dry ingredients. Add vanilla and almond extract. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
My great-grandmother also included this tip: "I always double this recipe. I divide it before adding the chocolate chips, that way I have a batch of oatmeal cookies. I insert a plastic bag into coffee cans and fill them with cookies. They keep indefinitely in freezer, or in refrigerator. You can warm them for a minute or two in a hot oven to have freshly baked tasting cookies."
Glancing through the rest of the book I discovered her greatest contribution was to the dessert section. So that proves it... the fact that I am mostly interested in making desserts is genetic... I can't help it.
This recipe is really good. In my teenage years I consumed several batches of just the dough... but the cookies themselves are also great. It's the little additions like the almond extract and the coffee that make a big difference. Plus, they have oatmeal in them which, of course, means they totally count as a breakfast food.
