S. Olsen's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My visiting teacher HW made these for me a few months back and gave me extra to take back to the Robber, which I did, and which he loved and I loved as they were excellent. So when I wanted to make some cookies to take on the plane to Thailand I thought of this recipe and got it from HW. I don't know S. Olsen, but that is the name that came with the recipe so there you have that. I have had quite a bad attitude about cookies in general lately and specifically my ability to make cookies and was hoping that this recipe would rescue it. However, when I was mixing the dough it was terribly dry and not nearly wet enough and I was despairing as I hadn't any milk and I was barely able to form small cookies together, not the big giant ones Heather had made. Alas! And yet-- oddly enough-- the cookies, baked, were quite soft! And the Robber ate them all over Thailand. Who knows. I think if I do make this again I will skip all the silly heaping-ness of the dry ingredients and see if that helps the too dry-ness of the dough out for me. Also, the big Guittard chocolate chips are really a must.

A gift from HW.

Ingredients:

1 C. margarine or butter

1 C. packed brown sugar

1 C. white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2+ cups flour (heaping the cups, for a total of 1/8 - 1/4 C. more flour)

1 heaping tsp. salt

1 heaping tsp. baking soda

3 heaping C. instant oatmeal

2 C. large milk chocolate Guittard chocolate chips (comes in the silver bag)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and oatmeal. 

3. In a large bowl, cream together margarine/butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

4. Add in dry ingredient mixture to creamed mixture 1/3rd at a time, stirring thoroughly by hand. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Scoop on to cookie sheets in desired size. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F. Take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are slightly tanning and the middles don't look quite done. Let cool for a few minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack for complete cooling. Will be quite soft when done.