This is the first recipe (included below) I ever asked for from my mom and they continue to be my – and my family’s – favorite to this day. My mom used to warn me continually about eating raw dough – I still hear her in my head every time I reach into the bowl for a spoonful while making the goodies. Luckily, the hubs and kiddos like the gooey cooked version better, otherwise I fear the batch would never make it into the oven.
Reality Check. I tried a few different things with this recipe. First, the shortening. I was shopping at Whole Foods for some other items, so decided to try the organic version with a coconut oil base (as opposed to the handy Crisco stick I usually use). Although the bright yellow color did not change the appearance of the cookie (which I feared, while mixing), it did make the cookies super sweet.
Second, I wanted to get a second use with the baked goodies by making ice cream sandwiches. I thought I would try soft-serve ice cream, since the texture is softer (obviously, thus the name!) and presumably would make them easier to mold. I figured they would firm up after freezing for a bit. Not so. I was responsible for the dessert that night at the cabin, and the family was treated to ice cream sandwich soup. Luckily, Ella licked the bowl, which made me feel a bit better about the presentation flop.
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (Splenda or a blend will also work)
1 cup shortening (Crisco recommended)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 Eggs
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate Ghirardelli recommended)
Prep:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you have a convection oven that works well, as you can pretty much cook the whole batch at once. No need to lower the temperature, but start to watch the cookies carefully at 10 minutes.
I recommend blending the first 4 ingredients (both sugars, shortening and vanilla) together as an initial step . In a separate bowl, combine the salt, backing soda, baking powder, flour and oatmeal and set aside. Crack one of the eggs in a separate bowl (only need one bad egg to ruin one recipe to learn that lesson) and fold it, along with half of the dry mixture of flour, oatmeal, etc. Repeat with the second egg and second half of the mixture. Add the chocolate chips and stir.
Portion the dough on a cookie sheet (I like to use a small ice cream scoop for size consistency and ease) and bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes.
