Chocolate Chip Cookies

These hearty chocolate chip cookies combine a classic buttery cookie dough with finely ground oatmeal, plenty of chocolate chips and grated milk chocolate. The blended oatmeal gives the cookies a tender, substantial texture, while optional chopped nuts add a little crunch.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: About 60 cookies
Prep Time: About 20 minutes
Bake Time: About 10 minutes per batch

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2½ cups oatmeal, measured first and then blended to a fine powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces chocolate chips
• 1 (4-ounce) Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, grated
• 1½ cups chopped nuts, optional

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and well combined.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, finely ground oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just until combined.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips, grated Hershey’s chocolate and, if using, the chopped nuts.
7. Roll the dough into balls and arrange them about 2 inches apart on an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers still appear slightly soft.
9. Let the cookies cool briefly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack.

Denver High-Altitude Adjustments (5,280 feet):

For this particular recipe, I would make modest adjustments rather than substantially changing it. The large amount of ground oatmeal already gives the dough considerable structure.

• Reduce the baking soda to ¾ teaspoon.
• Reduce the baking powder to ¾ teaspoon.
• Reduce the granulated sugar from 1 cup to ⅞ cup (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons).
• Keep the brown sugar at 1 cup to help retain moisture and chewiness.
• Add 1 tablespoon water to the dough. Denver's dry climate can make cookie dough noticeably drier.
• Increase the oven temperature from 350°F to 365°F.
• Begin checking the cookies at 8 minutes. They will probably need about 8–10 minutes.
• If the first test cookie spreads too much, mix 1–2 tablespoons additional flour into the remaining dough. If it doesn't spread enough, don't add additional flour.

Tip: Bake two or three test cookies before filling the remaining baking sheets. That's particularly useful at altitude because flour moisture, butter temperature and even the oatmeal can affect how much these cookies spread. Remove them when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underdone; they'll continue to set as they cool.

Source: Mrs Fields