Sunday, February 10, 2008

Sweet and Salty

We love these cookies. I found the recipe here. They are just enough sweet and just enough salty, but not really oatmeal-y.

DARK CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Scharfen Berger)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (salted is fine, too)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons steel-cut oats (Whatevs, I use rolled oats. They just make the cookie look healthier)
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (using Ghiradelli makes a difference)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter large rimmed baking sheet. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat until moist clumps form. Mix in oats with spatula until evenly distributed (dough will be very firm- not true). Add chocolate chips and knead gently to blend.

Using moistened palms, shape 1 generous tablespoon dough into ball. Place on prepared sheet; flatten to 2-inch round. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing rounds about 2 inches apart. They take around 17 minutes and are very soft when they come out of the oven. Just leave them be! They will cool soon, and harden. They are better after a couple of days, too.

Market tip: Old-fashioned oats have been cut, steamed, and flattened with large rollers. Steel-cut oats are not as highly processed and look like tiny pellets. They produce a more al dente result.

Bon Appétit

1 comment:

DoubleDeuce said...

These cookies are in fact, quite delicious. This may be elementary to more experienced cooks out there, but if you are using a darker cookie sheet with wax paper, it's a good idea to place the sheet on a higher oven rack. Unless you have an industrial strength exhaust fan above your cooking area...or live within a mile of the closest fire department.