How To Make Thick Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

In honor of National Nutrition Month, I’ve decided to devote all of my blog entries to healthier eating. I’m one of those people who has tried go for healthy eating (NOT a diet) in such an extreme way (i.e. eliminating too many foods that I love) that I quickly fail. This is my continual mantra: healthiness is moderation. The idea of balance, from the size of my food servings to the amount of sugar I consume, is how I check in when I’ve defenestrated any sense of control.
My first instinct was to not post desserts this month. Then I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great if I could practice moderation by baking a somewhat healthy cookie?’. So I searched. I’ll be honest, it was a multiple-day effort. At the end of this mini-journey, I found Smitten Kitchen’s ‘Thick Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.’ The recipe fit my criteria:
Not dry
Larger proportion of oatmeal than flour
Flexible with the raisin/chocolate chip/nuts/etc options
Fom a blog (supporting fellow bloggers is a recipe search priority)
Thick cookies, none of that thin and flat stuff
Thick Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 30 small cookies.
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
(optional: 1/2 cup of raisins/dried cherries/chopped nuts/other inspirations)
Cream butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into creamed butter. Add oats and chocolate chips, stir.
Chill dough for about 20 minutes & preheat oven to 350F.
Spoon onto baking sheet. Bake until edges begin to brown (10-12 minutes). Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.