Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies ~ My Plotting Pantry

I'm afraid of my pantry...it's resembling, "The Land of Misfit Foods."

That's not to say what I have on hand is bad or even all that unique...just a plethora of random items either left over from recipes past or purchased one day with great intent, only to be left sitting in the pantry contemplating their destiny.

My poor Irish Steel Cut Oats keep glaring at me as if asking, "what else do we have to do besides look good to get a shot? We've been in here forever, are we not blog worthy?" 

Like the little girl who used to believe her dolls and stuffed animals came to life at night (because the two sisters she worshiped told her so) when the lights go off ...and all is dark... I am certain my aging food is plotting behind my back!

So I looked fear straight in the eye, took inventory of what I had on hand and then scoured the web for a recipe that worked.  The result was this chocolaty...chewy...nutty and delicious oatmeal cookie!
 


The only things is...well... the recipe called for Quick Rolled Oats... so I had no other choice but to once again ...evvver so slightly... push those Irish Oats aside to grab their distant instant Quaker Cousins.  Without dare making eye contact (and I'm sure falling upon deaf 'Irish Steel Cut' ears) I nervously whispered, "I promise...your day will come soon..."

I slept that night with one eye open...

creepy...

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from: PANTHERA, at allrecipes.com   yields about 42 cookies

(*note changes I made)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened (*I used 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1 cup applesauce)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (*I used 1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
(*I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon)

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. (If doing the butter and applesauce, this will look funny but don't worry, the end result will be fine!) Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

3.Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.