Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

I make this cookie dough in advance and freeze.  That way I can enjoy small batches of warm cookies rather than making the entire recipe, which as you know, often leads to overeating! I keep half the batter simple oatmeal cookies and the other half mixed with dried cherries and mini chocolate chips.

(½) cup butter, at room temperature

½ cup canola oil

3/4-cup brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour (can sub whole-wheat pastry flour)

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2-cup oat flour (Bob’s red mill or food process old fashioned oats to flour consistency)

½ cup mini chocolate chips-optional

½ cup dried cherries or cranberries-optional

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix butter, oil, brown sugar and sugar with an electric mixer or spoon until creamy.
2. Crack egg and mix with fork to blend.
3. Add egg and vanilla to sugar mixture
4. Add flour, baking soda, oats and oat flour.
5. Divide dough into 2 batches.
6. Roll plain dough into log on parchment paper.  Roll in parchment paper to freeze, store in large freezer plastic bag or wrap plastic wrap over parchment paper.
7. Mix in mini chocolate chips and dried fruit into remaining batter.
8. Roll dough into log on parchment paper and freeze as directed above.
9. Freeze dough for at least 8 hours or keep in freezer for up to 2 months.
10. When desired, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
11. Remove dough from freezer and cut frozen dough into 1/4-inch rounds; place on cookie sheet prepared with parchment paper.  Place rounds about 2 inches apart.
12. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until slightly brown on the outer edge of the cookie.

After the dough is mixed, simply place it on a piece of parchment paper and roll up into a log.

Roll the log up in the parchment paper, place in a freezer ready plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 months (if they should last that long!)

When cutting the frozen cookie dough log, be sure to use a sharp knife and cut like you were using a saw rather than just squish into the dough, you’ll get a more even thin cut cookie that way!

Remember bake what you need, which is about 2 cookies per person!  No need to bake more because…yes, someone will overdo it!!

YUM!