Recipe: Oatmeal Cookies

For the past week my work lunches have had to be quick to pack and quick to scarf down. An apple and oatmeal cookies doesn't sound like much, but has been surprisingly filling...not to mention delicious. So long as I get adequate protein from breakfast and dinner, I'd like to think there isn't much harm in having cookies for lunch. Or at least that's what I'll keep telling myself.

These cookies are based on the first recipe I tried from the plethora of oatmeal cookie ones available on AllRecipes.com. It's aptly named Kristen's Awesome Oatmeal Cookies. Here's the recipe, very slightly adapted:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon (or 1 tsp if you're not the biggest cinnamon fan)
• 3 cups oats (I used quick oats)

The recipe says to mix the wet ingredients together and, in a separate bowl, to mix the dry ingredients together, then to stir the dry into the wet ingredients. To be honest, I'm too lazy to bother with the two bowls. I stir together the wet ingredients first, then add in the oats and flour, then just make sure to evenly distribute the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon when I sprinkle them in. No one's the wiser.

While the oven is preheating to 350 degrees F, distribute the dough in balls onto two lightly greased or non-stick cookie sheets. The dough does not expand a whole lot while baking; I usually get 30 (small) to 36 (even smaller) cookies out of each batch.

Bake for 12 minutes, then remove the cookies from the oven and leave them to cool on the cookie sheets. They will look a bit undone, but will continue to bake from the heat of the metal. At that point, they'll have hardened sufficiently to come easily off the cookie sheets.

These cookies are easily my favourite non-chocolate chip recipe. They're very oaty (as expected) and look sort of healthy, but certainly are not (nor do they taste healthy in all their buttery sugary deliciousness). They're a bit crispy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. If you're looking for an oatmeal cookie recipe, I'd definitely suggest giving this one a try!

I've made this recipe as is several times now, but can't wait to try add-ins (cranberries, raisins, nuts, butterscotch chips, etc.) or baking them in bar form. I think they'd do well as a sort of breakfast or energy cookie/bar, as they're dense and hold together nicely. Clearly I'm still trying to justify making them my lunch...