Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking relaxes me.

I stumbled upon this oatmeal pecan chocolate chip cookie recipe a few days ago on Joy the Baker. She posted the recipe in response to reader queries about what to make for boys they are just crazy about. Joy said these were the perfect cookies to package up and send (in a heart-shaped box, of course) to that far-away boy. I thought it was the perfect cookie recipe for me to eat. I was excited to realize that I had just enough ingredients for a half batch waiting for me in the fridge.

I made these cookies while waiting for the bialys to rise. They were easy, easy, easy to make. If you can make chocolate chip cookies, you can easily make this slightly dressed-up version.

Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Joy the Baker

I halved this recipe and ended up with 18 cookies (with about 2-3 tablespoons of dough per cookie). The dough is delicious, and I ate a lot of it, so I could have ended up with more cookies otherwise. I used dark brown sugar to add some richness and depth to the cookies, but you could certainly substitute light brown sugar (which Joy used in her original recipe).


Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter (two sticks), softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups oats (I used Quick Oats. Joy loves Old Fashioned Oats.)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (I think Ghiradelli are the best, as shown by the Cook's Illustrated taste test!)
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until blended.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture, beating on low speed until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans by hand.

Form cookies into mounds and place on cookie sheet (I formed my cookies using a 3 tablespoon portion scoop and placed them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for easy clean up).

Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, or until they reach your desired doneness (I like mine light brown and slightly undercooked in the middle). Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.