Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are happy food. We all need happy things.

So make these.

Read through the entire recipe first, just like your Home Ec. teacher and every recipe writer everywhere, always said. There are substitutions and work-arounds if you don’t have certain ingredients. Also: plan accordingly. Don’t bake this when you’re absolutely desperate, as the dough needs to refrigerate for two hours first.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup oat flour (see note below)

  1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Diamond)

• 2 sticks (1 cup) softened, not melty, butter

• 2 cups brown sugar

• 1 generous tablespoon vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup peanut butter

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 12 ounces or more of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. Or both. (I’m being vague, because you should add what you like, just IMHO please don’t use milk, cuz: tooooo sweet here).

How to:

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the oat flour, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (Or use a hand mixer, too. Or a wooden spoon and really tone those arms and core while you cook.), blend the butter and brown sugar until creamy and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Remember the rule of stand mixers: ‘ABS’ (Always Be Scraping).

Mix in the vanilla extract and the peanut butter until smooth, then add half the beaten egg mixture and blend until incorporated. Add the rest of the egg mixture. ABS. Add in the flour mixture in three parts, blending after each addition until just incorporated. Add all the chocolate chips that you want, mix briefly, cover the bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment, and drop dough by teaspoonfuls. Press down lightly on each cookie with a fork. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden, reversing the sheets halfway through so they bake evenly.

Both raw dough and baked cookies freeze well.

Possible substitutes:

*Hate whole wheat flour? Use all white flour. (But would you please try whole wheat flour once? I swear it makes them tastier.)

*No oat flour? Puree instant oats in a blender or food processor until flour-like.

*You can use half brown sugar, half white sugar if you want, but the cookie will be crisper.

*And yes, chunky peanut butter is a lovely choice. So are raisins if you are so inclined. But really, why?

*Apologies to the great and lovely Rose Levy Beranbaum and all the other smart people who prefer measurements by weight. I promise to add that soon.