Thick, Chewy Oatmeal and Chip Cookies

The other night, I wanted something sweet. I really, really wanted Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (find the original recipe from February 2009 post here). Unfortunately, I am out of raisins. In fact, I'm running low on a lot of baking stuff and, since I don't have a place to send all my baked goods, I'm not baking nearly as much. But that wasn't helping me during my craving. What could I do? Duh...I improvised. I took my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie and substituted with what I could find which was roughly 3/4 a cup of chocolate chips and half a bag of butterscotch chips. The kids loved them and, since there weren't that many butterscotch chips, they still weren't too sweet. I think you can substitute any kind of chip you have (in place of the raisins) or, you can go absolutely crazy and have chips and raisins! Live on the edge!


Thick, Chewy Oatmeal and Chip Cookies

1 cup of butter - softened (two sticks)
1 1/3 cups of brown sugar - packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (oh, please, why do recipes always say 1 teaspoon - I always use more!)
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (um, I left these out, as always!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Combine with butter mixture, then add oats, chips, and nuts (if you're using them!).

I used my Pampered Chef scooper and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until bottom looks golden and the tops look not quite done. Leave on the cookie sheet for five minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

P.S. Just to make you laugh, I thought I'd let you know that I am on my third day of the 30 Day Shred! Yep, I'm doing it again...it works that well.