Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Conquistador

So I started thinking, and I couldn’t remember the last time I made cookies. I remember strawberry, nutella & balsamic reduction empanadas, and an obscene amount of key lime brownies. But not cookies. With being out of the cookie game for so long (yes there’s a cookie game, and I didn’t choose it, it chose me), I wondered if I still had it in me. Then, more importantly, I wondered if I even had anything to bake with. Looked around and among the basics I found a bag of Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips in the pantry.

To a cinnamon lover like me, these might as well be called crack chips. I don’t know if I ever told you, but years ago I went looking for these fabled chips and couldn’t find them aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanywhere. Stock boys up and down the east coast looked at me like I was on drugs. And one day I finally found them in a Wal-Mart of all places! My wife knowing the struggle I had trying to find them, didn’t question me when I threw 6 bags of them in the cart.

I’ve been slowly going through that stock over the past few years. Savoring every recipe I use them in and making sure I knew whatever I was making would be enjoyed. And all in fear of another great cinnamon chip depression. And this bag that I found in my pantry? It was the last one..

So what the heck do I do with them? I already came to peace with their sacrifice for the need of something sweet for the blog. But what?! Then as I was checking out the packaging (for the expiration date) I found a recipe for cookies. “ooooh, are you trying to tell me something, Mr. Cinnamon Chip Bag?”

Yes, I was totally talking to the bag of cinnamon chips. You stay cooped up in a house all week with 2 kids and try and tell me you don’t talk with inanimate objects. Shoot, sometimes it’s the deepest conversation you have all day..

..Alright let me stop right there before it gets awkward. Trust me, we’re not at awkward yet.

So I figured why not? Hershey’s has been around a while, they know what they’re doing. So I followed the recipe exactly, only I added a teaspoon of cinnamon because it’s my drug of choice and don’t know when to stop.

By the way, this would be a great cookie for the fall with the flavors going on. I’m not going to lie that I get that feeling of fall time with every bite I take.

And now, let me get on with it before I get into the whole “you know, fall is almost here” rant again.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies              (adapted from Hershey’s Kitchens)

1 cup – Butter, softened
1 cup – Light Brown Sugar
1/3 cup – Sugar
2 each – Eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons – Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups – Flour
1 teaspoon – Baking Soda
1 teaspoon – Cinnamon
2 1/2 cups – Old Fashioned Oats
1 10oz package – Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips
3/4 cup – Raisins

Notes:

• It’s a pretty straight forward recipe with no twists or weird ingredients. I’d imagine if you had a kid who knew how to read, they’ll be able to make these.

• I added a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on the top but if you don’t have it, don’t worry about it. I just like my cookies with a little crunch and more unneeded sweetness.

• I didn’t have vanilla extract at the time so I just skipped it. The cookies were just find without it but I’m sure they would’ve been even better.

• You can leave out the raisins I’m sure, but since I had them on hand I added them. It was a little fight because I don’t usually put them in cookies but I’m glad I did. They really go good with all the other flavors going on.

• By other flavors, I mean the cinnamon.

• Again, this recipe is straight from the back of the bag, aside from the teaspoon of cinnamon and the sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Don’t look at me like I just committed a sin, remember, I’m trying to get back on my horse.

Ok, let’s get our cinnamon on.

• Turn on the oven to 350.

• Get your softened butter into the mixer with the sugars and beat until it’s light and fluffy.

Again, this is called the Creaming Method, and is possibly the most crucial step when baking if you’re using it. No pressure or anything. Besides, I’m sure you already knew that, when you’re mixing them, the sugar is cutting little tiny holes into the butter which create an airy base (hence “beat till light fluffy”) that remains until the baking process where the tiny air pockets act as a leavening agent expanding and creating a softer more tastier product, right? Right.

• Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat well. While it’s mixing, combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon together to ensure proper incorporation.

• Add the flour mix to the butter mix and beat well. Once it’s ready, add the oats, cinnamon chips and raisins and slowly mix them in.

A peek behind the curtain: This is what happens when you’re trying to do stuff while looking through the camera. “Oh yeah, there you go, there’s the shot… Aaaaaaand I made a mess.” And this is just the counter. There’s 3 times as more on the floor.

• Now, what I’ve been doing with previous cookies, is I put them in the fridge for an hour or even more if you have the time.

This is something I didn’t always do before, but it became something of a fad over the past 2 years or so. You weren’t cool if you didn’t let your cookies rest! Now, I can totally understand why it would benefit the end product. You’re working the cookie dough an awful lot, so resting it and cooling it down just seems like the logical thing to do. If you sat there and told me resting it in the fridge let the liquids in the eggs absorb into the flour making the dough firmer giving it more texture, and not only that, but it also lets the enzymes in the flour and the egg yolk break down carbohydrates into the simple sugars fructose and glucose making the cookies sweeter and tastier… I’d buy whatever you’re selling! But there’s just something too convincing about the amazingly awesome Great Cookie Experiment conducted by Mel over at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. There she not only tested this theory, but documented it thoroughly. Go check it out if you’re curious.

With all that said, I’ll leave the decision of resting it or not resting it, up to you.

• So after the dough is ready, get your pan sprayed down and scoop the dough on leaving about 2 inches blah blah blah like you don’t know the drill.

• Just before you pop them in the oven, make it rain on them with the turbinado sugar if you’re using it. I’m telling you, I love the stuff. Gives the cookies a nice crunch.

• After that, in the oven they go for 10-12 minutes.

And out they come, ready to be eaten non-stop until they’re gone or you get sick, whichever comes first.

I don’t know if it’s the cinnamon chips, or the crunch from the sugar, but they remind me a lot of Panera’s Cinnamon Chip Scones.

Something tells me you know exactly what I’m talking about. I know I’m not the only one that has eaten the ever-loving heck out of those scones. So freaking good.

And if that’s not reason enough to get to making these, then I don’t know what is.

C.

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