Monster Cookies

     I have to get these out of my house. I've remade them a couple times in order to make sure the timing and proportions are all right, which is a smart thing to do in the long run, but not so much the best for my health. I've decided I can't keep any form of chocolate in my house. I just can't. I would like to say I have self control enough to limit myself to one moderate square of a chocolate bar now and then...but it just ain't so. My now and then boils down to every 10 minutes til it's gone. The very worst is cookie dough. I'll be honest, it's a battle: Lane versus dough. I've faced defeat so many times. I try so hard...chewing gum while baking...brushing my teeth before...having something else healthy to eat while I bake. But the dough has an evil way of wooing me, despite my best efforts. It's just so good. As of now the dough is still coming out on top, but if I plan to keep up this cooking thing for any length of time (which i very well do) I'm gonna have to muster up some discipline along the way or I'll need a whole new wardrobe before too long. Yikes. Well, enough of that...cookies!

      Monster cookies. These are yu-uh-mmy. Chock-full of anything and everything you desire...pecans, m&m's, heath bar, oatmeal, chocolate chips, peanut butter, dried fruit...and on and on. Anything goes, just as long as you keep these cookies filled to the brim and true to their name (no one wants a wimpy monster). I made this batch earlier this week while crooning along to my current Pandora station of choice, one that features all the good standards (it started out with "In the Wee Small Hours" by Frank Sinatra, I believe). Frank and Billie and Dean and I had a lovely afternoon and produced some pretty dreamy cookies, I dare say (though a certain someone managed to sneak an entire stick of butter off the counter in the process. ridiculous.). For a more basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, refer to this post. But, if it's a more amped-up, party-in-your-mouth cookie you're after, give this one a go. You won't regret it. 

Monster Cookies

slightly adapted from simplyrecipes.com

yields about 20 big cookies

ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2-1/4 cups flour

1 cup oats

mix-ins: 

(any combination to total around 2-1/2 cups)

mine included:

1/2 cup toasted pecans 

(toast in pan for a few minutes before chopping and mixing in)

1/2 cup heath bar bits

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup M&Ms

also try:

other kinds of nuts: walnut, hazelnut, almond...

dried cranberries or cherries or apricots...

dark chocolate chunks/butterscotch, white chocolate, or peanut butter chips

...you can also try substituting 1/2 cup of the butter with 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter!...

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Beat butter (and peanut butter if you go that route. an excellent choice.) until fluffy. Beat in sugars at medium speed until well incorporated.

3. Add eggs and vanilla, beating for a minute.

4. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in separate small bowl. 

5. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mix until just combined (i.e., when you no longer see the dry mix).

6. Stir in your oats and mix-ins with a spatula/spoon. 

7. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges look ever-so-slightly brown. Let cool on sheet and enjoy.

the devil. resist resist!