Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

It's my least favorite time of year. Summer in Phoenix is in a word, unbearable. Right now the heat is stifling, there's nothing like having what little make up you're wearing run down your face ten minutes after you leave your house. Sigh, it's unbearably hot now, and next month when the monsoon comes to town we will get the humidity. I want year round 70 F. Is that too much to ask for?

Anyway, it was time to bake and I relied on a tried-and-true classic which I haven't made in ages. These are from my Taste of Home: Best-Loved Cookies & Bars book from 2008. I don't know why it took me so long to make these, but it was worth giving up my Saturday afternoon to make (while watching the Princess Bride no less).

-------------------------------------------------------------

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

1) in a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. beat in eggs and vanilla. combine the oats, flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

2) drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto un-greased baking sheets. bake at 375 F. for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

------------------------------------------------------------- 

I <3 these cookies. I'm usually not a big fan of oatmeal cookies, but I think I just dislike them when they have raisins in them (yuck). I love how even though they have A LOT of chocolate chips in them, they aren't overly sweet. They have just the right amount of chocolate. Another thing I dig, when they bake they don't spread out, so you can fit 12 cookies on one sheet, which cuts down on your overall baking time; I know it may seem like a small thing, but it's summer, the less time I'm in the kitchen the better. So I hope you give these little ones a try, you won't be disappointed!