Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to bake. Part of the reason for that, is that I love to eat the things I make. It's the best part of baking, right?

When I spent the summer at my grandma's house several years ago, she taught me how to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. When I came home, I forgot to get the recipe from her, and I've been testing out recipes ever since, looking for the right one. Yeah, I could always call and ask for the recipe, but where's the fun in that? So far, I haven't found anything that perfectly replicates the delicious, chewy cookies I'm looking for. Until now, that is. Pinterest has once again come to the rescue, and has provided me with this lovely recipe from Deliciously Sprinkled.

Now, I know. There's the glaring problem of these cookies not having chocolate chips in them. However, the base cookie is absolutely perfect. For this trial recipe, I added pecans to it, because I was skeptical that the plain oatmeal cookie would be worthwhile on its own. Oh, how wrong I was. These little beauties can definitely hold their own against any other cookie you can bake.

Next time I make these, I'm adding chocolate chips, to test how well they'll really hold up against my grandma's cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups old fashioned oats

Directions:

PRE-STEP: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

STEP 1: In a large bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, cream together the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, butter, and shortening.

STEP 2: Add eggs one at a time, mixing between each egg.

STEP 3: Add baking soda, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract.

STEP 4: Add flour and old fashioned oats until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX!

STEP 5: Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough into balls about 2 Tablespoons each and place onto prepared baking sheet. Place baking sheet with cookie dough balls in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once chilled, slightly press down the cookie dough balls and place back onto prepared cookie sheet.

STEP 6: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack.