Gordon's Secret Cookies (Oatmeal Chocolate Chips)

Two cookie recipes in one day!! I only post stuff on here that is completely legit because I don't want to waste anyone's time and I sincerely want you all to know when I've discovered a new favorite.  These babies are it!  

Gordon's Secret Cookies

1 1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 c brown sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbl vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour 

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup oats

3 cup chocolate chips

Mix butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add dry ingredients, except oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix and then add oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Breinholt Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our friends, the Breinholts introduced us to this recipe and it's been our favorite ever since!  They actually found the recipe on the back of the Market Pantry Old Fashioned Oats package.  I don't know if this is key, but they mix everything by hand (good old elbow grease).  The dough and the cookies are top-notch.

Breinholts Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

8 oz. (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.  Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla on medium speed of electric mixer (or by hand) until creamy.  Beat in eggs until light and fluffy.  Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt on low until blended.  Stir in oats and chocolate chips.  Form dough into 2-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 16-18 minutes until edges are golden brown, but still soft in the center. 

The Ultimate Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yeah, I know...another chocolate chip cookie recipe.  This one definitely deserves a turn in your regular cookie rotation though.  Its our new favorite and its incredible. I bought Maldon Sea Salt off of amazon and it transformed the flavor, making these totally irresistible.  And, that extra little sprinkle of salt also makes them look very fancy, which makes them great for giving away...which you'll want to do because if these are around, you're going to eat every single last one.

The Ultimate Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Barefeet in the Kitchen

• 1 3/4 cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup butter melted
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour *
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Maldon flaked sea salt  or coarse sea salt
• GLUTEN FREE ALTERNATIVE:
• 1 ¾ cups brown rice flour *
• ½ cup tapioca starch *
• ¼ cup potato starch *
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum *

1. Place the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the hot melted butter and beat until smooth. Let cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs and vanilla and beating once more.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients and slowly add them to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine. Add the chocolate chips and stir well to make sure they are evenly distributed. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour, or until thoroughly chilled.
3. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Scoop the dough into golf ball sized balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Remember, just three cookies to a baking sheet!)
4. Bake for 16 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with Maldon salt. Let cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Notes

The size of the cookie will determine the texture. If you want a giant bakery-style cookie with crisp edges and a perfectly chewy center, follow the recipe exactly and make the cookies huge. (Just three to a baking sheet, seriously!) There is no way to get that perfect texture without the giant cookie (Rachel here- I've made them small and they turned out bakery perfect and perfectly textured). Trust me on that, okay? I made some of the cookies smaller and they were really good, but the giant ones were so much better! The finishing salt is really important here. There aren't a lot of fancy spices and ingredients in my kitchen, but Maldon flaked sea salt is a key ingredient in these cookies. You can buy it in some grocery stores, but I found the best prices by far on Amazon. (I promise that if you buy it, you'll use it for more than just these cookies!) However, if you don't want to buy a fancy salt, coarse sea salt or even kosher salt will work. Just be extra careful when sprinkling the salt on the cookies, as the smaller grains of salt can quickly make them "salty" instead of giving just a hint of salt with the sweet cookie. Last but not least, don't let the oatmeal in this recipe deter you from trying them. There is barely a hint of oatmeal flavor, but it provides a chewy texture that can't be beat.

Chocolate Chip Power Balls

I've made a LOT of protein balls, but these are by far the very best ones I've ever had.  They are so so so good- taste just like cookie dough. :) 

Chocolate Chip Power Balls

Adapated from Clean Eats and Treats

• 2 cups old fashioned oats 
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2-1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Ideal Lean French Vanilla) and 1 scoop Collagen Peptides
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• dash of sea salt

We made these with a hand mixer and broke the oats down a little so they were smaller.  Also, the gram measurements for the peanut butter is 266 (for those who have a kitchen scale).  I also used Trader Joe's coconut chips (which are sweetened) and broke those apart as well because they're big.  Biggest problem? Eating just one!

Oatmeal Quick Mix

This comes from the Boyle family favorites. My father-in-law insisted that I shared these! When you have a little extra time make this. Store it and when you want some good muffins, cookies, etc grab this! We had this mix in muffins this morning and they were delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour  (Garry grinds flour and does half and half)
3 1/2  tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups shortening or butter
3 cups rolled oats

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. Stir in brown sugar. Mix well. With a pastry blender, cut in shortening until evenly distributed. Stir in oats and mix well. Put in an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 12 weeks. Makes about 9 cups of mix.

Oatmeal Muffins

1 egg

2/3 c milk 

3 c of OATMEAL MIX (above)
Add whatever mix ins you prefer (ex. nuts, blueberries, choc chips, etc)

Bake @ 400 for 15-20 min (makes 12)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brian's favorite cookie is an oatmeal one...he doesn't even like the chocolate chips. This cookie is where we compromise. :) Its a delicious, chewy, chocolately cookie that goes perfect as an ice-cream sandwich (we made them last Sunday and they were delicious...ice-cream recipe below too). There is something about oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough that really is satisfying...yeah, we make these just for the dough sometimes.

courtesy

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (and Ice Cream!)

Adapted slightly from allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 cups quick-cooking oats (I've used regular oats too, with great results)

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time and then stir in vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and stir until just blended. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Cuisinart Recipe Booklet

1 cup milk (the fattier the milk, the creamier the ice cream)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

pinch salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract (the real stuff, please!)

Whisk together milk, sugar and salt until sugar is completely dissolved (about 3-4 minutes). Stir in cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours, or overnight. Put in ice cream maker for 15-20 minutes; add mix-ins for the last 3-5 minutes, if desired. Freeze and seal tight the ice cream for additional 1-2 hours, if you want it more solid.