Loaded Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Loaded Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough February 28, 2015 from Averie Cooks

Another recipe from Averie’s blog and one of the few where I have to admit I couldn’t get mine to turn out looking like hers. Which is too bad as how they looked on her blog is what sucked me into making them. They were nicely rounded and chubby not to mention moist looking.

I baked off a test batch to put into treat bags for some friends I was meeting for dinner one night. Halfway through baking, they were flattening at an alarming rate even though I had my oven on its convection setting. At the recommended baking time of 8-10 minutes, they were still raw in the middle and definitely flat. Erk. I left them in for a few extra minutes but then they browned more than I wanted before I rescued them. I had just enough for the cookie bags so I broke a cardinal rule and put them all in the bags without taste testing them. It was a minimal risk since Averie’s recipes are usually gold.

I did bake off one of the cookie dough balls later for my own taste test. This time I cranked up my oven to preheat to 375 degrees on the convection setting instead of 350. After baking for 5 minutes at the higher temp, I lowered the temp down to 350 and baked for another 5 minutes. It still looked too moist/wet but not raw so I took it out as I didn’t want it to get overly brown again.  When it cooled, the near-wet middle patches now just looked moist. Still not as rounded and chubby as Averie’s but, as I had hoped, it was delicious. Oatmeal cookies are naturally chewy but the addition of the coconut made it both moist and chewy, giving it really nice texture. Sometimes oatmeal cookies can be dry but the coconut added a nice chewy touch for moisture.

So now I’ve learned the trick with these cookies is to bake them at the initially high temperature for the first few minutes so the outside will set before the cookie spreads, lower the temp, take them out at 10 minutes no matter what they look like, and let them cool completely. Then enjoy.

1 large egg

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping cup chocolate chips

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine egg, butter, sugars and vanilla; beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the oats, flour, coconut, baking soda and salt; beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to keep the batter even textured and add chocolate chips. Mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
4. Scoop out golf-ball-sized cookie dough balls, wrap in plastic and freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Place dough mounds on prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes, lower your oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.