oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Sitting in the library all day, when the weather is absolutely gorgeous can not be good for the soul. Good for my grades, perhaps, but it was not the way I wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon. Instead of trying to even remotely understand the intricacies of Hindu dieties, my gaze kept shifting out the window, wishing I was outside enjoying the sun. So as soon as I got out of the library, I went for a bike ride.

I hopped on my red bicycle and got lost in thought as I rode throughout town. I thought about how I kind of, just a little bit, really really wished the Sartorialist was strolling through colonial Williamsburg because I looked pretty cute and I was riding a pretty cute bicycle. I thought about how beautiful the sun looked as it was starting to set, even blocked by a crowd of trees. I thought about how wonderful it felt to feel autumn beginning to sneak in. I thought about what on earth I could say about these cookies.

Honestly, all I can say is that they are delicious. They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside because they are a perfect combination of all my favorite cookies. They are the perfect cookie for the indecisive cookie monster, like me. They make me happy, just like riding my bicycle made me feel happy today.


Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat the oven to 350.

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Working with a mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips.

If you have the time, cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day. (Chilling the dough will give you more evenly shaped cookies.) If the dough is not chilled, drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. If the dough is chilled, scoop up rounded tablespoons, roll the balls between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Press the chilled balls gently with the heel of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula - they'll firm as they cool.

fyi, I made half this recipe and still ended up with lots and lots of cookies.