Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Sorry for the influx of posts, but I’m just loving my new kitchen so much that I’m cooking and baking up a storm! Forgive me. Would a cookie help?
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In preparation for our little picnic today, I had to make some kind of dessert to tote along. Naturally, cookies came to mind. I didn’t want to make just standard chocolate chip since I just made some for work last week, so I decided to switch it up with a new recipe. I usually hate oatmeal cookies. Why? Because they tend to include raisins. I hate raisins. They can stay out of my cookies, thankyouverymuch. However, I found this delicious-looking recipe including absolutely no raisins—just chocolate chips and pecans. I switched out the pecans for walnuts and they were crazy good.
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These are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside with little bursts of crunch from the walnuts and pockets of chocolatey goodness. They’re sweet but there’s a nice balance of saltiness and toasty, nutty deliciousness too. Among the health benefits of using oats, white whole wheat flour, and walnuts: fiber, protein, and healthy fats. It’s still a cookie, but it’s awesome to get little health boosts with your treats. These might be my new favorite cookie. Let’s make ‘em!
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Your cast of characters. Let’s pretend there’s some sugar and brown sugar in there too. For some reason my subconscious didn’t think they were important enough to include in this photo (but they are, in fact, important).  A couple things: I used white whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose(as I often do—adds fiber and protein with little to no effect on taste or texture). Also, I used a combination of mini and regular chocolate chips, but feel free to use all one or the other.

First, mix together your dry ingredients. That’s your oats, white whole-wheat flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set them aside for now. Also, make sure to toast your nuts while you’re preparing the rest of the dough. Roughly chop them into small pieces, then to toast them, just put them in a dry pan on the stove over medium-high heat for a few minutes or until they smell fragrant.

I don’t have process photos of this part, but it’s really simple. Just cream together your butter and sugars until integrated and fluffy. Beat in your egg and vanilla. Then, mix in your flour mixture in about three parts (very slowly, don’t overmix!), and stir in your chips and nuts. Easy, right?

Now drop your cookies a couple inches apart on a prepared cookie sheet. A Tablespoon cookie scoop is your best friend, seriously. Invest in one. I don’t always line my cookie sheets with parchment, but I decided to go for it this time. If you don’t use parchment, just make sure you spray your pan with a little nonstick spray beforehand.

Voila! 12 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven and you’ve got these little beauties. Let them cool for about 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them onto a cooling rack. This step is really important with these cookies. They continue cooking slightly on the sheet, which allows them to really get a nice crispy outside and firm up while remaining chewy on the inside. Plus, they won’t fall apart when you transfer them to the cooling rack.

Glorious! Closer, you say?

I took a lot of photos of these cookies because it was one of the first times I’ve had natural light while in the kitchen. My old kitchen had a serious lack of any natural light at all, and since I don’t get home until 7 p.m. during the week, I rarely have these opportunities for well-lit photos. So bear with me!

These are addictive. Try to resist eating the whole batch yourself. It’s definitely hard to resist eating all the dough before they even hit the oven, but stay strong. You can do it!
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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Adapted from Cooking Light
Serving size: 1 cookie (Makes approximately 30 cookies)
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• 1 1/4 cups white whole-wheat flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
• 1  cup regular oats
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup semisweet mini or regular chocolate chips

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Preheat oven to 350°.
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Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk; set aside.
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Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.
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Nutritional Information
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Calories: 94.8
Fat: 3.6g
Cholesterol: 13.4mg
Sodium: 76.5mg
Potassium: 23.5mg
Carbohydrate: 15.8g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 1.5g
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