Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

I haven't made cookies for a long, long, time.  There 's a good reason why I haven't.


I EAT THEM. 

Well, too many of them, anyway.  So, I seldom make cookies.  When all my girls were at home, they made the cookies when they felt the need for some.  The girls are great bakers and cooks, every one of them.  They do me proud.  With most of them gone around the world (that's a hard one to get used to), it's been a long time since we had homemade cookies around here.


So I made these for old times sake; Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies, with a handful of chopped roasted, salted peanuts thrown in for good measure.  They are one of my favorite recipes.  I use cherries from here (read more about the dried cherries in this previous post).  I also used dark chocolate Guittard chips today.  We ate a few cookies and  froze the rest.  That's the way to stretch a batch! If I put them into freezer bags as soon as they cool and hide them in the corner of the freezer, they last even longer.

Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C. butter

1 C. firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 C. granulated sugar

2  large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 C. old-fashioned oats, uncooked

1 C. dried tart cherries

1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Put the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl.  Beat on medium speed 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture and mix just until blended.  Don't overbeat or your cookies will be tough.  Stir in the oats, cherries, and chocolate chips and mix well.

Drop by rounded Tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges.  Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet and remove to cool on a wire rack. 

Store in a tightly covered container or freeze after cooling.

Makes about 4 dozen. 

*I portion my cookies with a 1 1/2 Tab. spring loaded ice cream scoop, which is worth using.  It saves a lot of time.   I get about 3 Doz. cookies per batch but your yield will vary depending on how big you make your portions.