Oatmeal, Maple, Pecan Cookies With Chocolate Chips

A favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, everyone has one. I have to admit, I love the one that I'm about to give you the most. I've made this recipe 100 times. That being said, I'm still partial to the one on the back of the Tollhouse bag too. It's so classic. I remember when my old roommate Robin used to get packages in the mail from her Grandmother. They were filled with dozens of Tollhouse cookies. We'd keep them in Ziplock gallon-bags in the freezer and whenever we needed a little treat or a little bit of Grandmotherly love, we'd sneak a few of her crunchy frozen cookies with a big glass of milk. They were wonderful.

Robin's Grandmother passed away last month and through her tears, Robin and I talked about her Grandmother's cookies and what a beautiful expression of love they were. It made me want to bake. An homage to a woman, I'd never met in person, but whose love of baking and family kept us feeling nurtured and considered, even when we were far away, in a big city, with no immediate family in sight. There is something about a good cookie, that just transmits love. So with that, this is for you...

Oatmeal, Maple, Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven at 350 degrees

1 C Flour
2 C Oats (Not the quick kind)
1/2 C Chopped Pecans (large chop)
1/2 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Baking Soda
1/4 t Salt
1 Stick Butter
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/4 C Maple Syrup
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats and pecans in a bowl and mix together with a fork.

In a mixer combine brown sugar, white sugar and room temperature butter.

Cream until fluffy.

Add the egg and beat until fluffy.

Drizzle in vanilla and maple syrup.

Turn down the mixer and slowly add in dry ingredients that you already set aside.

Once it's all Incorporated turn the mixer off and add the chocolate chips. Mix for just a moment until chips are evenly spread through out the mixture.

Drop golf ball sized cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Cook for approximately 10 minutes, if your oven cooks unevenly, you can turn the tray half way through baking.

Eat these right away or not. They keep for a few days to a week. They freeze well too. My favorite way to eat them is to sandwich them with a great big scoop of vanilla ice cream in between, wrap them in wax paper and pop them in the freezer.

Not for the calorie conscious, but definitely for that fantastic indulgence when you need a little Grandmotherly-love.