Comfort food: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had a craving for a very specific oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie recipe. A family friend of ours shared this recipe shortly after losing a loved one, and it reminds me of the comfort that we can find in cooking foods that are familiar to us. In these crazy and unpredictable times, I find myself gravitating towards things that are comforting, even if they’re not always nourishing in terms of nutrients. They’re nourishing for the soul, and sometimes that’s healthy too.

I’ve made a few tweaks to the measurements to make it my own, but this is a super forgiving recipe. Feel free to double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe :)

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

1 cup salted butter (softened)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups oats (I used rolled, but you can use quick oats)

300g chopped up chocolate (I mixed 70% dark and milk chocolate - I usually just cut up whatever chocolate bars I have lying around in the fridge and hope I have enough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beat softened butter with sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Add in the sifted flour and baking soda. Mix in the chocolate chunks (you can do this by hand if you really want). add oatmeal until desired consistency is reached. Roll the dough into balls (I made 40 small cookies with this batch) and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Bake for 8 minutes, until slightly golden brown around the edges. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove to cool on a rack or paper towel.

Enjoy :)