According to The Houston Chronicle, Barbara Bush’s Chocolate Chip Cookies were so well loved that The Houstonian pastry chef asked her for the recipe. Mrs. Bush shared it, and the cookies have since appeared at special events catered by the hotel. You’ve probably made similar versions of this recipe (I know I have), but I wanted to try this one in honor of Barbara Bush, who my relatives back in Houston always described as “a delightful person”.
So moving onto the recipe, it’s interesting because it calls for instant oats rather than Old Fashioned or Quick Cooking. Not counting steel cut, the most common area types of oats are Old Fashioned, Quick Cooking and Instant. Instant oats are the most processed of the three, usually come in packets, and cook up a little mushier than Old Fashioned or Quick Cooking. They’re generally not called for in recipes, and since I can’t imagine Barbara Bush breaking open 6 or 7 packets of Instant, I’m thinking the type she used were the Quick Cooking — though I don’t know for sure. Maybe I’ll test with Instant, too.
Anyhow, Barbara Bush made her cookies 1 tablespoon size. I had to struggle to keep them at a tablespoon because I’ve grown accustomed to making cookies that are quite a bit larger. Glad I followed the recipe because the smaller size ones are just right and you get more edge. Unfortunately I’m having a hard time keeping my hands off them, so they are going in the freezer.
Barbara Bush's Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter salted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar Iight brown
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups flour I used 250 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups instant oatmeal I recommend Quick Cooking
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 package 12 ounces chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Blend butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add 2 eggs and beat.
- Sift (I just mixed) together flour, soda, salt, then add to batter and stir until blended.
- Add instant oatmeal, vanilla and chocolate chips.
- Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Anna
Mela, I’ve been using 50% bread and 50% AP just for fun in different cookies lately. It sometimes makes cookies a little thicker. For these cookies I’ve only used unbleached AP and they’ve always been fine.
Mela
Hi Anna, how are you? Would you recommend 2 kinds of flour, all purpose and bread flour using this recipe? What will be the right proportion? Thank you.
Ann Gower
I used quick oats and mini chocolate chips. 9 minutes at 350 and let them rest a few minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet. They were really good. I got 7 dozen out of this recipe.
Anna
Thanks Karen!
karenb
These cookies are very good and need to be small to be crunchy.
I googled this recipe and apparently it appeared in several Publications over the years. All the recipes use Quick Oats and NOT instant. The recipe that appeared in Family Circle magazine, specifically states NOT Instant Oats.
https://www.familycircle.com/recipe/cookies/barbara-bushs-revised-cookie-recipe/
Sonya
Yum!
Sue
Sometimes a good oatmeal chocolate chip cookie is just the right cookie.
Anna
Sue, the Big Flat Chocolate Chunk are my current favorite. I think I like them better than the NYT cookies. These are good too, just in a different class with the oats.
Sue
They sound like good cookies. Yesterday I made your Big Flat Chocolate Chunk Cookies. So good!