Surprise Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Maida Heatter's Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies, Surprise Oatmeal Cookies are unique in that they combine oatmeal, dried fruit and potato chips.
Servings 24 large cookies
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature or cool (228 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups packed light brown sugar (350 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 2 cups sifted unbleached flour** (228 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt (optional if using salty potato chips)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup currants or raisins
- 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries
- 1 ½ cup toasted pecans, chopped
- 3-4 oz potato chips (crushed to make 1 ½ to 2 cups) (84 to 114 grams)
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut (optional) (50 grams)
Instructions
- Beat the butter with a mixer until it is creamy. Beat in the brown sugar and vanilla and continue to cream mixture for about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in the eggs, one at time.
- Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the batter and stir until it’s mixed in, then add the oats, dried fruit, pecans and potato chips. Stir well. Batter should be slightly crumbly from all the add-ins, but not dry. If you used the right amount of flour it won’t be.
- Using a ¼ cup measure, scoop up dough and make 24 large mounds. To help shape the crumbly dough, moisten hands with a small amount of water. At this point you can bake the cookies OR you can arrange the mounds on a plate and chill them until ready to bake. I’ve been chilling mine overnight to get more height.
- When ready to bake, let the dough mounds come to cool room temperature. Place dough mounds on heavy duty ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet spreading about 2 inches apart. Press tops down slightly. Bake at 350 for 18-20 min or till lightly browned and cookies appear set. For moister centers, 18 minutes, for dryer cookies, go with the longer cook-time.
- Notes: To toast pecans, spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.
Notes
The original recipe called for 1 cup of sifted flour which weighs 4 oz. If your flour is not lumpy and you want to skip sifting, just weigh out 114 grams or use 1 cup minus a tablespoon.