Chewy Versus Crunchy: Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Forget the mom wars, I'm more interested in the cookie wars. I am a die-hard chewy cookie person—I purposefully under bake my cookies just the teensiest bit, so that they are soft and chewy in the centre. I'm so committed to baking a chewy cookie that I have a hard time understanding where the crunchy cookie people are coming from. Try as I might to open my mind, I can't seem to grasp their point of view.

Fortunately for all of us cookie lovers—the crunchy and the chewy—there is this delectable recipe that allows for customization based on personal taste. This is the most delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made. As a bonus, it's a large recipe, which allows me to share with friends and bask in the inevitable accolades that baking such an amazing cookie brings forth. This is one of my most popular cookie recipes, based on the speed at which they disappear when a container is set near my children and their friends.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3 cups oatmeal (not instant)

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat butter with sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla and egg, mix until incorporated.
Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix well. Stir in oats, then fold in chocolate chips.
Form dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and arrange on parchment paper-lined baking sheets two inches apart—they spread in the oven.
Bake for 9 minutes for a chewy cookie, 11-12 for a crunchy cookie.

(Yield: approximately 4 dozen cookies)