Crunchy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These are the cookies your aunt makes by the dozen and freezes in old ice cream tubs. The trick that sets them apart from a standard oatmeal cookie is in the note at the bottom of the directions: pulse the oats in a blender until they’re a fine powder before measuring. That ground oat acts almost like a second flour, giving these cookies a closer crumb and a snap at the edge that whole rolled oats can’t deliver.

Two full cups of butter creamed with white and brown sugars builds the rich foundation, while four eggs hold the giant batch together. Both milk chocolate and semisweet chips go in, which sounds excessive until you taste the contrast between the creamy melt of the milk chocolate and the deeper bite of the semisweet.

The optional three cups of chopped nuts is worth including. Walnuts or pecans add a toasty crunch that anchors all that sweetness.

Pro Tips

• Blend the oats in batches of about a cup at a time. Overloading the blender leaves chunks.
• 10 minutes at 375°F (190°C) is the sweet spot. Pull them when the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone.
• Cool 2 minutes on the sheet before transferring. Hot cookies tear; rested ones lift cleanly.
• This recipe makes a huge batch. Freeze unbaked dough balls and bake straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.

Variations

• Swap milk chocolate for chopped dark chocolate bar for a less sweet, more grown-up cookie.
• Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a half cup of raisins for an oatmeal-raisin-chocolate hybrid.
• Stir in a handful of toasted coconut for a Caribbean-leaning twist.