Chewy Toaster-baked Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

When people hear oatmeal cookies, the first thing that usually comes in their minds are those hard-as-rock cookies. But fear not, my lovely domestic rockstars! I have come to save the day. :) I'll be sharing with you my recipe of cookies. If you make this right, you'll have a perfect batch of cookies that are slightly crispy on the edges, but chewy in the middle.

Just this morning, I made my kids some oatmeal cookies. My eldest, Renee ate about a third of the first batch without even waiting for it to cool down fully! I made a total of 32 cookies altogether--first and second batch. Renee devoured (yes, that word!) 5 cookies in one go, while Allie had 2, and the rest was eaten by the grown-ups. Renee asked me if I could make more. She'd like to have some more cookies for desert after lunch.

Sometimes I wonder where she puts all those food in her tummy... The kid never goes fat! Ah well, probably all those food would melt away quickly, considering how crazy energetic she is all day. Haha!

Her second batch. She wanted me to take a "shocked" photo
of her because she wants to be a cookie model. Haha!

Anyway, here's my cookie recipe.

What you'll need:

Tools:

Toaster oven
Aluminum foil
Baking tray (most toaster ovens come with these)
Small spoon/scoop
Mixing bowl

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (or 1 stick) of butter, cut into small cubes; softened
1 large egg
2/3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup instant oats (or crushed Frosties cereal)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk chocolate
1/2 cup pistachios or walnuts (optional)

One of the most common mistakes most people do is over-softening the butter.
To check if your butter is just right, gently press on the butter using your index finger.
It should look like the one at the center. If your butter turns out like the one in the right,
then that means your butter may cause you a runny batch of cookies.
(Photo source: cookinglight.com)

Procedure:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Once those are already incorporated, add in the oats or cereal.
2. Add in the butter. Make sure you don't melt the butter--or over-soften them--before adding it to your dry ingredients. This will make your cookie dough look more like a batter instead, making your cookies runny. Using your hands, mash the butter with the dry ingredients until it forms a grainy bowl of mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla.
4. Combine the egg and vanilla mixture to the dough.
5. Add in the chocolate (and nuts, if you want to add them too) to the mixture. I used my kids' favorite chocolates instead of chips and chopped them into small chunks. I wanted to use half dark and half milk chocolates so they won't be too bitter nor too sweet.
6. Line the baking tray with aluminum foil, shiny side down.
7. Scoop a ball of dough and flatten them on the lined baking tray.
8. Bake them for 4 minutes in the toaster, turn them over and bake for another 3-4 more minutes or until golden brown (Sometimes, you have to adjust your baking time with the altitude as well, especially if you live in the mountains. No, I'm not kidding). Bear in mind that you are using instant oats and that they are easily burnt if left longer in the oven.
9. Set the cookies aside to rest and cool down.

What was left of our first batch after Renee ate about 4 of them (that time I took this photo.
She ate more after), Allie had 1 at that moment, and the other 4 by the grown-ups. 

So there you have it. I hope you guys would enjoy making and eating them as much as we do. Happy baking! :)