Just a Little Sin in Cinnamon
The smell of peaches means summertime, mint reminds me of Christmas and cinnamon means that autumn is in full swing.
It is as if a switch goes off in my brain. I walked into my grocery store a few weeks ago and sure enough the cinnamon brooms were already swooping in ready to grab me off the floor and send me to the baking aisle to get down to business.
Now cinnamon is not one of those ingredients that one simply tastes a spoonful of, even on a double dare. It needs to be combined with other things to bring out its real potential.
In my house, oatmeal raisin was not the cookie of choice for my ‘bigs’ (Joshua, Nathaniel and Shoshana,) but since I really love oatmeal cookies in general, I decided to make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies, which were loved (no surprise there). I used to add raisins to half the dough because, quite frankly, I am a bit selfish about desserts and really love the cookies with chocolate and raisins, but then I had to eat half a batch of cookies all by myself, a challenge I was always up for.
Yet, it was as if something was missing, and then the broom on the grocery store bopped me on the head and it clicked. I needed to include cinnamon in my cookies and thus the “Cinnamony” Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies were born.
About the same time, I found some cinnamon chips in the baking aisle, another sure sign that the holiday season has begun. In the first round of cookies, I did a 50/50 split of miniature chocolate chips and cinnamon chips. The cookies were a gorgeous amber color, but the cinnamon was too overpowering.
I tweaked it a tad and found that using 1 cup of miniature chocolate chips and ½ cup of cinnamon chips was a perfect combination. This does not mean it is carved in stone. Use your own taste buds to figure out what you like. Also, keep in mind that when you are unable to find the cinnamon chips, you will still have a delicious Cinnamony Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie using 1½ cups chocolate chips since there is cinnamon in the dough.
Another bonus of this recipe is that other ingredients may be added to it. Think of this as the ‘kitchen sink’ mentality for dessert. Raisins are a fabulous addition to the dough and, if you are a walnut lover, throw some of those in.
The bottom line is that even though these cookies are very ‘cinnamony,’ there is very little sin in them.
| "Cinnamony" Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies | | Print |
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup cinnamon chips
- For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Arrange oven racks to the top third and lower third. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the oats and stir with a spoon to mix the ingredients. Set aside.
- Beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down as needed. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Add one-half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk to blend. Add the other half of the dry ingredients. Lastly, add the chocolate and cinnamon chips.
- Use a 1½ teaspoon scoop to drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets up and down as well as front to back halfway through the baking time.
- Cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- There is always a great debate in our house as to what goes into these cookies. If cinnamon chips are not your thing, or are not easily found, skip them and add 1½ cups of miniature semisweet chocolate chips. Raisins and/or walnuts may also be included. Figure you have about 1½ cups to play with and then fill that measuring cup with the ingredients you want to have with your "Cinnamony" Oatmeal Cookies.
- If you do not have enough baking sheets to bake at one time, bake one batch at a time. Allow the cookies and baking sheet to cool completely before transferring the cookies to a container and then using the parchment paper lined (wiped free of crumbs) baking sheet again.
- If you do not have a small scoop, use a 1½ teaspoon measuring spoon to drop the cookies onto the baking sheets.
