I have made many different kinds of chocolate chip cookies - thin, crispy, chunky, chewy, cakey, nutty. I am always struck by what buttery little devils they are. And the sugar - large quantities of thigh-building sugar. Which is why I usually fall back on my conviction that anything is made healthy with the addition of oatmeal. A whole-grain cookie is practically diet food in my mind. Oatmeal also helps in the crunchy department, since my preferred cookie incarnation is crispy and shattery. Add heart-healthy pecans to the party and the things might practially cure disease.
Beware: these are crunchity crunchy cookies with no resemblence to the soft, melty affairs that most people adore. They also have a nice blend of comforting spices that is usually absent from the usual Toll-House cookie. And a bit of orange flavor too. They are different. Don't hate them for it.
Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 lg eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp freshly grated orange zest
11.5 oz bag Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla, and beat until well mixed. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove in a separate bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter with the mixer on low speed. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the second half. Stir in the oats, pecans, orange zest, and chocolate chips until just mixed. Drop the dough, by rounded tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on a rack. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
