Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Crispies

Submitted by Heather

I love oatmeal cookies, but have sometimes been disappointed in their floury or dense results. Thankfully that doesn't happen too often, and especially not since I found this recipe.  These cookies are crisp on the outside edges and chewy in the middle.  Perfect.  My husband and I love nuts, but the kids don't always like them in their cookies, so this recipe is actually perfect.  The nuts are chopped finely enough that the kids actually have no idea that there are even nuts inside!  So, there's a little hidden nutrition for ya.  But my husband likes nuts to make their presence known, so I throw some roughly chopped ones on top of his cookies, and everyone is happy.

Both sizes of these cookies were very well received, but the extra large ones, were, of course, preferred by all.  The large ones were made with an ice cream scoop and the smaller ones made with a disher that holds about 2 Tbsp.

Be sure to double this recipe - you won't be sorry!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Shortening (Crisco)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
3 cups Quick Oats
1/2 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup roughly chopped Pecans (optional)


In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening with both sugars until well combined.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs together. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Add to the shortening/sugar mixture and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix carefully into the egg/shortening mixture until well combined. Now add the quick oats and mix well again. Finally add the finely chopped pecans and mix well to combine.

Divide the dough in half and place each half of the dough onto a sheet of waxed paper. Roll the dough into a log and then wrap it tightly in the waxed paper. Now you can either chill or freeze the dough until later or you can go ahead and slice the dough evenly into cookie rounds.
When you are ready to bake them place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until they are golden brown. If you make the larger cookies (with the ice cream scoop) bake for a few minutes longer - around 12-14 minutes.

Source: adapted slightly from thepioneerwoman.com