My Absolute Favorite Cookie

5 Things I Learned from My Mom:

1. Hate is a very strong word.

2. Inanimate objects can be neither smart, nor stupid.  Except for you, stupid TV remote.

3. Saying “time to get a new watch,” when someone asks “what time is it?” never gets old real fast.

4. Adults write in cursive, not print.

5. Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies never go out of style.

So what better way to kick off the start to my 12 Days of Cookies challenge, than to make my all-time favorite cookie?

Trick question, there is no better way.

Do you see that recipe card?  All those stains, crinkles and leftover batter are the mark of a truly cherished cookie recipe.  Cookies you keep making over and over.  Cookies you can remember your mom making when you were younger and had no qualms about eating five in a row.

One made with shortening and butter and sugar and chocolate and lots and lots of love.

Things made with love have zero calories and zero grams of sugar, didn’t you know?

So eat four and share that fifth one with someone you love.

Mom’s Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup soft shortening (1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon hot tap water
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 package chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine soft shortenings, sugars, eggs and vanilla.
3. Add flour, salt, soda and water.  Then add chocolate chips and oatmeal.
4. Place on cookie sheet by the heaping teaspoon.
5. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Yields ~24 cookies

**If you’re feeling frisky, add some chopped walnuts to your dough.  And it’s highly recommended that you start feeling frisky now.

5 Things I’ve Learned from Making These Cookies:

1. If you leave them in a room with two 20-something year old guys, they will devour them in a few hours, so get your fill before you leave them unsupervised. 

2. Leaving the dough in the fridge for a few minutes results in fluffier cookies.

3.  Whether they’re fluffy or not, they’re deliciously addicting.

4. Even moms burn things.

 Oopsies.

5.  Burnt or not, they still taste better when mom makes them.

Happy Friday, friends!