Four Star Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

With the possibility of our first ninety degree day of the year, I decided to bake cookies in the cool of the morning.
Of all the recipes I've tried that include oatmeal, this one is my favorite. It comes from my old Farmersville Garden Club Cookbook published in 1994.

The book is full of amazing food ideas, recipes, emergency substitutions and household cleaning tips. This recipe came from Mary Pope.

The recipes remind me of pot luck dinners and social gatherings where families would bring their favorite casseroles and desserts tightly covered in aluminum foil, ready to peel off and share.

The ingredients are simple, the prep time is quick and the results are delicious.

Ingredients:
1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp. Unsifted All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Quick Cooking Oatmeal (Not instant)
2 Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 Cup (1 1/2 Sticks) Butter or Margarine softened
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 6 oz. Package Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together the flour, baking soda and cocoa in a small bowl.
Beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until it's light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture and blend at a low speed until combined.
Hand stir in the oatmeal, the chocolate chips and the chopped nuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake for ten (10) minutes.
I like to use two cookie sheets and prep the second one while the first one is baking.

Remove the cookies from the oven and leave them on the warm baking sheet for about three (3) minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool.

This recipe makes about four (4) dozen cookies.

To change it a bit, I deleted the nuts, substituted two (2) sticks of butter and added a couple of Tablespoons of additional flour rather than grease the cookie sheets. The cookies come out firm and round and disappear quickly.