Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are by far my favorite cookies. They always come out looking thick and chunky because of the ground oatmeal and nuts. I am not a huge fan of big nuts in my desserts, so I love how I get the nutty flavor in these cookies without running the risk of chipping a tooth! If I don't have walnuts on hand, I have used almonds and pecans. I also think these would be delicious with cranberries or raisins instead of chocolote chips!

Ingredients:

1 c. softened butter (TIP: you can soften butter without melting it by using the defrost setting on your microwave for 30-60 seconds)

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp. lemon juice (can be skipped, but really adds alot!)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. chopped oats (I use my food processor, but you could simply chop with a sharp knife until it is the consistency of coarse sand, but not flour)

1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (or whatever nuts you have on hand; again I use my food processor and chop them into small pebble-size, but you could go bigger depending on your preference)

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (my sister-in-law always puts less, but I like the strong cinnamon flavor)

3 1/2 c. chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 bags)

Directions:

1. Combine butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla in your mixer.

2. Mix flour, oats, nuts, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in another bowl.

3. Slowly add flour mixture to your butter mixture until well blended, then stir in chocolate chips.

4. Drop in 2" balls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-12 minutes, or until lightly brown. TIP: If you take the cookies out just as the underside is set but the top is still a little gooey, and then immediately transfer them off the pan to a cooling rack, the cookies will set as the cool and come out super soft and chewy instead of hard and crunchy.

Easily makes 4 dozen decent-sized cookies. You can freeze the batter or half the recipe if you don't need so much all at once, but I like saving some of the cookie dough to sample through out the week. :)