White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Heaven

Three of my best friends came over last weekend for a girls night. We became friends when I moved to Cincinnati. We started getting together for happy hour, but soon realized that limited our fun in a few ways. First, you can only stay so long at a restaurant table before the staff gets cranky. Second, you can only eat and drink so much when you aren't wearing sweatpants before you become uncomfortable. Finally, you can only drink so much wine before it becomes expensive. #2 and #3 were our biggest concern.


It was my turn to host this time, and Zac was in Lexington for the Final Four game. That meant I had to do all of the food preparing myself! Let me emphasize that though I don't cook, it doesn't mean I can't cook! When my feet are to the fire I can pull out a few tasty dishes.


I turned to trusty Pinterest for a few new options. First, some brie bites.


                                                 

Image from Pinterest.

They were so easy - buy some phillo dough cups, put a cube of brie in them, add some honey and/or brown sugar. Put in the oven until they melt. Eat fifteen because they are so delicious. Make fifteen more and eat them too. Wish you had more. You know, the usual.

I also wanted to try a recipe for White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, AKA Heaven. They looked so good on Pinterest and they didn't disappoint in real life.

I'm trying to get better with my photography. I'm not there yet, but know that I'm trying.

They were so delicious. I've never smushed down my cookie balls before, but it was a great idea. The cookies came out nice and flat and big. Can you spot the secret ingredient in the picture below?

Yeah, it's sea salt. And it's oh so delicious.

Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies via Whisk Kid via Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Cook's Illustrated

Printable Recipe

1 c  flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
14 Tbsp butter, softened
1 c  sugar
1/4 c  packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c  old-fashioned rolled oats
6 oz good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped (I used high quality white chocolate chips so they didn't taste waxy, and they were delish)
1/2 tsp flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel), for sprinkling

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl again and add half of the flour mixture. Mix to combine, scrape down bowl, and add remaining half. Mix until just incorporated, then add the oats and chocolate and mix until evenly distributed. 

Using a 2 Tbsp scoop, portion the dough into as many balls as you can. Roll into a sphere shape between your palms and place on lined sheets about 2 1/2" apart. Gently press each ball into a 3/4" thickness and sprinkle with a few flakes of salt. Bake until cookies are golden brown, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Transfer sheet to a cooling rack and allow to cool 

Ooh! That picture looks pretty good!

The recipe makes about 60 cookies if you don't eat a lot of dough, so be prepared to give most of them away if you want to avoid gaining 10 pounds in one weekend. Because you can not stop eating these. They are that good.

Case and point. YUM.

Enjoy!