Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe was included in my most recent order from King Arthur Flour.

Kids and cookies go together like… well, like kids and just about anything sweet. Given kids’ affinity for sugar, you might as well temper it with some of the "good stuff"–in this case, oats with their soluble fiber, and whole wheat flour, with its extra vitamins, minerals, and bran. Trust us: the kids won’t know they’re getting anything "healthy" in their favorite cookie! And what’s vinegar doing in a chocolate chip cookie recipe? Ah-HA! Vinegar is our secret weapon. It tempers cookies’ sweetness just a tad, and reacts with the leavener to give them a bit more rise, making them lightly crunchy/chewy rather than hard.

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening, trans-fat-free

1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) brown sugar

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cider or white vinegar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, organic preferred

1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) quick-cooking rolled oats (or traditional rolled oats pulsed several times in a food processor, to break them up a bit)

3 cups (18 ounces; 1 regular and 1 small package) semisweet chocolate chips, or a mixture of chocolate chips and cinnamon chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, salt, and vinegar. Beat in the egg, then the baking soda, flour, and oats. Stir in the chips.Drop the dough, by tablespoonfuls, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Note: If you bake the cookies for 12 minutes; they’ll be crunchy around the edges, with a slight bend at the center. If you bake for the full 14 minutes, till they’re almost a light mahogany color, they’ll be crisp/crunchy all the way through. Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool on a rack.