I’ve had this recipe written down on a sheet of paper forever. But, I keep losing it. And these are the best cookies evah…so I wanted to make a permanent record of it. And, as it’s nearing Xmas, I figure everyone could use a good chocolate chip recipes.

Secret Recipe Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 2 dozen, depending
on cookie size)

Ingredients: 

Dry: 

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 (hah) tsp cinnamon. (I use about 2 tsps of ceylon cinnamon…yum!)
• 1.5  tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar. (I use a Florida organic)
• 3 cups chocolate chips – I use a combo of semisweet and Ghirardelli milk
  chocolate.
• Up to 1 1/2 cups nuts if desired. (I rarely use nuts,  instead I
  often add extra chocolate…because…well, chocolate!)

Wet:

• 1 cup softened butter (real butter…none of that weird artificial crap.)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract. (Real stuff, not artificial)
• 1 tsp lemon juice (about a 1/4 of a lemon if fresh)
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. Grind oats in blender/food processor/coffee grinder until they are finely
   ground.  (If you want to skip this step, you can use the oats whole,
   but be sure to use quick cooking oats.  Trust me on this one.)
3. Combine ground oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a mixing
   bowl. 
4. In another bowl (I recommend pulling out the KitchenAid for this), cream
   butter, sugars, vanilla and lemon.  Add eggs and beat until
   fluffy. 
5. Slowly, stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, blending well between
   additions.  When it’s all mixed and sticky, add chocolate (and nuts if
   using) to the dough and mix well. 
6. Scoop round balls (an ice cream scoop is ideal) onto cookie sheets about
   2.5 inches apart. 
7. Bake until cookies are lightly browned. (16 – 18 minutes in a regular
   oven, 12-14 in a convection).  Transfer to a wire rack to cool
   completely before storing.  Store in a sealed container if you want to
   keep them soft and chewy.