Date & Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you have anything luxurious in your life? There are so many degrees of luxuriousness in the world that my luxuries are seemingly simple. Washing my hair, but also having the opportunity to take the proper amount of time to style my hair - you know - add product, blow dry throughly, straighten with a straightener and style so that you don't need to wash your hair again for 4 days because time is a tickin' as two little people need to have their cereal N.O.W. Manicured fingernails. That is a luxury. A meal at a restaurant without children present. Properly cooked asparagus. Flying on an airplane to go on family vacation. A cookie. Nothing too obnoxious. Good hair, clean fingernails, eating out once in awhile, steamed vedge, an annual vacation and cookies. Is that high maintenance? Maybe so. Maybe not. Depends on your life view, but I'm going to bet that everyone in the world counts a cookie chock full of oatmeal, dates, and chocolate chips a true luxury. Because if you don't consider that luxury you must bake this cookie now as to discovery simple luxury. So chewy. So healthful tasting, but in a happy way. Get yourself some dates. Some oats. Some chocolate chips. And get yourself in the kitchen.

Pile of dates that I cannot recall the varietal name. The more common dates are Medjool dates, which these are NOT Medjool dates, these dates are the ones that cost $1 LESS at the store. Did I write down the name? Can I find it on Google? No. I can do neither. But what I can tell you is buy the least expensive dates. They all taste and act the same. Don't pay more for a name difference. That's just simple Date Economics. A girlfriend of mine told me her grandson loves dates and eats them by the handful providing him with days of regularity. After purchasing a my very own container of dates to provide my babies with some healthy snacking they sat in the fridge for a good month. I decided it was time to repurpose these dates after I discovered in Momofuku's Compost Cookies how easy it is to make a cookie out of all the junk in your house these dates were destined for cookies. 

My stand-mixer is used at every possible opportunity I have. If my stand-mixer could peel garlic I would let it, but I guess it just stirs. Lame. You're going to inform me stand-mixers have attachments to conquer kitchen tasks beyond my wildest dreams, aren't you? I should do that. Get attachments to complete my wild dreams. Is there an attachment for washing the dishes?

After you mix up the dough in your dishwashing stand mixer, chill the dough until you can't handle the waiting for a fresh cookie anymore. Then scoop the chilled dough up with an ice cream scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, which by the way - why have I been so late onto the ice cream scoop used for portioning cookie dough train? It's seriously the best way to portion out cookie dough. I know why. It's because I like simplicity when it comes to kitchen gadgets. I like to have a knife, a cutting board and some pots. Something to stir with and keep the clutter away. An ice cream scoop is worth the clutter. Bake 'um up quick and you'll be serving gems of crispity, chewity, chocolately snackyness that children and adults will love. 

Printable Recipe Here

Cooking Notes: This recipe uses 1 tablespoon of corn syrup. I hate corn syrup. I avoid high-fructose corn syrup like the plague. Yet, this recipe contains corn syrup because after I discovered Compost Cookies and did some reading in the Milk Bar Cookbook the author encouraged using just a teensy bit in cookies to extend their shelf life and give them an utter chewiness that is in no other way attained. As much as I don't have a problem getting cookies off the counter in less than 3 days, I gave in. I used 1 tablespoon of corn syrup. Forgive me? 

Secondly, the recipe also contains dry milk powder because again, Milk Bar told me to do it, but it can easily be left out if you don't want to purchase a bag of milk powder you'll never know what to do with again. If you are going to go ahead and use the milk powder it can easily be found in any regular baking aisle in reasonable sized bags which you can use a tablespoon or two in baked goods to give them great texture and tenderness. 

Date & Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe adapted from finecooking.com

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated cane sugar

1 tablespoon corn syrup
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons dry milk powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups chopped dates

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Prheat oven to 350ºF. 

Using a hand-mixer or a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter in the bottom of a large bowl on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until creamy. Add brown sugar, cane sugar, and corn syrup and beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes more until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and vanilla, beat until just combined. If needed, use a spatula to scrape down the sides. Add in flour, dry milk powder, baking soda, sea salt, and cardamom. Mix over medium speed until just combined. Slowly stir in oats, chopped dates and chocolate chips. Chill dough for 30 minutes. 

Using a large ice cream scoop to measure out the dough, scoop onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes until just cooked through in the center and brown around the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes. Move to cooling rack with a spatula and cool completely. Store on countertop for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

What do you find luxurious? 

I found this vacation at Disney World to be quite luxurious.