Pony Express Oatmeal Cookies
A few weeks ago, I was talking to our mail carrier, Wendy and told her that I was excited for the new Bugs Bunny stamps and was wondering if the post office in town was carrying them. She said they had them so I told her I would head to town later that week to get them. The next day when I opened the mailbox, there they were, the Bugs Bunny stamps with a note from Wendy. It’s the little things in life like this sweet gesture that make me so happy.
The next day, I decided Wendy needed cookies! So I baked a batch, packaged them up and popped them in the mailbox for her. A few days later I saw her again when she was delivering the mail, (and a milk bone for Claudette of course!) And she asked if I would share the recipe for the cookies, so I told her that I have a website and the recipe was on it. She loved the website and asked if I had an oatmeal cookie recipe and thus, the pony express oatmeal cookies were born!
Think of these cookies as a blank canvas, you can add whatever you’d like into the dough. I created a list below of some of my favorite add-ins.
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups rolled oats
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, combined the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat a few more seconds. Scrape the bowl again and beat another 30 seconds. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Add the oats and mix just to combine. Using a medium scoop, scoop 8 cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until just golden on the edges but still underdone in the middle. Remove form the oven and let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the sheet pan before transferring them to a wire rack.
Some tips:
As much as I love to bake cookies right away, letting the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour really helps lock in the flavors. Chilled dough will also allow for that perfect chewy center with slightly crispy edges. If the dough is a bit warm, the cookies will spread too thin and you’ll loose the chewy texture. Under baking the cookies is also important if you want a chewy center. The middle should still look pale in color and have a sort of shiny look to it. The cookies will continue to bake a bit as they cool on the sheet pan.
Add-ins:
These pony express oatmeal cookies are great as is but if you want to get creative, here are some of my favorite add-ins:
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups m&ms
- 3/4 cup peanut butter chips and 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chunks and a sprinkling of sea salt on top of each cookie
