Welcome back for Day 5 of the Virtual Advent Tour!

I thought today I’d share a recipe for cookies you could make at Christmas or at any time of the year, really. They make a tasty snack while writing Christmas cards, a quick dessert to take to a party, or an informal gift for the officemate who waters your plants while you’re on vacation.

I grew up with these cookies in regular rotation with chocolate chip, but after bringing them to an office potluck earlier this year, it occurs to me that they may not be as common as I’d always believed.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

3 cups oats (I use old-fashioned; my friend Sarah opts for quick. DO NOT use instant.)

1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips (or whatever constitutes 1 11-12-ounce package)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. (When I am in a hurry, I just make this all in a single bowl and add these individually after the next step. It comes out fine either way.)
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
4. Beat in flour mixture gradually.
5. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips.
6. Drop onto an ungreased baking sheet by the rounded tablespoon. (Do people actually measure their cookie dough this way? I do not. I either use a regular spoon or the small scooper my mother gave me for this purpose.)
7. Bake for 7-8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9-10 for crispier ones. (I tend toward the 9-minute mark, personally, but your mileage — and oven — may vary.)
8. Let rest for a couple minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way — or to your mouth to eat hot. (I often try to skip the resting step because space is at a premium in my kitchen, but it really is necessary if you don’t want your cookies to fall apart as you’re shifting them.)

The recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

See you back here tomorrow, when we’ll have a new author!