Complainer Oatmeal Cookies

A sheet of complainer oatmeal cookies with fewer oats, more flour, and all brown sugar.

I heard the architect Frank Gehry say in a documentary about his design process that he needs to look at a building model for a while and wait to see what irritates him about it.

He’s right. We don’t fix things that don’t irritate us. Creativity and problem-solving require the itch of irritation first.

Lucky me. I hit the irritation itch jackpot with the two interesting young people who live in my house. I lovingly refer to them as the Complainers. Everything irritates them. Everything. Things I never imagined could be irritating irritate them.

Oatmeal cookies are a good example. The Complainers aren’t so wild about mine, which are apparently too oaty and too crunchy. Well all right then, the new recipe has equal amounts of flour and oats (less oaty) and all brown sugar to soften them up a bit. They’re pretty terrific.

Thank you, my Complainers, for once again providing the platform for creativity and the inspiration to do something about it.

Complainer Oatmeal Cookies

minmerrell Complainer Oatmeal Cookies contain equal amounts of oats and flour and always turn out perfectly. Cookies Complainer Oatmeal Cookies European Print This

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (add more, less or none if you like)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Add-in options:
• 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips
• Heaping cup of raisins
• Heaping cup of chopped nuts (I especially like sliced almonds)
• Heaping cup of shredded coconut

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350Fº.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer.
Add the eggs and blend well.
Add the flour, oats, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla. Blend well.
Stir in your choice of add-ins.
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls (use two teaspoons, one for scooping, one for scraping) onto a baking sheet about an inch apart.
Bake about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Makes at least 50 cookies, all depends on how many add-ins you added and how big you make them.

Notes

Do a test cookie if you like. If they seem too flat, add a couple more tablespoons of flour, but I've never had this problem. At least I haven't heard any complaints yet. Update! I made these with 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate ground up in the food processor and a can of salted ground up macadamia nuts. Still love the basic cook and I keep adding interesting things.