Chocolate Chip Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate-Chip Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 33.

Since my last post and the near-disaster with the Irish Whiskey Cake and stove failure, we are in possession of a new range. It is much nicer than the one that just died. This one has a convection bake option which I have never used before. I love it so far and have been trying to get used to the new features. 

The first Maida recipe on the new stove are these cookies which turned out good. They are extremely nutty and I even cut back on the amount of nuts called for in the recipe. I had never really noticed it before but almost all of Maida Heatter's cakes and cookies call for nuts. I don't mind that although I am not a big fan of walnuts and sometimes use pecans in their place. I went ahead and used walnuts for these.

If you want these to remain soft, keep them stored inside an airtight container. Otherwise, they will become pretty hard - still good and edbile but if you prefer a soft cookie then do not leave them out. The recipe will make about 46 cookies.

1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. instant coffee
1/4 cup hot water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 cups quick cooking rolled oats
2 1/2 cups walnuts, broken into small pieces (NOTE: I used half this amount)

Preheat the oven to 350 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and set aside.

Beat the butter until soft. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and then the sugar. Beat in the egg.

Mix the water and coffee and add.

Add the sifted dry ingredients in small amounts until combined.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the oats and chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.

 Place rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto the lined sheets.

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the tops of the cookies bounce back when softly pressed. The cookies are fairly thin so that is a bit difficult to do. The cookies will be soft when you remove them from the oven but will harden as they cool. Keep them on the pan for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Store airtight.