Alan's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies

I can't take credit for creating this recipe.  My mom got it from the mother of a high school friend, and I've been making these cookies since I was in high school.

I've taken them to work, parties, and even delivered them warm to some friends who were working at my morning radio station - still warm.

They're almost an instant bliss hit, especially for hung over comedians.  (She was at the radio station, and she said on the air "These cookies are so good I want to mount the whole tray".)

Now for some words of warning - don't eat the frozen dough.  Not because anything bad will happen, but I've known people to eat an entire batch of raw frozen cookie dough and they never got a baked cookie out of it.  Don't make these if you're on a diet, either.

If you have tremendous willpower, these are great to have in the freezer so you can just slice two off and bake them in the toaster oven.  If you let them rest on paper towels long enough, they'll get chewy and stay that way forever.  If you want them crispy, put them in an airtight container as soon as they've cooled off.  And lastly, make sure they've cooled off enough so you don't burn your tongue or the roof of your mouth on the melted chocolate.  It may be worth it, but it still hurts.

So, here you are:

Alan’s Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup solid white Crisco (do NOT substitute)

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups uncooked oatmeal (not the quick-cooking/instant kind)

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli double chocolate ones)

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix first 3 ingredients together until fairly smooth.  Stir in eggs and vanilla.  Sift the 3 dry ingredients together and stir well.  Mix in the oatmeal.  Then mix in the choc chips and nuts.

Shape dough into rolls, wrap in wax paper and freeze at least 2 hours before baking.

Preheat oven to 350.  Slice dough into ½” thick rounds, place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden.

If you want to use the drop cookie method and avoid the freezing time, it works well too.