The Best Best Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Is there any treat more classic than a chocolate chip cookie? There are thousands of variations and I've made and eaten about half of those, but I'm swearing by these being my favorites.

Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

I think I was in college when I discovered how easy it was to freeze home-made cookie dough. One hour making a batch of cookies, then freezing them meant I could have home-made chocolate chip cookies at my beck and call (my freshman 10 was 20.) I've been zip-locking those goodies ever since. When I visit my mom, I make a few bags for her and my brother and his wife to tide them over til my next visit. When my kids have friends over they grab and gobble amazed that I "whipped up home-made cookies" so fast.

And when the mood strikes me (which is more often than needed), I can take out just one or two and bake them in my toaster oven for a single treat. For the money and time spent, I don't think you'll find a "roll" of bake-off cookie dough any easier.This recipe came about like many others; I was hungry. It happens a lot that way. I was sitting on the pier watching the Pacific Ocean and the wind was turning chilly and I still had a 2 mile walk ahead of me to get home. I was thinking how a nice hot bowl of oatmeal feels on chilly spring mornings. Then my mind turned that bowl of oatmeal (way too quickly) into a cookie.

If I'm going to have a cookie it would have to have chocolate too, and if I really went crazy I'd add pecans and dried fruit...nah, not just dried fruit - big dark cherries. In fact, I'd leave out the nuts so they wouldn't upstage the cherries and chips. I love cherries and cherries with chocolate. When I was little, my mom would bring home boxes of Chocolate-Covered Cherries. I'd bite each candy with excitement, as if the cherry was a surprise to me every time.

Those sweet day dreams carried me the whole 2 miles back home and into the kitchen to make up a batch of these:

RECIPE: The Best Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick (8 Tbls. butter)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup dark dried cherries, chopped

1) In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir together, then add the chocolate chips and cherries and toss to combine.

2) In another bowl, beat the butter, sugars and vanilla together. Then add the egg and beat again until creamy.

3) Add the creamy ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir well with a wooden spoon.

4) Scoop out cookie dough in about Tbls. size balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

**You can freeze the dough at this point (bag, label and return to the freezer for cooking later), or Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F. The secret is- DON'T OVER-BAKE. Take them out even if they don't look done and give them a chance to cool= chewy, chocolate and soft.

Remove, allow to cool and try to discipline yourself to not eat the whole pan in one sitting.