An old favorite

Yesterday, there were only two cookies left in the cookie jar. I knew one would be eaten by my three year old
niece -I think that's the main reason she wants to come over; "Aunt Tolleen, may I please have a tookie?"- and my husband would eat one when he got home from the barn. Yes, I had an empty cookie jar. I was perusing my recipe box and pulled out an old favorite, Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Chip Cookies. (I always sing Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style" when I bake these.... So I went to Neiman Marcus on a shoppin' spree-a and on the way I grabbed Sole and Mia.. Sorry for getting that stuck in your head, but it's a good one!)
I made this recipe a lot in high school, as you could probably guess if you saw my handwriting on the card, which was pretty bubbly at that time. I loved how they would flatten out and looked picture perfect every time.

I wanted to make the cookies yesterday, but because I had a pot roast in the oven for four hours, the cookies would have to wait... which I totally messed up on, by the way. The roast was in for two hours and the power went off for a moment. I went to the kitchen, to put the timer back on, but forgot to turn the oven back on! I didn't notice this mishap until right before my husband got home. I turned the oven back on and we went for Chinese. He says that was my plan all along. C'mon, I'm not that good.

Here we are, now baking cookies and the house smells amazing! (This is the recipe halved because it makes a lot of cookies.)

Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/8 cups ground oatmeal (I just put old fashioned oats in the food processor, or you can use oat flour)
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1- 12oz. package of chocolate chips
Half of a Hershey's chocolate bar, grated (I didn't have one, so I left that out.)
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add sugars and blend. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients until incorporated. Stir in chips and nuts.
Drop onto a parchment lined cookie sheet using a cookie scoop. Bake for about 10 minutes. The edges will be browned, but the centers not quite set. Take out of the oven and let them cool for two minutes. Let them completely cool on a wire rack.

As you can probably tell, one of the cookies didn't make it. Just like licking the batter bowl, eating a warm cookie right out of the oven is a baker's prerogative. <3