Oatmeal Heath Bar Cookies

Friends, the weekend is almost upon us! And quite frankly, I feel as though this weekend could use some baked goods. The last few weeks have been completely and totally insane, and I am ready to spend the weekend with a good book, a beer or three, and a pile of delicious cookies. Doesn’t that sound heavenly??

This is, by far, the most-requested cookie I make. I have been making them for probably 7 or 8 years now, and my friends and family not-so-subtly suggest that I make them all. the. time. I cannot say I blame them, as these cookies are amazingly delicious – chewy, full of toffee and chocolate, a little bit salty and a little bit sweet. Perfection in cookie form, really.

Oatmeal Heath Bar Cookies
Makes about 6 dozen (I use a 2t cookie scoop – you can also roll them into balls about 1.25″ in diameter to get the same amount)

2 sticks butter, softened (but not too soft!)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 t baking soda
1/2 t kosher salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups oats (quick-cooking or regular, it doesn’t matter either way)
1 bag Heath Bar bits (the kind that is toffee + chocolate… if you can only find the toffee bits, you can use 2/3 cup of those, and 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips instead)

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°. Cream together your butter and two sugars. Once you have done that, add your eggs one at a time, mixing each until just incorporated. Add your vanilla extract as wel.

2.) In a small bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this dry mixture to your wet mixture in 3 additions – mixing JUST until each addition is incorporated, then scraping down the sides of the bowl and adding the next.

3.) Next, add your oats. I like to add 2 cups of oats, mix until incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl – and then add the last cup of oats and the Heath Bar bits at the same time. Again, mix until everything just comes together – you don’t want to overmix the dough and end up with tough cookies!

4.) Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat liner (don’t skip this step – the toffee will melt and stick to a plain cookie sheet like CRAZY). Roll or scoop your dough into balls, and place them about 2-3″ apart on the sheets. Bake for 7-9 minutes (in my oven, 8:30 minutes is PERFECT), or until the edges are very lightly browned, and the majority of the cookie looks very light and puffy. Make sure you keep an eye on them and don’t let them overcook – who likes a hard, crispy oatmeal cookie?? No one, that’s who.

5.) If you are baking two sheets worth of cookies at a time, be sure to set a timer and rotate the two sheets (the sheet from the top rack moves to the bottom rack, and vice versa) halfway through the baking time. I am fanatical about the baking time and texture of my cookies (try and act surprised), so I only bake one sheet at a time.

6.) Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then gently move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. You want to give them at least 4-5 minutes to cool on the sheets, or they’ll break apart as you try to transfer them to the cooling racks – these are the things we must do to achieve a perfectly chewy, gooey cookie!

You can store the cookies in an airtight container for about 5 days… but I can basically guarantee you that by day three, you’ll be needing a bigger pants size and wondering where the hell all the cookies went. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU.

*Bonus tip for the upcoming summer months: Make these cookies into ice cream sandwiches! Once you roll your dough into balls, chill them in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes before baking them – this will give you a slightly taller, thicker, more robust cookie. Let the cookies cool completely, and then place a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the flat side of one cookie, and top it with the flat side of another cookie. Lightly smush the sandwich together, wrap in wax paper, and serve!

Cookies make life worth living,
Tina

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