Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was feeling blah today... and with the weather as gloomy as it was, I decided it was time to bust out some homemade cookies.  Growing up, my mom and I always made cookies on cold, rainy days, such as today.  My mom spent the afternoon with the boys and I, so I invited her to stay and make cookies with Dylan and I.  This is her recipe, I cannot claim it as my own.  You can use chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips... basically any flavor "chip" they make.  I prefer the good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie, with a glass of cold milk.  Yum!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 granulated sugar
3/4 light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 package chocolate chips (12oz bag)
1/2 cup nuts (walnuts, pecans), chopped (optional)

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees. 
2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix together.  Set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, add butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.  Beat with a mixer until smooth.
4.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing completely with butter, sugar and vanilla.  This mixture should be very creamy when both eggs are beaten in.
5.  Slowly add in the flour mixture, spoonfuls at a time, until all is added and mixed well.
6.  Mix in quick oats, chocolate chips and nuts by hand.
7.  Place cookies by spoonfuls onto baking sheet.  Should be able to fit 12 cookies on each baking sheet.  Bake 9-11 minutes.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.
8.  Should yield about 3 dozen cookies (depending on spoonful sizes).

Side Notes:
1.  I use whole wheat flour, rather than all-purpose flour.  It doesn't change the taste or texture of the cookie and adds lots of nutrients that the white flour does not contain.
2.  I like to sometimes split my batter before I add the chocolate chips and nuts.  I will mix half the batter with one type of chip and the other half with another type. 
3.  Adding coconut is a great flavor booster too.  It goes especially well with chocolate chip and butterscotch chip cookies.  To bad Denis like coconut! :-(  I love it!

Hope you enjoy the cookies!!! :-)