Chocolate Chip-Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Like the Colonial Blueberries, I made these cookies late at night (and photographed them with the iPhone) while waiting for Julia and her cousins to come back from Outside Lands. I thought they'd make good road-trip cookies for the cousins returning to San Diego and for us driving down to LA. I was right on both counts.

These cookies were quite popular: they're chocolate-y but not overpoweringly so, and they have a healthy feel from all that oatmeal. You'll notice I tweaked the walnut-to-chocolate ratio, which seemed a bit overpowering to me.

Here's the recipe. Make these when you have a reason to snack.

Chocolate Chip-Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. (8 oz.) butter, room temperature

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/3 c. (1 oz.) cocoa

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. almond extract

1-1/2 c. (10.5 oz.) sugar

1 large egg

2 t. instant coffee

1/4 c. hot water (I used 1/4 c. hot coffee for the coffee + water)

1-1/4 c. (5 oz.) sifted flour

1 c. (6 oz.) chocolate chips (I used 8 oz.)

3 c. (9 oz.) quick oats

2-1/2 c. (10 oz.) walnuts, broken into medium pieces (I used 5 oz.)

Heat the oven to 350. Line some cookie sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

Cream the butter with the baking soda, salt, cocoa, vanilla, and almond extract until it is smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Add the egg and beat another minute. Dissolve the coffee in the water and stir that in, then add the flour, stirring just until incorporated. Remove the dough from the mixer and stir in the chocolate chips, oats, and walnuts by hand.

Drop tablespoonsful of dough onto a long piece of foil or waxed paper. Wet your hands and roll each piece of dough into a ball; put it on a lined cookie sheet and flatten it a bit.

Bake 14-16 minutes; they will come out of the oven soft but will become crisp. Let them cool a bit on the foil before transferring them to a rack.