Cookie Monster Takes Manhattan!

I was born with a cookie in hand

Well, almost. You see, I come from a line of bakers that stretches back to the days of Columbus, to before they were even referred to as “cookies.” It was a rare day growing up that homemade dessert was not sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting to be pilfered by my sister and me. We stood on chairs as my mom did most of the mixing, but when her back was turned or she put a cookie sheet in the oven, our little kid fingers scooped up the dough and devoured it before getting caught.
Later  we would find out that she knew what we were doing all along! Salmonella Schmamonella. Never got sick!!! In other words, I eat cookie dough fairly regularly, without regret.

The Cowboy Cookie

Now I’ve seen, made and eaten many a cookie in my day, but only one cookie blurred the line between baking and breaking and entering. In college, my Texan friend went on and on about “cowboy cookies,” which my Mid-Atlantic self had never heard of. Well, because it’s college and we had no access to kitchen, we decided to go the extra mile—by breaking into our dorm dining hall and baking at 2am! In essence, we were also stealing I suppose, since we made use of the kitchen’s baking ingredients. 
What would be breaking the law in the “real world” doesn’t really pertain to the world at college. Or so I tell myself when I took Kurt Vonnegut’s coursebook out of his mailbox (I gave him mine!). That’s not really a federal offense. And come on, baking cookies? That’s pretty benign! And to show our appreciation, we’d sometimes leave a plate for the kitchen staff with a note “From the Kitchen Ghosts.” 

The Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks)3/4 cup brown sugar2 eggs1 tsp vanilla extract2 cups flour1 tsp baking soda3/4 tsp salt3 cups oats1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking soda. Fold in oats and chocolate chips. Taste some of the cookie dough, as you want to make sure it’s good! Bake for about 8 minutes.

The Best Cookie Recipes

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The cookie-makers proliferate in this city...

Maybe black and white cookies scream New York, but often those are relegated to the bottom shelf at the corner deli, sealed up in plastic for who knows how long. And did you ever notice, the black and white cookie is much more like cake? I’m just saying. The cookie options are much more diverse…are not so, black and white? Yes, a melting pot of treats. So, what have we got???

Cookie Venue Alternatives

Cookies are easy to find, what with America’s sweet tooth and the density of New York, but going to the local bakery or grocery is NOT your only option. The following are alternative excellent choices for those delicious circular baked goods.