The good news here is the same as the bad news: You can always be 8-10 minutes away from warm oatmeal – chocolate chip cookies (which are, objectively, the best kind of cookie). The cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves will have your friends asking what that added depth is to the cookie – it is up to you whether you want to reveal the secret ingredients or not!

Just make a batch of this cookie dough and freeze it in cookie-sized portions, and then pop as many as you want on to a cookie sheet and bake them when you are ready.

This is another recipe from the box – it originates from the top of the Quaker Oats oatmeal container, with just a few modifications.

Ingredients:

– 1 stick + 6 T unsalted butter, softened
– 3/4 c brown sugar, measured when firmly packed
– 1/2 c sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 t vanilla
– 1.5 c flour
– 1 t baking soda
– 1 t cinnamon
– 1/4 t nutmeg
– 1/4 t cloves
– 1/4 t kosher salt
– 3 c oats, either old fashioned or quick
– 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

How do I make it?

• In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars on medium until creamy.
• Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat again until combined and creamy.
• Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together, and then add them to the bowl. And the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix well.
• Add the oats and mix until distributed evenly; add the chocolate chips, and mix one more time.
• TO MAKE AHEAD: Using a cookie scoop, portion out as many cookies as you can fit onto a cookie sheet, and then place the cookie sheet in your freezer for 15 minutes (or more). Once they are cold and not sticky to the touch, remove the dough from the cookie sheet and place it in a ziplock freezer bag. You will probably have to repeat this procedure twice unless you have a large freezer.
• The dough will keep in your freezer (in the freezer bag) for a while – but I doubt you will be able to keep it there without baking it for more than a month or so!
• When you are ready to bake, place the frozen cookie dough on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2″ apart from each other, and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until they start to brown. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before you remove them to a cooling rack.

More info please?

If you have not tried Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips, now is the time to do so. They are delicious. I am not sure if this is the reason, but they have only 5 ingredients, and foods with less ingredients taste better, as a general rule.