¾ cup butter, softened – 1 ½ sticks
1 ½ cups packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups flour
¾ t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup pecans, chopped
4 oz. chocolate, chopped fine (I used a Hershey bar, surprisingly)
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and
fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated, about
30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Reduce mixer speed to
low and slowly add the flour, baking powder, soda and salt until combined,
about 30 seconds. Add oats, pecans, cherries and chocolate and mix well.
Working with ¼ cup of dough at a time, roll dough into balls and
place them on baking trays about 2 ½ inches apart. Flatten the cookies to
1-inch thickness with your palm.
Bake cookies until edges are set and beginning to brown but centers
are still soft and puffy, 8 to 10 minutes. (The cookies will look raw between
the cracks and seem underdone.) Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10
minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Makes 24.
They stayed fresh for quite a few days. From The Perfect Cookie, America’s Test
Kitchen, with a few modifications.
The dark brown sugar gives these cookies a richer flavor.
These also work well as a freezer cookie. Just roll in logs, cover with plastic wrap and then foil and freeze. Let thaw 15 minutes and then slice into slices and bake as usual.