Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar

• 2 lightly beaten eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla esscence

• 2 tbsp water

• 1 1/2 cups bitter-sweet chocolate chips

• 1 cup chopped pecan nuts

• 1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

• 3 cups oats

Method:

• Place sticks of butter in a thick-bottomed medium sized stainless-steel saucepan. (It's important to use a saucepan that has a light, reflective interior like stainless steel; otherwise you won't be able to see the butter browning.) Heat on medium. Melt the butter, whisking so that the butter melts evenly. Continue to cook the butter. As it cooks, the butter will foam up, and then the foam will subside. Whisk frequently to check underneath the bubbly surface. At some point, browned bits will form at the bottom of the pan and the butter will begin to smell nutty. Watch carefully, it's easy for the butter to go from browned to burn. When the browned bits begin to form, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the melted butter, with the browned bits, into a glass or metal bowl. Allow to cool a bit while you prepare the other ingredients.

• Vigorously whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.

• Preheat oven to 175°C. Place the browned butter in a mixer bowl. Add the brown and white sugar. Beat on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for three more minutes on medium speed until smooth and light.

• Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the butter sugar egg mixture. Stir in 2 Tbsp water.

• Stir in the chocolate chips, and the pecans and shredded coconut (if using). Stir in the oatmeal. Up to this point you can make the dough up to a day and a half ahead and store in the refrigerator.

• Butter two large cookie sheets, or line them with parchment paper. Spoon out heaping tablespoonfuls of cookie dough and lay them on the cookie sheet. Make sure you have about 2" of space between each cookie, as they will flatten a little and spread on the cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10 minutes, or until they are just brown around the edges, but still soft in the center. They will firm up as they cool. (If you want them crispier, you can bake them from 12-14 minutes. 10 minutes will help yield a chewier cookie.)

• Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool for two or three minutes on the hot baking sheet. Then, using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the still-hot cookies to a wire rack to cool. They will continue to be soft until completely cooled. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container.