ice cream sandwich oatmeal cookies

i made these for diana's 26th bday/engagement party for immediate family that we held three nights ago. they did not seem to flatten out as suggested below, but they were good nonetheless. the first i made with cherry garcia, to test. the party sandwiches were assembled by elizabeth using ben and jerry's dulce de leche. they were great. i put one cookie in the drawer in the small antique English table we use in the kitchen, because when david bought the table i envisioned putting surprises for grandchildren in that drawer. he is 19 months old and understood immediately my aim.

the recipe is heidi's from 101. she has great stuff.

As with most cookies, I bake these to order. The dough freezes well. Bake off as many as you want, then portion off any leftover dough into appropriately sized balls. Double-bag, then freeze. You can bake these straight out of the freezer, you'll just need to tack on a few minutes of extra baking time (because the dough will be colder). Your cookies won't be quite as flat or snappy, but they are delicious just the same, and will still work for ice-cream sandwiches.

2 3/4 cup / 9 oz / 255 rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g whole wheat flour
2/3 cup / 1 1/2 oz / 45 g wheat bran (or germ)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 cup / 8 oz / 225 g unsalted butter

1 cup / 6.5 oz / 185 g natural cane sugar or light brown sugar

1 cup / 6 oz / 170 g firmly packed Muscovado or dark brown sugar

2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

10 oz / 285 g semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped and shaved into chunks and splinters

Preheat the oven to 350F / 180 C, with racks placed in the middle. Line two baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, wheat bran, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Either by hand, or using an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar for 3+ minutes, scraping down sides a few times along the way. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla - scraping the sides of the bowl another time or two. Add the dry mixture, and stir until everything barely comes together. Then stir in the chocolate, mixing until it is evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Use a small ice-cream scoop, spoon, or 1/4 cup measuring cup, to make uniform dough balls. I used a metal 1/4-cup measuring cup, filling it about 3/4 full. Arrange each cookie at least 3-inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. They'll flatten out quite a bit. For extra crisp cookies, bake until deeply, deeply golden on the bottom, about 15+ minutes. Rotate the pans once about 2/3 the way through baking - back to front, top to bottom. Like your cookies a little chewier? Bake for less time. Cool on a rack.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.