I used to usually run out of ideas for hostess or neighbor gifts around Thanksgiving and Christmas and Hanukah and so on. But no longer!

I make and freeze these ready-to-bake Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and as long as they can travel from my freezer to theirs, it’s perfect! Something they need (who doesn’t need chocolate?), that doesn’t need to be displayed or worn, that they can use later after the onslaught of holiday sweets, and that says lovin’ from the oven….

If my giftee is far from my freezer, why I just bake them up!

Classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 3/4 cups oatmeal
2 cups chocolate chips
Cream together the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add Baking soda, powder, and salt and mix. Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix until combined. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

And here’s where the holiday magic comes in:
OR Roll into balls on parchment, freeze, directions for baking would then be:

*Keep cookie dough frozen until ready to bake*
Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place frozen cookie dough balls 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown around the edges but not overly browned. Let cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

PS You can jazz up this recipe with things like golden raisins and orange zest, but to my way of thinking, chocolate should stand on its own.

Photo credit: By Paul Martin (originally posted to Flickr as Oatmeal Cookies) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

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