This recipe needs a name. I'd love to hear suggestions! It's based on the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe (the hoax recipe, not the official recipe) and one for Ranger cookies that Brookshire's used to sell.
• 2 cups butter
• 1 2/3 cups dark brown sugar
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups oatmeal
• 3 - 3 1/2 cups flour
• 16 oz. chopped dates
• 4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, grated
• 3 cups Rice Crispies
Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla.
Blend oatmeal to a fine powder in blender. This should yield approximately 2 1/3 cups.
I prefer finely chopped dates, so I generally chop packaged chopped dates again.
Mix together: flour, oatmeal powder, salt, baking powder, soda, and dates. Add to creamed mixture. Blend well.
Add chocolate, then Rice Crispies, blend well.
Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet, using the rounded teaspoon method,
or use a melon scooper - my preferred method. This scoop
Bake for 8 - 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Do not overbake, the cookie may not look "done". Remove from pan and allow to cool on cookie rack. All ovens seem to vary, so make adjustments to temperature and time after the first batch. My old copy of this recipe said 6 minutes. I've got a new oven since then, and the last time I made them, they required longer to cook.
Additional ingredients may include chopped candied fruits, coconut, toffee...
use your imagination. I often make these without the chocolate simply because
grating chocolate is a supreme pain. I've also made it with anywhere from 1/2 to 1 oz, and with miniature chocolate chips. If anyone has suggestions for a method of grating chocolate, I love to hear about that too.
This recipe makes approximately 12 dozen cookies. It can be halved, of course. I have a 30 year old 6 quart KitchenAid mixer
