A Very Special Oatmeal Cookie

 Catherine turned the big 3-0  this weekend and she doesn't have a huge sweet tooth (anymore), but I still wanted to bake some goodies for her to help commemorate the milestone. So I went through my normal cupcake and cookie recipes, and felt that everything I've made so far would be a little too rich for Catherine. But I do remember these amazing oatmeal cookies Theresa had made a while ago, and I loved them. I remember even having a few cookies for breakfast cause they felt super healthy! So she shared with me the recipe and I was super excited to try them out!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup cane sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until toasty. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, brown sugar and cane sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, sift the flower, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well. Add the oats, raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips and pecans and mix just until combined. 

Using a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of the cookie dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.