Everything you will need:
Ingredients (makes about 25 cookies)
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, room temp
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp molasses (optional, but recommended)
1 cup flour
1.5 cups instant oatmeal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Equipment:
Mixer, or strong arms
Cookie sheets
Refrigerator or freezer space
Steps:
Set 1 stick of butter out to soften at room temp.
Preheat your oven to 350°F
Once butter is soft:
Cream together:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
This is the consistency of "creamed butter and sugar". No lumps. Much easier with room temp butter.
Add (in no particular order):
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp molasses (optional, but recommended)
Mix well, then add remaining ingredients:
1 cup flour
1.5 cups instant oatmeal
(Optional) Add:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mix well
For Gooey Cookies:
Place cookie dough in the refrigerator or freezer to cool for 15-20 minutes
Once cooled, spoon tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart
Bake for 9-12 minutes at 350°F, or until desired texture is achieved
Cookies will puff up in the oven and collapse slightly when cooled
Fresh out of the oven, still puffy
These were baked the full 12 minutes. Still soft when cooled
I intentionally underbaked these a little, ~9 minutes
Ok, now let's discuss
The big decision for me when making these cookies is whether or not to add chocolate chips. On the one hand, pretty much everything is better with chocolate, but on the other hand the chocolate can overpower the cinnamon and nutmeg flavors that I love about these cookies. Of course, a split batch is always possible.
One key to really gooey cookies (any cookies, not just these) is chilling the dough before baking. Having the dough start at a lower temperature creates a bigger temperature differential from the outside of the cookie to the inside as the cookie bakes. That does a few things for us:
The outside bakes and solidifies before the inside of the cookie can, creating a crispy shell that prevents the inside from expanding as much.
The dough is firmer to start, so it doesn't flatten out immediately when placed in the oven. This helps the core of the cookie stay cooler longer
With the cookie core at a lower temperature, it bakes/solidifies later than the outside (or not at all), creating a soft gooey center.
Beautiful!