OK, so you have Easter/Halloween/Christmas/Valentines’ leftover candy.  You can give it away at work.  Or you can bake with it.  Some of our favorite chocolate chunk cookies were created around leftover solid chocolate “footballs” found a week after Easter had come and gone.  No one can beat Mrs. Fields recipe, when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, but this recipe is pretty darn close!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soft butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-3 cups dry, old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 12 oz package (2-3 cups) chocolate candy, chopped into large chunks
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups pecan halves, broken into large pieces

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Using a mixer, cream the soft butter and the two kinds of sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and blend well.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Add to the mixing bowl containing the sugar and egg mixture.  Blend slowly, just until all the dry ingredients are moistened.  Remove the beaters, and add the chocolate and nuts, stirring by hand to keep the pieces as large as possible.

Line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.  Scoop balls of dough with a 1/4 cup measure and form in large balls.  You can probably get 16 balls on a single sheet.

Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes.  Remove from oven and bake the next batch.  Don’t try to bake two sheets at one time unless you have a professional convection oven.  Standard home ovens do not heat evenly enough to bake staked trays.