'Everything But the Pantry Cabinet' Cookies

This is a cookie for people who love the Ben and Jerry's variety of desserts-- loaded with a lot of "stuff". This recipe is designed to be forgiving, adaptable, and is best made when the cookie craving strikes, and you have to work with what is on hand (and only want to clean one bowl)! There is a great variety of textures and flavors in here, which is also to say, a lot of opportunities to improvise with the ingredients you have at home.

1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, softened*

2/3 cup (125 grams) light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 1/2 cups (120 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/4 cups 'Mix in's' (see note)**

*I have also subbed in coconut oil for the fat if you are looking for less dairy. If you use the coconut oil, after shaping cookies, let dough set in fridge for one hour. The oil needs to be chilled before going into the oven, or else the cookies fall apart. This also does give the cookies a fast coconut flavor, which I like to compliment with dark chocolate and nuts.

**Oh mix-ins. I truly will use whatever I have on hand. Half a bag of trail mix? Sure. A random halloween M&M pack? You bet. A surplus of peanuts that were bought for one recipe and never used again? Throw them in here, my friend. The question to ask yourself is what you want out of this cookie, and then pick mix-in to fill that craving. Truly, I set out my one-cup measuring cup, and just pour in bits from bags of stuff until it is full, and then add a 1/4 cup of raisins, because that is my taste.

Pre- heat your oven to 350 degrees. Have a cookie sheet out and ready.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter (or coconut oil), sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. This can be done in a mixer, but if you don't have that time or energy, use a baking spatula and some elbow grease.

Add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Then, stir in the oats, and mix-ins. This last step should be done by hand if you opted to use a mixer. Mixers tend to pulverize mix-ins.

Depending on what fat you opted you use, your dough may seem kind of thin.

If you used butter:

You *can* put the cookies straight into the oven, but they will end up less thick and delicious than if you put the dough in the fridge for a half hour. Shape before or after, it works either way (but is easier to handle after, if you are using your hands).

If you used coconut oil:

Chill in the fridge for minimum one hour. The dough needs it unless you want all the fat to run out.

When going in to the 350 degree oven you definitely set, place the cookies two inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), and take them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking in the middle.

Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool. (Read; Let them sit on the sheet for five minutes before eating)

Enjoy :)