DELIGHTFUL COOKIES A LA MRS. FIELDS & NEIMAN MARCUS OMAC

Steps:

• In a food processor. A)-GRATE: 8 oz Hershey chocolate bar & set aside in separate dish. B)-Measure 5 cups (Old Fashioned) Oatmeal. Put small amounts of the oatmeal into a food processor until it turns to powder/flour (Add oatmeal flour to 4 cups white flour in step 2 below).
• Combine: In a VERY large bowl (I use a 13 quart mixing bowl.) 4 cups white flour (with above Oatmeal flour included), 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, & 2 teaspoons baking soda.
• CREAM together 2 cups (1 lb.) butter (Softened & whipped before adding sugars), 2 cups (1 lb.) dark brown sugar, 2 cups granulated white sugar.
• To the creamed mix add: 4 large eggs (ONE at a time), and 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Mix together well.
• To the DRY ingredients (flour/oatmeal mixture in a VERY large bowl), ADD the CREAMED mixture. Stir together (with a VERY STRONG, very large spoon - wooden?) all ingredients. Mix well with the SPOON. (Do NOT use a mixer. This recipe has burned out 2 mixers). ***THE MIXTURE WILL BE VERY DRY!***.
• Stir in, 8 oz (grated) Hershey chocolate bar, 24 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3 cups chopped nuts (any kind) OPTIONAL additions 24 oz (3 cups) raisins, craisins, dried cherries etc. Use your imagination! ; ).
• Form (one inch/two tablespoons) ping pong-ball sized cookies. I use a cookie-scoop (like an ice cream scoop) dipped in cold water before each use. (Wal-Mart sells cookie scoops in 2008). The raw dough balls freeze very well. I FLASH freeze them on a cutting board before freezer-bagging them together. KEEP SOME IN THE FREEZER FOR FRESH, HOMEMADE COOKIES ANYTIME!
• Cook on an UNgreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees: Soft cookies = 6 to 10 minutes.Crispy cookies = 10 to 14 minutes. (Mine are 12 minutes).
• COOL cookies on the cookie sheet (until the next batch comes out of the oven) because they are too soft to remove right away. (4 cookie sheets = 1 baking, 1 cooling, 1 prepped, 1 cleaned & drying.). Cookies CRISP as they cool.
• ENJOY!