You know a cookbook is a keeper when you pick it up as you would a novel, and page through carefully, taking in the words and photographs and recipes as if they were classic literature. You savor each page, admiring the layout, drooling over the photos, and scheming about what recipe you'll try next.

That is what Carole Walter's Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets is to me. I'll read it when I'm not even planning on baking, for fun or inspiration. Walter, an accomplished pastry chef, divides her book into twelve categories, including drop cookies, "big boys," rugelach, biscotti, meringues and more, each with its own glossy, full-color photograph and often accompanied by a sweet story about her children or grandchildren.

The drop cookies chapter alone is enough to stop you in your tracks. Rustic Maple Pecan cookies mingle with Crystallized Ginger and Macadamia Wafers and rub shoulders with Zach's Chocolate Coconut Devils.

Overwhelmed, I went with a safe bet: the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
The recipe makes about 54 cookies, which is a little intense, so I cut it in half, and, to my roommate's delight, still wound up with plenty. (Here, I provide the original, 54-cookie recipe). I also didn't have any walnuts on hand, so I simply omitted them. I can only imagine how much more decadent they would have been...

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh dark brown sugar
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal, divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (If you don't have any on hand, simply mix 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar with two teaspoons of water.
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

-Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter or spray cookie sheets.
-Place brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the oatmeal, and granulated sugar in a food processor and process for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes until the oatmeal is powdery.
-In a medium bowl, strain together flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir in remaining oatmeal and set aside.
-Mix together butter with corn syrup until smooth and lightened inc color. Add oatmeal-sugar mixture in three additions, mixing well after each. Then incorporate rest of dry ingredients slowly, mixing until just blended. Using a rubber spatula, fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
-Drop golf-ball sized amounts of dough (about 1 tablespoon each) onto the sheets, about three inches apart. If dough feels crumbly toward bottom of bowl, simply shape balls with your fingers.
-Bake 10 to 12 minutes until the edges just begin to turn a golden brown. Do not overbake.
-Remove cookie sand let stand for two minutes before transferring to cooling racks.
-These cookies have a long shelf life and travel well.