I pulled out my cookie tome yesterday - Carole Walter's Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets - and went for the aptly-named Carole's Really Great Chocolate Chip Cookies. (I know, the name sounds like a cop-out - until you realize that these are in addition to the "Soft and Chewy Choc. Chip Cookies," the "Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies," the "Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter..." - Well, you get the point. After awhile, you run out of names.

No matter: I felt good about these babies. Of course, it was not until I walked the ten blocks home that I realized I'd forgotten the light corn syrup that the recipe called for. So, out came the laptop, in a frantic search for the proper ratio of sugar-to-liquid to make DIY corn syrup. (It's one cup granulated sugar to 1/4 cup water, cooked til thickened).

The cookies are made with 1/2 cup of 1-minute oatmeal to prevent them from spreading out too much while in the oven. It definitely seemed to help, although my first batch was a bit underdone (I cooked them for 12 minutes), and my second batch - at 14 minutes - was slightly crunchy. Although, I have to say, dipped in my coffee this morning, the latter batch was absolutely perfect. Perhaps I should have turned the cookie sheet halfway through, like Carole suggests, or gone with real corn syrup instead of my cheap-o substitute. No matter - despite my flops, they were still amazing. (Oh- and forgive the grainy laptop camera shot).

Check out the recipe after the jump.
Carole's Really Great Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted From: Carole Walter's Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets

You will need:

3/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup quick (1-minute) oatmeal
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/ 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces fine-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut up into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces, or 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (*I used plain ol' milk chocolate chips, and they tasted great)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (*I didn't have any walnuts, so I just added more chips)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place brown sugar, oatmeal, and granulated sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and process 3 minutes until oatmeal is finely ground.
3. In a medium bowl, strain together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix butter and corn syrup on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, and then add oatmeal-sugar mixture and mix for two minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix for one minute longer. Then add dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Fold in chocolate pieces and walnuts, if using.
5. Drop 1 1/2 inch mounds of dough from the tip of a tablespoon onto cookie sheets, about three inches apart. (Warning: the dough will be very sticky).
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until edges just begin to turn golden brown. To ensure even baking, rotate pans top to bottom and front to back halfway through.
6. Remove cookies and let stand two minutes before loosening and transferring to cooling racks.