• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Beat together butter and sugar until cream.
• Add eggs and beat until they blend into the butter/sugar mixture. *Baker’s note: Don't whip like you would for a cake. We don't want to beat air into this dough like we could cake batter. Mix the eggs just until they disappear, then stop beating.
• To the sugar mixture, add the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
• Mix in the oats.
• Separate into three bowls, and add your "add-ins".

Kitchen Sink Oatmeal Cookies: Add 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans, 1/4 cup of raisins, 1/4 c chopped dried cherries (you want them the same size as the raisins)

• Now that the dough is made, they are ready to bake. Here are two tips that will help your cookies get to perfection:
• Get yourself a "disher" or ice-cream scoop. It makes sure that each cookie is the same size.
• Scoop your cookie dough onto a baking pan, and place in the fridge or freezer for at least 1 hour up to 24 hours. Why? When you place fresh (room temp) cookie dough in a hot oven, the butter starts to melt quickly, and the cookies will spread into each other before they have a chance to set into round shape. Cooling also helps relax the glutens in the cookie, making the cookie more tender.

Step 3: Baking Your Cookies

• Baking time depends on the size of your cookie dough. Larger cookies have longer baking times.
• If you use rounded tablespoonfuls, the cookies should bake about 8-10 minutes.
• I used a 1.33 ounce scoop, which is about a heaping 1/8 Cup. It took about 18 minutes to bake.
• You know your cookies are "done" when they are brown around the edges and golden on top, and don't appear raw or wet on top. If you're not sure, you can always insert a toothpick in the center of the cookie.
• Once the cookies are baked, remove from the oven and let them cool for 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet. This rest period allows the sides to get firm, making it easier to remove from the pan and onto a cooling rack.