You know they're going to be good if you can't stop eating the batter...

It pains me to confess that I had to ditch the remainder of uneaten bread pudding. I have to remember to invest in a smaller baking dish that is approximately half the size of a 9x9 square. I guess I'm a bit tired of sweets. Did I actually just say that?

Well, I guess it was short lived, since I got the cookie making vibe this afternoon. I decided I could not control my desire for butterscotch chips, and the only thing I know of making with them is Oatmeal Scotchies. But given my slightly less than normal sweet tooth (most used 1 1/2 c. of sugar!) and a full cup of butter in every single recipe I looked at, I knew I had to do some tweaking so here it is:

Better for You Oatmeal Scotchies:

• 8 T. (1 stick) butter (c'mon, if you are going to make cookies, you have to have SOME butter!)
• 1/4 c. veg oil
• 3/4 c. brown sugar (light or dark)
• 2 eggs
• 3 c. rolled oats
• 1/4 c. flax meal
• 1 c. white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur, but whole wheat pastry flour is probably fine)
• 1/2 t. cinnamon (I used the last of my Cassia...)
• pinch of salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. vanilla
• one 11 oz package butterscotch chips
  

Now since I didn't know what I was doing until it happened, I will divulge my processes. You can assemble according to your favorite cooking making method if you like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

In a standing mixer (mine was fitted with my new beater blade), combine softened butter and oil and mix thoroughly. Add brown sugar and continue to mix until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating a full minute between additions.

Add rolled oats. Stir. Add flax meal (just grind whole flax seeds in a coffee grinder if you have them instead). Stir. Add whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda and vanilla. Stir.

Add one package of butterscotch chips. I know this is a artificial flavor, but sometime nothing beats it! And, since I have this fab beater blade, I added the chips and then used the machine to stir.

Scoop onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake about 10 minutes. Depending on your size, you may need to adjust more or less. I used a scoop about this size:

And here's my hand, for reference:

One of these days I'll get around to measuring how many t. this actually is. All I know for certain is that I made these particular cookies by compacting the scoop and leveling it off. Normally I subscribe to the larger cookies, fewer scoops, but these seemed to thrive on their smaller portioned shape. I pressed the top of each one slightly before baking too, since they don't spread much.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a more substantial and less greasy cookie due to my cutting down on all the butter. They passed the Husband test as well. Boy-O swiped 3 off the cooling rack, but I rescued the third one before it was devoured. And as for me, I ate enough of the batter to be satiated until later this evening, when, no doubt, the sugar will call to me once more.