Orange Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

I tried to shrink the name of these cookies somewhat... but I certainly didn't shrink the ingredient list (though there was not one item on this list that required a special trip to the market). But, just like the Lemon Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal Cookies, these cookies have a lot going on.

I solicited a great deal of feedback before embarking on this next cookie attempt... and so many great suggestions came my way! The last batch of cookies was such a hit that I could not fathom producing a poorer version of cookie... or why not just make the first ones again and keep the taste-testers satisfied?! This cookie only changed slightly from what I had dreamed of in my mind (or my mental mouth as coined by Food Philosophy) but I'm already scheming on how the next one will taste. What do you think of a chocolate chocolate (cocoa plus chocolate chunks) cookie with chili heat?? Kirby and Cori seem to think it would be a good one... and I can't help but agree!

So, I go to share this wonderful cookie with you and discover that, in my reckless cookie making abandon, I completely neglected to take one photo of the finished product. I blame my excitement over getting this cookie into the hands, and mouths, of some important people. All hope was not lost though... apparently one lone cookie managed to escape all clutches and was squirreled away in a secret cache. Count yourself lucky that there are now photos of a cookie... and not a post-it note on a plate that reads, "a cookie was once here."

But before I get too far into this imaginary cookie-land where the possibilities are limitless, let's take a moment to enjoy this cookie... Orange Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal... yum.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks butter (1 stick = 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of half of one orange and 1 tablespoon of its juice
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (if you don't have it, then I'd just add the rest of the orange juice)

1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chunks

Heat your oven to 350F. Cream the butter and sugars together, then add in your vanilla, egg, orange zest, juice and Grand Marnier. In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking soda, chili powder, ginger and salt). Then mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture. Chop your walnuts, then add both the walnuts and chocolate chunks to the cookie base.

Spoon your batter by a teaspoonful or tablespoonful on to a greased baking sheet. Bake roughly ~10 minutes for teaspoon-size or ~12 minutes for tablespoon-size. Check your cookies a few minutes before they are "supposed" to be done... just in case they are cooking fast or slow! Something impacted the cooking time for me (maybe they were smaller than the last) and mine looked more than done when I checked them at 10 minutes! So, I'm starting checking at 8 minutes and pulling them at 9 or 10. (As compared to the LCPO cookies which needed about 12 minutes.) Remove the trays from the oven and leave the cookies on the tray for a few minutes to set, then transfer each to a wire rack to cool completely.

Then hide some in your own cookie cache...