Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cookies

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 3 cups walnut halves or 3 cups pecan halves
• 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups rice krispies or 4 cups special k cereal
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 4 cups old fashioned oats
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Recipe

• 1 position oven rack in the middle of oven; preheat to 350°.
• 2 place the walnut halves on a baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until browned and fragrant, 6-10 minutes; transfer to a plate and let cool completely.
• 3 in a big bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• 4 beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• 5 beat in the vanilla.
• 6 sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt onto a piece of waxed paper; beat into the butter mixture to form a soft dough.
• 7 in another large bowl, toss together the toasted nuts, rice cereal, coconut, oats, and chocolate chips.
• 8 use a large wooden spoon to stir all the dry ingredients into the soft dough.
• 9 don't worry about incorporating all these ingredients into the dough--it just takes a little patience, a sturdy wooden spoon, and a strong arm.
• 10 scoop the dough into 1/4-cup balls (can use a 2-oz. ice cream scoop); place the cookie dough balls on parchment paper-lined baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
• 11 flatten each dough ball slightly with two wet fingers to keep the cookies from puffing up too much as they bake.
• 12 bake until the edges of the cookie are light brown and crisp but the centers of the cookie are still soft and a little puffy, 12-15 minutes.
• 13 let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet before removing them with a spatula to a wire rack to finish cooling.