This oatmeal cookie has gusto, my version of an almost healthy cookie I could eat everyday. Tips: refrigerate cookie dough for at least 24 hours before baking, keep a batch of cookies in the freezer, stay away from weak store-bought cookies.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose unbleached white or whole wheat flour
1 cup oat bran
3 cups oats, old-fashioned
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation

Mix butter and sugars until creamy. I use a blender. Add egg, vanilla and water. Blend thoroughly.

Place the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Separate the raisins and mix in the baking soda evenly. Add the creamed liquid ingredients. I mix in the dry ingredients by hand, folding the ingredients over and over until evenly combined.

Place the cookie dough in a food storage container and refrigerate for 24 hours. Aged cookie dough tastes better. Try 24 hours or 48 hours.

Heat the oven to 350° F. Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the dough by well-rounded tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet. This size will yield 24 to 28 cookies.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 20 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet and bake for another 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Store in air-tight containers. These will freeze for up to three weeks.