Currency Cookies (better than cash baby!)

There are a few things in this world that can sway people's opinions like chocolate mixed with sugar and some delicious trifles. I call this recipe "Currency Cookies" because they really are the best cookies ever made. My older sister made them a few years back and I think I may have eaten about 60 of them. I don't recommend that kind of wild consumption (these aren't exactly diet-food) but a bit of moderation and plenty of sharing should make you the most popular cat on the block. This recipe makes about 100 cookies if you play your cards right... which should make you about 50 new friends who can't stop raving about the cookies you brought to share with them.

Firstly - The Ingredients

• 2 Sticks of Butter (I said these weren't diet right?)
• 3/4 C Vegetable Shortening (let me stress, these really aren't diet food)
• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• 1 1/2 C Brown Sugar
• 2 T Vanilla (That is alot, but anything up to that amount will taste fine)
• 2 t Salt
• 1 Egg + 1 Egg White
• 2 T Cold Water
• 2 1/2 C Flour
• 2 1/2 C Oats
• 1 t Baking Soda
• 2 C Chopped Walnuts
• 12 oz. Chocolate Chunks
• 12 oz. Toffee Crumbles
• 1 1/2 Dried Cranberries

Secondly - The Preparation

• Cream together the butter, shortening and sugars. You can soften the butter in the microwave by cooking for about 45 seconds. The consistency of a finished cream should be like a sandy pudding - a bit fluffy but gritty as hell.
• Add the salt, vanilla and eggs - beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add the water to combine everything nicely.
• In a separate bowl mix your dry flour, baking soda and oat ingredients until combined. Add the wet ingredients and mix until your drys are consistently moist and your moist is consistently dry.
• Finally, add your nuts, chocolate, cranberries and toffee crumbles. Mix until everything is evenly combined and delicious looking.
• Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Finally - The Baking

• Preheat your oven to about 350 degrees.
• Flatten small balls of the refrigerated dough onto cookie sheets (preferably lined with wax paper or Silpat) spaced evenly enough to allow a good amount of spreading. Because of the constitution of these puppies they'll spread pretty far when baking, so keep the pans a bit under-loaded.
• Bake from 10-15 minutes - checking often to prevent scorching as cookies will be quite thin, crunchy and delicious.

And there you have it. Share these puppies carefully, I've had people threaten to break-in and steal them from my kitchen!