secret recipe club: double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies

on the surface, deeba from passionate about baking and i don't have a whole lot in common. she lives in a country - a whole continent - i've never even visited, outside new delhi, india. deeba is a stay at home mom to two teenagers. i am a workaholic newlywed (when exactly do you move from newly wed to just plain married?). deeba's photos are absolutely gorgeous and she freelances in her spare time. but once you start really digging into who she is - a woman passionate about baking (as the name suggests), dedicated to making from scratch, and a supporter of all things local - it's easy to see how i got engrossed in her blog so easily. the fact that her current passion is baking with fruit had me hook, line, and sinker. if you haven't noticed, it's one of my favorites too.

for this month's secret recipe club, i followed the same method to choose a recipe - working from 2007 (the farthest back in the archives), i read through every recipe in october, until settling on these double chocolate oatmeal cookies. honestly, i would have loved to try her macarons, donuts, or pie, but i simply did not have the time. this last month has been crazy - it started with a week vacation, a week in chicago for a conference, my sister's wedding (a mere two days ago), and my mother in law arriving for a two week visit on our anniversary (today). needless to say, the only free time i had in the last month was in about 30 minute intervals, which was perfect for these cookies.

i've never made cookies with honey, and to be perfectly honest was both very skeptical and unbelievably surprised at how much i liked it. i tasted the raw dough - for quality control, of course - and couldn't keep my hand out of the bowl. it's hard to describe - the honey adds a flavor much different from plain white or brown sugar. in a completely delicious way. i followed deeba's recipe almost exactly, swapping out crushed almonds for peanut butter chips. because if there's anything that doesn't last long in this house, it's the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. next time, i'm adding even more chips.

check out some of deeba's other recipes that are on my short list:
october 2007: healthy apple crumble
october 2009: vanilla macarons with vanilla bean buttercream, roasted plum brown sugar cakes
october 2010: alton brown's donuts, apple and pear open pie, chocolate macarons

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website!

check out my previous src posts below
butterscotch peach cakewhole wheat honey pancakesminted pineapple lime agua frescabreakfast tacos
simple almond sandwich cookies
roasted banana rum cake

double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies
adapted from passionate about baking
30 minutes, makes 2 dozen

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey
2 cups oats
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1. preheat your oven to 350F. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. mix in the egg and egg yolk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. mix in the honey and vanilla extract.
3. add the oats, cocoa powder, and salt and mix until combined. add the baking powder, baking soda, and flour and mix until combined.
4. stir in the chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips.
5. drop dough by the tablespoon or tablespoon and a half on the cookie sheets. bake 13 to 15 minutes until cooked completely. cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

check out more sweet treats at sweet tooth friday!