Jumbo chocolate chip cookies to celebrate Sunday family time

The heartbreaking baking episode of Thursday & Friday was totally forgotten last Sunday. You see, my ever supportive Husband bought me a new toy. I am now a proud owner of a Kitchenaid 5KPM50! Even the Toddler who loves to help me when I bake was grinning when we went to Mayer in Plaza Singapura to buy my KA. When he saw the colorful mixers on display he said "Yehey mixer!" I just love my ever supportive family. :)

You see, it's been months since I've been contemplating on buying a stand mixer. I know it's a want and not a need for baking since I already have a handheld mixer. But the convenience of not holding your mixer for 10+ minutes and doing multiple task is a bonus point for me and the Toddler. But the price of stand mixers has been holding me back all the time. Plus the reviews of the different mixers got me totally confused which is the best stand mixer.

Finally last Saturday, Husband decided/demanded I needed to buy a stand mixer for my peace of mind. So I chose the Kitchenaid Professional 600 series. Unfortunately, said model was not available here in Singapore. So we went home and I did my research again and we were left with either the Bosch MUM68R1, Kitchenaid 5KPM50 or Kenwood Chef Titanium (all 3 products ranges between S$1200 - 1500). Kenwood  Chef Titanium based on reviews is a good heavy duty mixer.  A review of the product can be found here and here. They say it's robust body and powerful motor (1400 watts) can speed up kneading of bread dough without your equipment smelling of burnt motor after a while. Unfortunately, customer service here is not reliable and after sales is very very important for me. Then there's Bosch MUM86R1 (review here and here) which is a powerful equipment that can handle heavy doughs as well. At 1600 watts it's enough to knead bread loafs to your heart's content. The downside of being that heavy duty is not being able to whisk small batches as efficient as the smaller stand mixers. Which leaves us with KA 5KPM50. Both Bosch and Kenwood outranks KA (350 watts only) when it comes to power. But after thoroughly thinking about it, since I don't bake large quantities of bread and often times just bake goodies for my small family, the KA 5KPM50 is a perfect choice. Small enough for my need unlike the other heavy duty stand mixers but at least more powerful than the KA Artisan models.

To celebrate my new toy last Sunday,  I baked a fantastic chocolate oatmeal cookie which everyone in the family loved! I used a big scoop and the cookies ended bigger than normal ones. Plus it was chunkier in the middle as I didn't know I had to flatten them on the baking sheet. Nonetheless, they were still yummy! The cookies turned out to be chunky, chewy and not much sweet.

My husband and Toddler made that Sunday very extra special. Their support for my passion and never ending love were all I needed to have a perfect ending to my baking adventure for the week. Can't wait for the next baking sessions!

Jumbo Chewy Crunchy chocolate oatmeal cookies
recipe from Joyofbaking

• 1 cup (110 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)
• 3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (210 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups (260 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. To toast nuts: Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop into pieces.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the nuts, oats, and dried cranberries or chocolate chips. 
4. For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of batter (I like to use an ice cream scoop) and space the cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the baking sheet. Then wet your hand and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Bake the cookies for about 12 - 15 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft and a little wet in the centers. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.