Clear-out-the-kitchen oatmeal cookies, aka chametz cookies

Let’s say you want to clear out your kitchen of various odds and ends AND you want cookies. Enter: Clear-out-the-kitchen oatmeal cookies. I also call these “chametz cookies” because they are particularly adept at using up “chametz” or the foods, that many Jews avoid during Passover (chametz foods are made with grain and water that have been allowed to ferment and rise and can include bread, cereal, oatmeal, cookies and many other foods).

If you have a lot of mix-ins, consider reducing the volume of some of the main ingredients as makes sense. I once skipped the white sugar entirely because I was confident the generous portion of halva I poured in would account for it–the cookies turned out perfectly sweet!

Here are some examples of what you can throw into these cookies:

• Chocolate candy (extra Halloween candy, perhaps?)
• Marshmallows
• Cereal or even the powder at the bottom of the bag
• Nuts (you could even go lighter on the salt in the recipe and add the nutty dust at the bottom of a bag of salted nuts)
• Seeds you need to use up (sunflower seeds? pumpkin seeds? I’ve thrown in some flaxseeds in the past)
• Dried fruit (I try to add some raisins no matter what)
• Shredded coconut
• Chocolate chips (I try to add these no matter what)
• Halva (and if you add a lot, you can cut the sugar content)
• Pretzels or other salty snacks
• Potato chips (or their crumbs)
• Broken cookies (is it wrong to mix cookies into a recipe for cookies? I don’t know, I think it’s fine!)
• Broken cracker crumbs (in a recent batch, I worried that some pointy Triscuit corners would create problematic sharp corners in my cookies. No such thing happened, even as you could see the little corners poking up through the tops of the cookies; the crackers simply added nice salty notes)

Hopefully you get the idea. Within reason, anything goes!

And here’s the recipe:

Clear-out-the-kitchen oatmeal cookies, aka chametz cookies

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• Author: Rachael Jackson

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Description

Cookies that use up odd and ends in our kitchen. This recipe is great for anyone looking to clear out their pantries, but also for Jewish families preparing for Passover — it will help you gobble up stray chametz before the holiday!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (if your mix-ins contain their own sugar, you can reduce this; I once made this recipe with a lot of halva and omitted the white sugar entirely–they turned out great)
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Optional: Other cozy spices. IMHO the cinnamon here is perfect, BUT if you have some nutmeg, allspice or another cozy spice sitting neglected in your spice drawer, go ahead and experiment!
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (if your mix-ins are heavy on salt, you can reduce this; if you have nutty salt from the bottom of a snack bag, you could even guesstimate and use that here instead of table salt)
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• Optional: Nut butter. We’re here to use things up and if you have some extra nut butter, chocolate spread, etc., toss it in!
• 1 – 2+ cups of mix-ins. Use your judgment based on the volume and density of the items. My personal view is that you should add raisins and chocolate chips no matter what. Beyond that, check the list above and consider things like: coconut flakes, dried fruit, nuts, cereal, pretzels, potato chips, cookie crumbs, halva. Also consider whether any of your “add ins” can replace some of the main ingredients. Salt from the bottom of a bag of nuts, for example.

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. If the butter is still hard, microwave it so it’s easy to mix (I usually break it into pieces and heat those in 30 second increments).
3. Mix butter and sugars together.
4. Add the egg and stir until well combined.
5. Add nut butter, if using. 
6. In a different bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon (and any additional spices) and salt.
7. Stir the oats into the other dry ingredients.
8. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
9. Mix until just combined.
10. Add in your “kitchen sink” ingredients and stir until they’re just incorporated.
11. Make rough, spoonful-sized balls and drop onto a baking sheet.
12. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, checking until they’re golden brown.
13. Let cool on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.