Sunday, March 24, 2013

Discovering Potbelly... and a Recipe

One of my favorite places to eat lunch is Potbelly.  Potbelly started out as a Chicago antique shop. The owners thought it would be a good idea to serve lunch to their customers, and now there are more than 240 Potbelly Sandwich Shops around the country. Their menu offers a wide variety of sandwiches, soups, sides and salads. And for the sweet tooth - fresh, in-store baked cookies and hand dipped shakes.  Each shop also provides lunchtime entertainment in the form of a local musician - a very nice touch.

My current favorite lunch choice is the Uptown Salad - all natural grilled chicken, grapes, apples, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, red onion, and blue cheese - with balsamic vinaigrette.  Delicious! And because I'm eating a healthy salad, I don't feel at all bad about having one of their oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  These cookies are amazing - and addicting!  My friends tell me the shakes are to-die-for, but I haven't tried one yet.  I'm afraid I'd have to make a choice between the shake or a cookie, and I'm just not ready to go there yet.

But maybe now I am.  After a brief search on Google, I found a recipe that comes very close to those delicious cookies that I love so much. I made a batch this afternoon and I will not say how many cookies I have consumed.  Let's just say it's been a lot.  Anyway, since I love you all and I love these cookies, I want to share the recipe with you.

You're welcome!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 cups Flour
2-1/2 cups Oats (I used quick oats)
1-1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 cups Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar. One at a time, mix in the eggs. Mix in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Form the dough into balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes.