Not that you need a reason to bake cookies, but January is Oatmeal Month, and this recipe makes delicious use of the good-for-you grain. Ingredients 1 cup Butter or margarine softened 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar firmly packed 2 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla 2 cups Flour plus 2 Tbsp. 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup baking cocoa 1 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked), divided 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels divided

Instructions
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat well.
In a separate bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, the baking soda, and the salt, mixing well. Stir the dry mixture into the batter.
Divide the dough evenly between 2 bowls. Mix the baking cocoa into one batch and the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour into the other. Stir 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of chocolate morsels into each batch. Then cover and chill both doughs 2 hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. To shape the cookies, combine 1 tablespoon of each dough into a golf ball-size ball, twisting or smoothing the doughs together (a great step for kids!). Place the balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 to 11 minutes or until the light-colored dough is golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Store leftovers in a tightly covered container.

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Yields: 3 Dozen