Stuff you need:

• 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 4 teaspoons good Sea Salt
• 4 sticks of the best Butter you can find
• 3 1/2 cups Dark Brown Sugar
• 3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 4 fresh Eggs from happy chickens
• 1 1/2 pounds Chocolate Chips (the best dark chocolate you can get)
• 1 cup Sesame Seeds
• 3-4 BIG handfuls Walnuts
• 3-4 BIG handfuls Oats
• 3-4 BIG handfuls Unsweetened Coconut (Shredded or Flakes)
• 3-4 BIG handfuls Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
  
  
• 2 mixing bowls
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 measuring cup
• 1 teaspoon
• sink full of hot water and a few drops of dish detergent
• clean dish towel
• aluminum foil and cookie sheet or fancy silicone cooking sheet
• oven
  
  

The Rules

Do not use margarine.
Do not use cheap chocolate chips.
Do not use cheap sweetened coconut.
Do not use anything with corn syrup or hydrogenated fats.
Do not use imitation vanilla or vanilla extract with artificial flavors.
Buy the highest quality, freshest, all natural ingredients that you can find.
When you are finished using something, wash and dry it quickly and immediately.
If you ignore the above commandments, you will be struck by lightening.

The "How-To" Part

1. Take your expensive, delicious butter out of the refrigerator the night before you are going to make the cookies, so that it is at room temperature and nice and soft when you are ready to start cooking.
2. Add a few drops of dish soap to the sink and fill it with hot water. Quit picking your nose and wash your dirty hands.
3. Preheat your oven to 375°
4. Toss the sesame seeds in a pan on the stove and toast them lightly. Set them aside and let them cool.
5. In one of your mixing bowls, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. I like organic whole wheat four, but you can substitute or mix white flour if you are a wimp. If you are using really coarse sea salt, reduce the quantity slightly.
6. In the other bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. If you have a nice vanilla bean, scrape that baby and add it too. Mix well with the wooden spoon. Use some elbow grease, NOT an electric mixer. Give it some love. This is a spiritual journey. If you are a Buddhist, use no mind. If you are a Muslim, recite Rumi's poems about chocolate chip cookies. If you are a Catholic or a Jew ignore the guilt you are feeling and delight in the dough. Then add the eggs and mix some more. Don't worry if you have some lumps in the finished goods. In fact, with my last batch, I broke my rules and used butter straight from the fridge. Even with lots of extra lovin' and a few poems from Rumi it was still a bit on the chunky side (see photo below). No problem!
   
   
   
   
7. Add the dry flour mixture and stir some more. Take 30 seconds to quickly wash and dry the flour bowl and any other utensils you have fouled or risk being struck by lightening.
8. When the flour mixture is fairly evenly mixed in, add the toasted sesame seeds and mix.
9. Repeat for the oats, coconut, cranberries and chocolate chips. If you have small hands, add more than the recipe calls for. The general rule is: when in doubt, add more. Note that the dough should be getting pretty thick at this point, so you may need to get really personal and massage it with your hands to ensure an even mixture.
   
   
   
   
10. Now wipe your mind clear of any nonsense that might have seeped in from other cookie recipes regarding teaspoon-sized portions being dropped onto cookie sheets. That is pure malarkey. Using your hands, make some nice dough balls. They should be comfortable in the hand and somewhere between a golf ball and watermelon in size. Now drop them on the aluminum foil, or if you are the schmancy type, your fancy French silicone baking sheet, and toss them in the oven.
11. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until they look just right. Unless you are a really dirty freak, this baking thing will make your house smell really good, so if you are looking to sell now would be a good time to tidy up and bring in the potential buyers.
12. Once out of the oven, let the cookies cool. Store in an airtight container. These cookies will taste better with time. Something about a couple days "rest" enhances the flavour and texture and they should be at their prime about three days after you bake them. I don't know about spoilage. If you have any left after 4 or 5 days you are doing something wrong.

Bon Appetit!