The add-ins in this cookie create a wonderful taste, and certainly leave the baker able to experiment with their own favorites. For Christmas, white chips are a nice change, as is coconut, anytime. Agree with the comment that said to take these out after 10-12 minutes and let them "finish" for five minutes on the baking sheet.) If you're worried about a flat cookie, use a trusted cc cookie recipe that only calls for a stick of butter, adding the oats, toffee bits, chips, and cherries as posted.

Toffee chips with no chocolate is the one I used. This is my favorite cookie recipe. They are delicious and addictive.

For those who have made this, do you use the heath toffee bits that also have chocolate (like a chopped up heath bar), or the bits that are toffee with no chocolate?

This has become one of my favorite cookie recipes. I am always very popular when I bring these to a gathering. I do tweak it a bit. My latest tweak is substituting freeze dried strawberries, pineapple, and banana for the dried cherries. I call them my Banana Split cookies. Yummm! Check out my tweaked recipe: http://www.thrivequickdish.com/rec/banana-split-cookies/

Very good cookie. I used semi-sweet chunks instead of the bittersweet chocolate and they turned out fine. I added a little salt since the recipe didn't call for it but it doesn't need added salt. Baked them for 12 minutes and let them sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack. Rotating the cookie sheet is a must. If they look like the need one more minute, DON'T do it. Take them out and let them sit for 5 minutes and they will finish "cooking" as they cool. Yum.

This is a wonderful cookie. I have made it since I first saw it on the show. I suggest you don't try to substitue anything. Best the way it is here. Enjoy. To Tootieane..you can use your beater just fine.

I don't have a mixer with a paddle attachment. Could I just mix and directed with a hand mixer or would that ruin the recipe.

Texas-Greta...Leaving out the oats pretty much leaves you with a chocolate chip cookie, so you could just find another recipe for those and add cherries. However, if you really just want to use this recipe, you might just need to add some additional flour. Good luck!

If I took out the oats would I need to change something else in the recipe?

the flavor of these cookies was great, but they came out very flat -- too flat. i wonder if their is too much butter and that is why they spread so much? I will make these again using a different "base" of butter, sugar, flour, etc.