Last night I had a sweet tooth. I didn't want to go to the store (not too fond of store bought baked goods). But I was too tired to bake. As I looked around my pantry, I decided I had all the ingredients to make just about any dessert in the world...literally. After some debating back and forth, I decided to go ahead and make my blissfully sinful Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I wasn't in a chocolate mood. *shrugs* Now you must be thinking, what the heck is so blissful about Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. My hubby and my son always say it's the last cookie people will choose when put up against the likes of Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodles, etc. They don't know what they're talking about.
Ordinarily I follow baking recipes to the letter. But with these cookies, I add a little extra something here and there to make them so blissful. Each person that I've made them for have had their own taste in Oatmeal Cookies. I've made them with diced apple, dried cranberries, dried cherries, even chocolate chips. On some versions I kick up the cinnamon content, in some I add pumpkin pie spice, in some I'll throw in some nutmeg. Sometimes I'll drizzle with icing. It all depends on what I'm feeling that particular day.
I'm sharing the basic recipe with you all today, but I encourage you to try your own version. I love these cookies and eating them warm, fresh out the oven with some ice cold milk makes me feel all giddy inside! LOL
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of light brown sugar (dark brown sugar if you want them sweeter)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda (not powder!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups Old Fashioned Oats (I use Quaker but you can use a store brand)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper or you can lightly spray cooking spray directly on the cookie sheet.
In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and brown sugar. Once creamed, slowly add regular sugar. Then add eggs, one at a time until blended. Then add the vanilla extract. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add this mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture. Add SLOWLY so the flour doesn't end up on your floor! Once combined, slowly add the oats, then the raisins, then the nuts. Now, I generally start blending by hand when I get to the flour mixture so I don't burn out my mixer. Plus doing it by hand allows you to get everything, even the stuff at the bottom of the bowl.
If you're using a standard sized cookie sheet, you should be able to have three rows of 4 cookies each. I usually put a spoonful of batter for each cookie. You can make them as big or as small as you like. The ones in the picture above were a little over a spoonful. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes. Set the timer and remove them exactly at 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on a rack and not on the cookie sheet. Don't worry about how they look. Remember, they continue cooking after you take them out. As they cool, they'll set and crisp up around the edges.
Repeat the process with a new sheet of parchment paper until there is no more cookie dough left.
If you want to save some of the dough, scrape the dough out of the bowl with a rubber spatula and put it directly on plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator or freezer. I would use within 3 days for best result (1 month if you freeze it).
This recipe yielded me 3 dozen cookies.
Adrienne Graham
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Ordinarily I follow baking recipes to the letter. But with these cookies, I add a little extra something here and there to make them so blissful. Each person that I've made them for have had their own taste in Oatmeal Cookies. I've made them with diced apple, dried cranberries, dried cherries, even chocolate chips. On some versions I kick up the cinnamon content, in some I add pumpkin pie spice, in some I'll throw in some nutmeg. Sometimes I'll drizzle with icing. It all depends on what I'm feeling that particular day.
I'm sharing the basic recipe with you all today, but I encourage you to try your own version. I love these cookies and eating them warm, fresh out the oven with some ice cold milk makes me feel all giddy inside! LOL
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of light brown sugar (dark brown sugar if you want them sweeter)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda (not powder!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups Old Fashioned Oats (I use Quaker but you can use a store brand)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper or you can lightly spray cooking spray directly on the cookie sheet.
In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and brown sugar. Once creamed, slowly add regular sugar. Then add eggs, one at a time until blended. Then add the vanilla extract. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add this mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture. Add SLOWLY so the flour doesn't end up on your floor! Once combined, slowly add the oats, then the raisins, then the nuts. Now, I generally start blending by hand when I get to the flour mixture so I don't burn out my mixer. Plus doing it by hand allows you to get everything, even the stuff at the bottom of the bowl.
If you're using a standard sized cookie sheet, you should be able to have three rows of 4 cookies each. I usually put a spoonful of batter for each cookie. You can make them as big or as small as you like. The ones in the picture above were a little over a spoonful. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes. Set the timer and remove them exactly at 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on a rack and not on the cookie sheet. Don't worry about how they look. Remember, they continue cooking after you take them out. As they cool, they'll set and crisp up around the edges.
Repeat the process with a new sheet of parchment paper until there is no more cookie dough left.
If you want to save some of the dough, scrape the dough out of the bowl with a rubber spatula and put it directly on plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator or freezer. I would use within 3 days for best result (1 month if you freeze it).
This recipe yielded me 3 dozen cookies.
Adrienne Graham
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