Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The girls in this house really like oatmeal raisin cookies, so I began a quest to
come up with THE best oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. Tender, toothsome, chewy,
just sweet enough, with the right hint of spice and with the perfect ratio of
raisins…the criteria for perfect is a bit exact. So far, this recipe is in the
running, but of course I feel the need to tweak it a bit. Do I want to play with
the flavor: cardamom? ginger? I know that I want to maximize the nutrition: should I add other grains? wheat germ? flax seed?

Feel free to add in chopped walnuts and/or chocolate chips (1/2 cup of each) if that is what you like.

These cookies make a great breakfast alongside a steaming mug of tea…what;
you’ve never eaten a cookie for breakfast?!?

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

(adapted from smittenkitchen.com )

2 sticks/1 cup/8 oz butter, softened

1 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup all-purpose flour PLUS ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups rolled old-fashioned oats (not instant)

1 1/2 cups raisins

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until
smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.

Chill the dough in the fridge while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Using one sheet at a time, scoop dough into balls set two inches apart – I use a medium-sized cookie scoop, you don’t want them too big or too small. Bake 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the size and on your oven, until golden brown at edges but still a bit undercooked-looking on top. Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes. (I flip the cookies over on the pan at this point, to crisp up a bit on top and also to flatten the cookies out slightly – I like my cookies thick but not domed. Remove cookies to cool completely on cooling rack.

Alternate cookie sheets so that you are not putting chilled dough on a still-hot cookie sheet.

This recipe will yield 4-6 dozen cookies, depending on size. You can easily halve
the recipe if you want less. Cookies store well in an airtight container, and can be easily frozen.