Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I did it. Last night I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I’d been intending to make them for weeks, but every time I thought about getting around to it there would be a problem (such as having no butter or eggs). There were still a few...challenges, but the cookies still taste really good which is all that really matters in the end, right?

I used the following recipe (from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook):

MAKES about 20 large cookies
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes plus cooling time

Quick-cooking rolled oats can be substituted for the old-fashioned oats here; however, they will have a little less flavor.

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups raisins

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beating the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the oats and raisins until just incorporated.

4. Working with ¼ cup of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2½ inches apart. Flatten the cookies slightly using your palm. Bake until the tops of the cookies are lightly golden but the centers are still soft and puffy, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.

5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

The first annoyance I faced was that I don’t have an electric mixer. That’s not much of a problem, though...I just used a spoon and my arm. On a side note, if anyone does feel like buying me an electric mixer, I would LOVE a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My favorite colors are Blue Willow, Cornflower and Onyx Black, in case you were wondering.

It wasn’t until I started mixing in the oats and raisins that I realized I didn’t quite have enough. I was about ½ cup short of oats and 1 cup short of raisins. I didn’t feel like going out to the store again, and it didn’t seem important enough to ask Matt to go, so I left them out. I think that’s what led to my largest difficultly: rolling the dough into balls. I found the dough a little too sticky to roll into balls, which I think would have been easier had there been more oats and raisins in the dough. So I just started dropping them onto the cookie sheet and flattening them out with my finger.

And yes, I put them directly on the cookie sheet – I never think to buy parchment paper until I’m putting cookies onto the cookie sheet. Maybe I should add parchment paper to our shopping list for the next time we go to the store...

Anyway, the cookies still came out tasting fabulous. Both Matt and I enjoyed this recipe, despite my issues with the oats and raisins.