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Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Yield: about 4 dozen
Sweetly spiced and delightfully chewy, these cookies are often a surprise hit and can be customized in a variety of ways.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup plus 6 tablespoons butter (196g), softened
  • ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup (96g) granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1½ teaspoons (7ml) vanilla
  • 1½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour (a gluten-free cup-for-cup blend works well if needed)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 cups (270g) old fashioned oats, uncooked
  • 1 cup (150g) raisins*

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In large bowl, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer (stand or handheld) until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add the combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. Add the oats and raisins; mix well.
  3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheets (the latter is simply for easier cleanup). Tip: for uniformly shaped cookies, I use a small ice cream scoop. You may also roll the dough into balls—no need to flatten.
  4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just cooked through the center and very lightly golden. Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.
  5. Storage: The cookies will stay fresh for 5 to 7 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Freshness can be extended by storing in the refrigerator. These cookies freeze very well, too.

Options

Mix-in options:
•Use dried cranberries in place of the raisins.
•Omit the raisins entirely and make cinnamon oatmeal cookies.
•Add a half cup, give or take, of chopped pecans or walnuts.
•Add a half cup of shredded, unsweetened coconut.
•A mix of white chocolate chips and dried cranberries is also tasty, and they look festive on a holiday platter.
•Semi-sweet chocolate chips are fair game, too. However, when making with chocolate chips, my preference is to omit the cinnamon.

Prefer bakery-size cookies? I often make these cookies twice as big (using ¼-cup ice cream scoop), adding approximately two minutes to the bake time. For holiday platters, I tend towards the smaller cookies associated with the larger yield.

To make bar cookies: Bake for 30-35 minutes in an ungreased 13×9-inch metal baking pan. Check a few minutes early, as all ovens vary.

More recipes at FountainAvenueKitchen.com