Soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies are seriously one of the best pick-me-ups on a cold day. They're a great alternate to chocolate chip cookies and are a tad healthier.
I've never thought about learning how to make oatmeal cookies until just a few months ago. I was buying the ready made in-store bakery ones. And while those are good, they lack a homemade taste to them. They have all this added stuff in them like cornstarch, molasses and artificial flavours that you just shouldn't be getting in an oatmeal cookie. This is what pushed me to making homemade oatmeal cookies. Just like grandma used to make!
As always, I do A LOT of research before baking. I check if the recipe sounds feasible, I look at the texture a particular recipe achieved and I consider what others are saying who have tried and succeeded with the recipe or epicly failed. And of course, I attempt the recipe myself (or multiple recipes).
Knowing what to expect in a recipe is a huge benefit, because typically, my baked goods turn out great on the first try...and it's all thanks to the research done beforehand. I'll have a blog post out soon about what you look for when doing research for recipes. But for now, let's dive into the oatmeal cookie recipe.
1. You need to leave out the butter and egg to get it to room temperature.
Room temperature ingredients allow your recipe to combine more easily. Room temperature truly gives you the best results. Trust me on this :)
2. Measure out your raisins and soak them in warm water for about 15-25 minutes.
I am not sure why but it just makes the cookie more chewy and delicious. Remember to drain all the water properly before adding it to the dough.
3. Measure out the dry ingredients and set them aside.
Measure out your flour using the spoon and level method to ensure you don't have too much flour in your dough. Measure the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt (if using unsalted butter only) and set them aside.
Measure out the oats (I used quick oats) later. You add the oats when you add the raisins.
Note: From my research, several recipes have explicitly asked me not to use quick oats, and use rolled oats instead because it would dry the cookies out. I felt like a little rebel when I ignored this warning used quick oats because that was all I had on hand. And guess what...they turned out just fine. This was partly because I soaked the raisins.
4. Cream together the butter, dark brown sugar and white sugar.
Cream together until it's a nice fluffy and airy mixture. If you don't have dark brown sugar, light or golden brown sugar should work.
5. Add the eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, crack your eggs to ensure no shells get in the cookie batter. Before adding the eggs, I always add vanilla directly to the eggs to get rid of any raw egg taste that might show up after baking (this happened to me only once, so now I take precaution).
6. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until just combined.
Then add the oats and raisins. Because we soaked the raisins, the quick oats will soak up some of the excess water so your cookies won't dry out.
7. Place the cookie dough into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
This is important because you won't be able to form them into balls. I always flatten my cookies before baking.
8. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 14-18 minutes on the convection setting.
Baking time will depend on your oven.
9. ENJOY!
Recipe
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook time: 14-18 mins
Servings: 28
Ingredients
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
1Â cup (200g)Â packed dark brown sugar
1/2Â cup (100g)Â granulated sugar
2Â large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (212 g) all purpose flour (spoon and level to measure)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
-Omit is using salted butter
2 cups (260g)Â rolled oats or quick oats
1Â cup (153g)Â raisins, soaked then drained
*Feel free to add walnuts, chocolate chips, cranberries and whatever you like.
Directions
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg baking soda and salt, set aside.
In the bowl with a hand/stand mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Add the eggs and vanilla.
Add flour mixture and mix just until combined then mix in oats and raisins (drained).
Refrigerate dough for 30 mins then scoop or roll into balls.
Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown on edges and nearly set (center should look under-baked), about 14-18 minutes on the convection setting.
If you tried these or have a question, let me know in the comments section below.