Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oh yes.

I know you’re usually all about the Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie, and normally I wouldn’t blame you. (Chocolate does trump pretty much anything, as a general rule of baking thumb. Chocolate also trumps a lot of people, too, but let’s not get into that right now.) But you know there’s a time and a place for the oatmeal cookie- especially when it’s stuffed with raisins and toasted pecans. And sugar. And butter. (Really- have you ever noticed that people grab oatmeal cookies faster than almost any kind of cookie? Yeah, everyone likes the aforementioned chocolate chip kind, but I tend to underestimate the popularity of the oatmeal cookie. [And the Coconut Macaroon– holy moses, grubby hands can’t get enough of those either.])

So here you have it- a new classic recipe that’s low on the complication scale and high on the taste scale.

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s recipe…

1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped

1 cup butter (unsalted), room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 1/4 cups raisins
1. Preheat oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Coarsely chop pecans and spread on one of your prepared baking sheets; bake for about 7 minutes, until fragrant and barely toasted. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter with both sugars until light and fluffy (4 minutes or so). Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla on low speed.
4. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Slowly add to butter mixture until just combined, then add in oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.
5. Scoop heaping tablespoon-sized amounts of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, and flatten slightly with a slightly wet hand or spatula. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Tips:
- Oatmeal- you’ll want to not use the instant or 1-minute kind. Use old-fashioned oats for this recipe. (But not steel-cut). And I’d stay away from the “thick cut” old-fashioned oatmeal. (Okay- in all honesty, I once used the 1-minute kind and the cookies still turned out nicely, so you can do the same if you must, but you won’t see any actual pieces of oat which I think is nice when eating 17 cookies.)
- If you’re not into raisins, then skip them. We don’t need to argue about this point.
- If you’re a purist and don’t want pecans getting in the way of your oatmeal & raisin party, then skip them. But if you do use them, make sure you toast them. Promise?
- If you have a small problem with chocolate, then add in some chocolate chips to satisfy your obsession (and while you’re at it, check out the Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate Bars, which should breathe some life into your understandably suffocatingly chocoholic existence).
- Want more oatmeal cookie ideas? Try my Chocolate Oatmeal Marshmallow Sandwich Cookie. Seriously wow.
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October 12th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Cookies, Oatmeal