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<\/a><\/center>Every Saturday morning I go for a longish run with my running buddies. This past Saturday we had blue skies and sun, something we haven’t seen here in Portland for quite some time, and we were even able to run in shorts! We were rewarded further when we went for our usual post-run coffee at Clearing Cafe<\/a>. The new owners are experimenting with baking their own treats, and they set out a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and asked us to sample them. Hello! The chocolate chip cookies were delicious and totally hit the spot after our hilly run. Later that day one of my running buddies texted me that if the cookies had been oatmeal raisin, it would have made her day. So, long story short, I decided to bake some oatmeal raisin cookies (though sadly, my running buddy will not be getting any).\nI turned to my trusty Cook’s Illustrated cookbooks and found a recipe for chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. Peter saw the cookies cooling, and we had a brief conversation about them:
\nPeter: “Are these chocolate chip cookies?”
\nMe: “No, they’re oatmeal raisin.”
\nPeter: “Couldn’t you have substituted chocolate chips for the raisins?”
\nMe: “Yes, but then they wouldn’t be oatmeal raisin cookies.”
\nPeter: “Yeah, but I like chocolate chip cookies.”
\nMe: “So do I, but these are oatmeal raisin cookies.”
\nYou know, sometimes oatmeal raisin cookies get a bum rap.
\nRead on for the recipe!<\/p>\n
\nOatmeal Raisin Cookies
\nfrom America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (the recipe is also in Baking Illustrated)
\nIngredients:
\n1 1\/2 cups all-purpose flour
\n1\/2 tsp baking powder
\n1\/2 tsp salt
\n1\/4 tsp nutmeg
\n2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but not overly so
\n1 cup packed light brown sugar
\n1 cup granulated sugar
\n2 large eggs
\n3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used regular old Quaker’s)
\n1 1\/2 cups raisins (I used golden raisins from Trader Joe’s)
\n1. The recipe says to adjust the oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions to bake two sheets at once, but I just baked one sheet at a time. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and set aside.
\n2. Beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (3-6 minutes). Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
\n3. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Slowly add the flour mixture just until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the oats and the raisins and mix on low just until combined.
\n4. The recipe says to parcel out 1\/4 cup of dough, but I used one of those smaller cookie scoops. Anyway, scoop out your dough balls onto a parchment- or Silpat-lined cookie sheet. Space them a couple inches apart. Flatten slightly using the palm of your hand. Bake about 22-25 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden but the centers are still soft.
\n5. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every Saturday morning I go for a longish run with my running buddies. This past Saturday we had blue skies and sun, something we haven’t seen here in Portland for quite some time, and we were even able to run … Continue reading