Hearty, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I like to think of oatmeal cookies as healthy.

I mean, oats are good for you, right? And brown sugar is the best sugar.  And eggs?  I eat those for breakfast.

I jumped at the chance to make these when Kellen complained, "you never make me anythinggg."  (Which, by the way, is not true.)

Knowing that Deb has no-fail, amazing recipes, I barely changed her original recipe.  I chilled half of the dough for a couple of hours, and made the rest straight away.  Kellen and I both preferred the cookies made with un-chilled dough, so I guess that one's up to you.  These are the best oatmeal cookies I've made.

The big debate: Do you like raisins in your oatmeal cookies or not?


Hearty, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Smitten Kitchen

(Makes 24 cookies)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.
3. At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.
4. The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.