Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies
Bet you thought this was just an ordinary Thursday. Nope! It's not only National Oatmeal Cookie Day, it's also National Raisin Day so what could be better than celebrating these two wonderful holidays with a cookie that combines both oatmeal and raisins with some crunchy walnuts thrown in for good measure?! Woo-hoo!!
A little internet surfing and you will discover that every day of the year is dedicated to some sort of food, even obscure ones like National Candied Orange Peel Day and National Moldy Cheese Day (um, yuck!) Such are the vital things you find yourself concerned with when you're a food blogger. But no matter, it gives me an excuse to share these amazing oatmeal cookies with you today!
If you like big thick chewy oatmeal cookies subtly enhanced with cinnamon and filled with walnuts and raisins, you're in luck. These are fantastically satisfying and also quite easy to make. What helps to give them such an amazing texture is that you first soak the oats in water to soften them before combining them with the other ingredients.
Plus you use melted butter, which not only helps to keep these incredibly moist but also means that there's no worry about having to bring butter to room temperature. And if you're looking for a truly easy cookie to bake, these are right up your alley. Not only do you not need a mixer but almost everything comes together in one bowl, so there's little cleanup involved.
Now, if you're in a rush you can bake these right away, but they are SO much better if you chill the batter overnight. Personally, I love having some chilled dough in the refrigerator and just making as many cookies as we feel like eating at the moment, so we don't have a big tin around that is too tempting to resist or to go stale. But whatever you decide to do in terms of baking them all at once or just baking a few at a time, you really can't go wrong. These are so wonderfully chewy and chock full of oatmeal, raisins and nuts--the perfect way to usher in both National Oatmeal Cookie and National Raisin Day!!
Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus chilling time); Bake Time: 12-15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 cup raisins (optional)
The Recipe
1. Place the oats into a small bowl and pour the water over them. Let sit for a bit.
2. In a medium bowl, using a whisk, combine the flour, baking soda and cinnamon well. Set aside.
3. Cut the butter into chunks and place into a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Melt uncovered, stirring occasionally. When fully melted, remove from the heat and using a wooden spoon, stir in both the sugars, the vanilla and the salt. Add the egg and stir forcefully. Then add the flour and stir only until all the dry ingredient are moistened. Gently stir in the oats, walnuts and raisins. You can cook these right away, but they will be much better if you let them stand for an hour or two or better yet, cover the dough and store it in the refrigerator overnight.
4. Adjust oven racks into thirds and preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Scoop about 2 rounded tablespoons of dough and place the cookies about 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet. Press down very gently to flatten slightly. Bake for 12-15 minutes, reversing sheets top to bottom and front to bake halfway through baking to ensure that cookies bake evenly. Cookies are done when golden brown on top. Don't over bake--you want these to be chewy and they will continue to cook for a bit when you remove them from the oven. Transfer the trays to cookie racks and cool for 5 minutes on the trays before transferring to the rack to cool completely.
6. Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich. I left out the nutmeg and baked these on parchment paper instead of aluminum foil. Also I increased the size so that they cookies are very large.
