Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I find it a bit ironic that I generally love oatmeal recipes but one of my least favorite traditional cookies is oatmeal raisin cookies. They just don't do that much for me...

I only made this recipe because I asked one of my coworkers if he had any requests and he said oatmeal raisin cookies. I thought about making oatmeal craisin cookies, oatmeal heath cookies, oatmeal anything cookies... but I went ahead with the traditional raisin cookies in the end. I used the recipe in my Carole Walter Great Cookies book -- the first recipe in the book in fact -- and I suppose it's okay. Her version calls for molasses and orange zest which I thought was interesting and those ingredients did give the cookies a bit more depth of flavor than regular oatmeal raisin cookies.

I forgot to add the molasses to the wet ingredients though and nearly left it out altogether, but then I figured what the hell and added at the very end... even after the raisins and pecans went in... I'm sure the molasses would have been more evenly distributed added at the right time, but I don't think it hurt the flavor much the way I ended up doing it.

For once I actually plumped the dried fruit before adding it to the recipe (steeped the raisins in a boiling water for about 10 minutes, then spread them out and patted them dry) but I actually think I would have preferred it if I had left them the way they were. My only other real fuss about the recipe is that for a cookie that has the word oatmeal as the first part of its name -- I would have liked to see more oatmeal in each cookie. But then, when I have oatmeal flavored goodies, I like a lot of oatmeal chewy texture and flavor in each bite and these cookies didn't offer that.

Out of curiosity -- does anyone have a really good oatmeal raisin cookie they think I should try?



Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 tsp grated orange zest
2/3 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup broken, toasted pecans or walnuts
1 cup dark raisins, plumped, drained and patted dry

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

Mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, soften the butter with the orange zest on medium speed until smooth and creamy about 1 minute, add the brown sugar, than the granulated sugar and mix until light in color 2 to 3 minutes. Blend in the molasses and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and pour in the dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing only to incorporate. Next blend in the oatmeal, then fold in the raisins and pecans.

Drop by rounded tablespoons 3 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown, rotating the pans in the oven about halfway through. Do not overbake. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets for 2 minutes before moving to cooling racks.