Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

This is a second recipe that I made this past weekend. It made about 4 dozen cookies. They taste wonderful and are definitely one of my favorites.

This recipe is an old one that my grandmother use to make for me. I always preferred a chewy cookie versus the crispy, crumbly dried out cookies that my mother likes.

I use to bake cookies with my grandmother every summer when I'd go to visit. I learned about measuring ingredients, how to plump up raisins that were hard as rocks, what spices to add a little extra of, and most importantly; how to make a chewy cookie.

There are three secrets in making a chewy cookie. The biggest is the timing in when to remove the cookies from the oven. You don't want them bake completely in the oven. They need to be approximately 1-2 minutes away from being fully baked. Remove them too soon and it looks like a raw cookie. Remove them too late and you have a crisp cookie. The timing takes practice. To aid in the timing, use a chilled dough, straight from the fridge onto the cookie sheet and into the oven.

The second tip to keeping a soft, chewy cookie is to store them in an air-tight container with a slice of bread. The bread will dry out after 1-2 days and need to be replaced to keep the cookies moist.



Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes 4 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup chopped nuts of your choice (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.

Add in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

Stir in rolled oats, raisins, and nuts.  Place the dough in the fridge to chill.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto a parchment lined (or greased) baking sheet, 2 inches part. The more rounded the ball of dough, the chewier the end result will be.

Bake for 10-12 minutes (well this may vary if your oven works properly as mine does not). The cookies should be slightly under-cooked on the top/center. Cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.