For the past few Christmases, I’ve been giving out large ziploc bags of oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookie dough, shaped into tiny balls and ready to bake. I’ve noticed a pattern: 1 – 3 months after the holiday, I would receive a text or facebook message, from whoever I gave the cookie dough to, letting me know:
“We just tried those cookies from Christmas and they are amazing! Can you send me the recipe?”
To which I would reply, “With pleasure my friend. With pleasure.”
The following recipe is slightly tweaked from Janai Mai’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies III recipe at Allrecipes.com. Her ingredients list calls for chocolate chips and the option of raisins—I prefer using raisins only. Let me tell you, this is not a popular opinion. Almost everyone, with the exception of me, prefers these cookies with chocolate chips. So if you are one of the few out there who feels the same way I do, I suggest you contact me, and we can start a support group for us special folks. I should also note that because of this very reason, the photos I have taken do not contain the depiction of chocolate chips in the cookies, because I intended to eat them afterwards. Nom Nom Nom.
I’ve always been partial to the combination of oatmeal and raisin, thanks to Mrs. Fields oatmeal raisin cookies. I’m not talking about the cookies that come in a pre-packaged bag and sold at your local grocery store. I’m talking about freshly baked Mrs. Fields cookies that you munch on while waiting for the next train home. For those of you in Toronto, that would be at Union Go Station.
Similar to Mrs. Fields, the cookies from this recipe are puffy, soft and chewy, just the way oatmeal cookies should be. They’re not too sweet and not too bland, completely just right. If you plan on storing them after baking, I would suggest using the storage method I wrote about here: ‘How to Keep Cookies Soft in Storage‘ and they will probably keep for 4 days. The cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Shape them before freezing, it will make your life so much easier when you take them out to bake.
Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
YIELD: 50 – 60 cookies
TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes active prep time, 10-12 minutes bake time
CREDITS: Slightly tweaked version of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies III from Janie Mai at Allrecipes
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup butter (room temperature)
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (or 187g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Slice the butter into small cubes (approx. 2 cm in size). Using a mixer, beat the butter, sugars and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy. Add in the flour and salt, mixing well.
- Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and carefully stir into the mixture—the water is still hot and can burn you if splashed (yes, this happened to me). Mix in the oats, raisins and chocolate chips by hand.
- Using a spoon or your hands, shape them into tiny balls roughly 1 teaspoon in size. Imagine using a teaspoon to carve a sphere out of the dough by rotating the spoon, this is the size and shape you want to aim for. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10-12 minutes. You would rather under bake than over bake these, so check at 10 minutes for the first time you try this recipe. After you remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool for 3 minutes before moving, otherwise they will crumble.
STORAGE
- How to Keep Cookies Soft in Storage
- Cookie dough can be stored for 3 months in the freezer
NOTES
- Beating sugar and butter together is called ‘creaming’. This step ensures that the sugar is spread evening throughout the butter, and also adds air to the mixture, making the final product lighter and fluffier.
You have an absolutely beautiful site! These cookies look and sound so amazing, can’t wait to try them!
Thank you Erica! These cookies are really delicious, and everyone that tries them also thinks so! Let me know of your results!