Oatmeal Raisin Cookies That Will Keep You Sane
I don't know about you, but my head started to crack a bit like an egg last night thirty minutes into the debate. And instead of throwing that egg into a skillet by continuing to watch ("this is your brain on Trump"), I decided to turn off the TV and crack a few eggs for real.
Making cookies is self-care in 2020. True, cookies are self-care at most times, but that's especially true now. These cookies -- chunky oatmeal raisins, maybe the best I've ever made -- are from Arezou Appel, the founder and baker of Zooies Cookies (the recipe was published this week in The LA Times), a cookie shop in a gas station in Cheviot Hills.
What makes the cookies so good? Little touches. There's a lot of butter, always a good sign. There's a mixture of both old-fashioned oats and instant oats, all-purpose and whole wheat flour, which helps the texture. There's ample spices -- lots of cinnamon and nutmeg -- and there's lots of raisins. (Let's not debate about raisins right now, we're all too exhausted.)
These cookies will provide cheer and sustenance as we stumble into October and then, finally, November when we can finally vote this *insert expletive here* out.
Until then, let's all just try to stay sane with cookies.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies That Will Keep You Sane
A recipe for chunky oatmeal raisin cookies from Arezou Appel of Zooies Cookies.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature (That's about 2 1/2 sticks.)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups raisins (You could also use dried cherries, cranberries, or currants (like I did because I ran out of raisins).)
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk together your dry ingredients: the flours, the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. (Truthfully, I skip this step and just add all of the dry ingredients later.)
Beat the butter and both sugars in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy and very smooth. With the machine running, add the eggs one and a time, and then the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add of your dry ingredients. Mix briefly -- you should still see streaks of flour -- then add all of the oats and raisins. Mix just until incorporated.
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop mounds of dough on to parchment lined cookie sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Slightly pat the cookies down and then bake 14 to 16 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and dry on top. (Note: the original recipe has you refrigerate the dough first for 3 hours and up to 24 hours, but I don't want to drive you any more insane than you already are.)
Cool on the sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to the rack to cool completely.
Related Posts:
European-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
"Baked" Oatmeal Cookies with Cardamom
Very Good Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies (Smitten Kitchen)
Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies (A Brown Table)
