Getting Back to Basics

If the heart of the home is the kitchen, then the heart of my kitchen is the cookie jar. A full cookie jar is my love letter to my family. Because I bake cookies so often, a lot of what I make are old favorites. Not flashy, not impressive, but tasty and comforting.

I was loathe to blog about something as common as oatmeal raisin cookies, but my daughter insisted that there are a lot of people out there who don't know how to make good cookies. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites along with some baking tips. Although cookies are easy to make, there are some details that make the difference between delightful, tender treats and burnt, crunchy disasters. If you're an experienced baker and cookies are no problem for you, skip right to the recipe, but if you have some problems with cookies, try some of my cookie baking secrets and see if they don't help.

I love soft, moist, chewy cookies, so that's mostly the kind of cookie I make. A family favorite is the classic Oatmeal Raisin. I did a lot of comparison baking, trying out different recipes, comparing, asking friends' opinions, to find what I considered the best. This one has it all - soft chewy texture, generous amount of raisins, and a flavor that calls you back to the cookie jar for just one more.

Tip 1 - Have all ingredients at room temperature. To do this, assemble all your ingredients on the counter. This also ensures that you actually have all the ingredients and won't have to send your harried husband to the store to buy raisins or your child next door to borrow eggs.

Tip 2 - In the first step of creaming together the butter and sugar, don't rush. It will take several minutes and the mixture will actually change color, becoming lighter and creamier, without individual sugar crystals showing. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula several times during the creaming stage so your mixture will be consistent.


Tip 3 - There is a difference between regular, rolled oats and quick-cooking oats and instant oatmeal. Rolled oats have a coarser consistency and absorb liquids differently than the smaller flakes of quick-cooking oats. The finer the flakes, the more readily it combines with liquids. Use whichever your recipe calls for. If you use rolled oats when quick-cooking is called for, your cookies will have an unpleasantly hard consistency. If you use instant oatmeal it will form a semi-edible paste similar to glue.

Tip 4 - I have a personal theory that the reason so many people hate raisins in cookies is that they've had nasty, dry, over-cooked raisins in cookies. I, too, hate the black, dry pellets that often pass as raisins in cookies. To avoid this, make sure you use fresh, moist raisins. If yours are a little old, a little soak in a bowl of very hot water will help rejuvinate them. Pat them dry with a paper towel before folding them into the dough and they will stay moist and tasty for you.

Tip 5 - All cookie sheets are not created equal. I've been using AirBake sheets for years and have never had a cookie burn on the bottom. I love them!

Tip 6 - Underbake your cookies. Take them out of the oven a little bit before they look perfectly done. As they rest on the cookie sheet they will continue to bake a bit from the residual heat. If you take them out of the oven when they are perfect, they will be overdone. I like to take them out when the outside edge of the cookie is just turning light brown. If they look the slightest bit doughy in the center, as they cool they'll become deliciously moist and chewy.

Now you're ready to try:

Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 cup plump raisins

1- Arrange the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds. Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F.

2- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.

3 -In a large bowl beat butter and sugars together until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and beat well.

4 - Add flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in the oats and raisins, mixing well.

5 - Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

6 - Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.


Makes about 4 dozen cookies.