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Who want to make cookies this weekend!!! I have heard people say they don’t like a lot of things, but cookies are not one of them. We can all think back to the smell of homemade cookies fresh out of the oven. The taste of a warm cookie with a tall glass of cold milk, and of course sneaking cookies from the freezer for a midnight snack. (Ok maybe that was just me — blush)
One of my favorite cookies is an oatmeal cookie with raisins or assorted dried fruits. It just so happens that oatmeal is incredibly good for you. I am not promoting this as a health cookie, you wont see me on an infomercial promoting this a a cookie that will cure your every ailment. However increasing your intake of oatmeal does help reduce weight, lower cholesterol and reduce blood pressure. Oatmeal also is loaded with fiber which makes you feel full so you will eat less. So if you can replace a factory food cookie with something that contains oatmeal then you have done a good thing.
This cookie is also very flavorful. I think that we can eat our way to better health and weight (in my case a major concern) by eating better food. However for me this only works if it tastes good. Here is a cookie that I have come up with that is a good choice for a sweet snack.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter (organic and local is best) – At room temperature
3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar
2 Eggs (beaten)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Honey
1 1/2 cups Whole White Flour (if you cant get this go half & half white and whole wheat)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon of Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon of Ground Cloves
2 Cups of Rolled Oats
1/3 cup dark raisins
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup dark rum or orange juice
Directions
This recipe takes a little bit of wait time at the beginning. Take your butter out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Put the dried fruit in a small pot and cover with dark rum or orange juice. Put over very low heat, the warmer element of your stove if you have one is ideal. Allow the dried fruit to sit until the butter is soft.
Preheat your oven to 375
When the butter is softened, place it along with the brown sugar in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid Mixer with the whisk attachment (or a large metal bowl and use a hand mixer). I don’t shill for Kitchen Aid by the way but their mixer is one of my favorite kitchen helpers and I use it extensively. Beat the sugar into the butter until it is smooth. It is important not to use melted butter the sugar grains when beat in with the butter form little pockets of air which will make the cookies lighter in texture.
Next add in the eggs, honey and vanilla. Stir until smooth. In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda and spices. Change the mixing attachment on your mixer to the paddle. Mix these well then sift into your wet ingredients adding about a third at a time stirring each time to incorporate. Don’t skip the sifting step. It will ensure the flavors are well mixed and will weed out any lumps of baking soda which can be a very unpleasant bite.
Drain the fruit in a strainer and then add the fruit and oatmeal to the mixer and stir until incorporated.
Now for cookie sheets I highly recommend a nice heavy cookie sheet with a silicon mat to help stop sticking. These produce nice evenly browned cookies that do not stick and make cleanup a non issue. To scoop out the cookies I recommend getting a disher. It is like a small ice cream scoop, you can get them in various sizes and they will make a nice uniform cookie.
Scoop the cookies out onto your cookies sheet in about tablespoon full sizes. I like to press them down a bit to make a cookie about half an inch thick. Bake in the 375 oven for twelve to fifteen minutes. Check the first batch often, you want a nice golden brown, they will still be soft. Remove from the cookie sheet on to a wire rack. This recipe will make about 2 dozen cookies.
Play around with the recipe, try different dried fruits (though I recommend soaking them to add additional flavor and to stop them from turning into little bullets). Also you may want to add more spices or maybe play with adding a little nutmeg. Taste and try, that is the secret to good home cooking.
Thanks again to my local suppliers:
Oatmeal and Whole White Flour – Speerville Mills
Eggs – Active Life Farms
Honey: Cosman and Whidden Honey Ltd
Tim's Kitchen Table 