Name: More Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup dark raisins
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose floor
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (optional)
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Instructions:

• Cover the raisins with water and bring to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat.
• Remove from the heat and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Drain and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
• Mix in the eggs and vanilla until homogeneous.
• Reduce the mixture speed to low.
• Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and allspice.
• Mix until evenly combined.
• Mix in the oats and raisins until evenly distributed. Do not overmix.
• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and as much as overnight. (Note: This is to get thicker, moister cookies.)

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and pre-heat to 350ºF
• Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Scoop heaping, 3-tablespoon balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets at least 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Flatten into pucks roughly 3/4-inch thick. (If the refrigerated dough is too firm, let it sit for a few minutes to soften slightly before scooping.)
• Bake the cookies for about 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway, until golden around the edges.
• Cool for a few minutes on cookie sheets
• Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely
• Store tightly covered for up to a week.

Comments: 3/24/2021 - I made the batter in the morning. I omitted the allspice. It took me about 46 minutes. I had not let the butter come up to room temperature so when I tried to mix it with the sugars, I got large unmixed lumps of butter until I had mixed for a long time. I should have started the raisins earlier. I let the batter cool for nearly 3 1/2 hours. It was quite sticky after it warmed up a little. The afternoon work took about 52 minutes. I got 26 cookies. Gail thought this was the better recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies.
5/5/2021 - I used ingredients as listed except for 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract instead of 1 1/2. I softened the butter by microwaving it for 45 seconds. Instead of using a mixer, I used a fork to combine the ingredients. The dough cooled in the refrigerator for nearly 8 hours. It took 34 minutes to form and bake the cookies. I let them cool 5 minutes, moved them to wire racks, and then put the racks in the refrigerator to cool them quickly. I got 20 cookies.
4/20/2022 - I ran out of raisins and substituted 3/4 cup of craisins for rest. I only cooled the dough for 30 minutes. I made 16 very large cookies.

Source: Aaron Hutcherson, The Washington Post, 9 March 2021

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