Yesterday we had the dads over for a cookout to celebrate Father’s Day! For dessert I made two different variations on oatmeal cookies – one to appeal to each of the dads. They each seemed to enjoy their cookies and I enjoyed making them!
Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
from Baking Illustrated, by the editors of Cooks Illustrated Magazine
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raisins
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.
Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in the oats and raisins.
Working with a generous 2 tablespoons of dough each time, roll the dough into 2-inch balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
Bake until the cookie edges turn golden brown, about 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes.
Makes 18 large cookies.
Orange and Almond Oatmeal Cookies
Follow the recipe for Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies, omitting the raisins and adding 2 tablespoons minced orange zest and 1 cup toasted chopped almonds (toast nuts in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes) along with the oats.
Lemon Bars
Glazed Grapefruit Cake
Orange Sherbet
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
A long overdue review from the recipient of the Orange and Almond Oatmeal cookies!
First, let me say, I’m surprised I could even eat ONE of these that night after a huge cheeseburger, delicious macaroni salad, a piece of corn, and the INCREDIBLE kielbasa that was cooked (steamed?) in beer. I know thats not the focus here, but in my mind, Kielbasa in the summer is cooked on the grill till blackened, period. Now I have to change my whole outlook after 50 years and broaden my horizons!
OK, back to the cookies…..not only was the texture perfect, but the flavor, with the subtle hints or almond and orange, was perfect as well. For some reason, the orange flavor made the cookie seem very light and I felt somewhat guilt free devouring them. Apparently, the people in my office felt the same way, because when I picked up the rest of the cookies that we forgot to bring home and brought them in to the office, they were gone in a matter of hours. Comments ranged from the basic “delicious!”, to “I like it when Tracey bakes for us” to “where did you get that cookie?” when I was spotted eating one (that was stashed in my truck) with a cup of coffee at 3 PM.
So, in summary, thanks for putting so much thought into the flavors, and thanks from the rest of the office who got to try them as well!
Thanks for the comment! I’m really glad you enjoyed the meal and the cookies so much! I’ll have to start thinking about the next treat I can bake for you and your coworkers…