The Ultimate Oatmeal Blond-Rasin Cookies

I just love my dad! He is so good to me! I love that EVERY TIME I call and he answers the phone, he cheerfully sings, "Lyddie, Lyddie, Lyddie..." I can just count on it, and it makes my heart smile! :) His birthday is just around the corner and of course I had to mail him his FAVORITE cookies, which happened to be Oatmeal Blond-Rasin Cookies. I, too, love the blond raisins, they are a little more, but worth the price! :) So I have been on a "quest" of sorts to find the "ultimate" recipe for my Dad. I came across this one from Smitten Kitchen and really liked it- I thought she had some good tips, so I left her cometary. Her's were much thicker, because as you can see, I was not patient enough. I needed to let mine refrigerate longer. But I was stripping gears-- I mean, when you are baking cookies, you are baking cookies, not throwing the batter in the fridge! But I wish I had, because I think they would have been completely perfect. I settled for almost perfect. :) I did, however, make some additions that I think bumped it up a notch, because I like some good spice in mine!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I LOVE YOU TO THE STARS AND BACK!

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The last trick to getting a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake it. You can scoop it and then chill it, or, if you’re like us, scoop it, freeze them and store them in a freezer bag so you can bake them as you wish. I find they’re always thicker when baked from the cold — only a couple extra minutes baking is needed.

This is a half recipe. It makes a couple dozen standard-size cookies. (I get more because I make them tinier.) I always feel like I’m swimming in cookies when I make the full volume, but if you’re feeding a crowd, go ahead and double it. (As for me, I'm totally down with swimming in cookies if you are going to go to the trouble of baking them-- DOUBLE THESE BABIES!!! 2 dozen was not enough! :)

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (also add a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, pumkpin pie spice, and all spice-- gives it such a yummy spicy flavor!)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins (Use the blond raisins if you can!)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slightly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.