Last night I really wanted to make some cookies but had no desire to 1. make ANOTHER trip to Wal-mart and 2. spend money. So I thought ok, what do I have in my kitchen? Raisins and oats…Raisin Oatmeal Cookies! Probably not that exciting for many people, but I happen to love them. So I hopped online and found this highly-rated recipe from Allrecipes.com for Beth’s Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I quickly got to work figuring out how I wanted to change the recipe. I guess I can’t leave good enough alone; it’s seriously an issue.
Anyway, as I gathered my ingredients I also found nearly empty bags of chocolate chips and coconut. And then it hit me that I had walnuts in my freezer! Yep, it was all going in the cookie! And then things really got crazy…I decided to use CAKE flour! See, I did some research and found that cake flour has a very low percentage of protein which lends to the tender quality it gives cakes. So I figured by subbing some for the AP flour, I might get a little bit softer cookie. Did it work? I think so but I honestly would need to do a side by side comparison to be 100% sure how much of a difference it made. They puffed up nice and big right out of the oven but definitely deflated a bit when cooled.
Regardless, the cookies were delicious, very buttery, slightly chewy around the edges and soft inside. The flavor reminded me of Chai, which I happen to love! The only change I might make is reducing the cloves to 1/4 t. It was just a teensy bit too pronounced for my taste. And I do believe soaking the raisins makes all the difference! I will definitely do that from now on. Feel free to play with the ingredients like I did–you never know what wonderful creation you’ll come up with!
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice Cookies
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened
3/4 c. Shortening
1 c. Packed Light Brown Sugar
1/2 c. White Sugar
2 Eggs
2 t. Pure Vanilla Extract
1 c. AP Flour (or 1 1/2 c. if using all AP Flour)
1/2 c. + 1 T. Cake Flour
1 t. Baking soda
1 1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 t. Ground Cloves
1/2 t. Salt
2 c. Quick Oats
1 c. Raisins, soaked in 1 c. spiced rum for 2+ hours (or warm water) and drained
3/4 c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
3/4 c. Sweetened Flaked Coconut, toasted
1/2 c. Walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a mixer, cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar and white sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and then vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour(s), baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and thoroughly combine. Stir in the oats, raisins, chocolate chips, toasted coconut and walnuts. Drop onto the baking sheets with a 2-inch scoop.
Bake 9 minutes, rotating pans and switching racks half-way through. Let cool on pans for 2 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.
Makes 45 cookies.
TIP: For just about anything “toasted” (such as coconut and nuts) all you need to do is spread it in a single, even layer on a baking pan and pop into a 350 degree oven for 6-7 minutes. Easy!
I’ve found that bread flour is most recommended for soft, chewy cookies. Not sure how that compares to “tender,” but I have had some good ones with it! (PS King Arthur’s AP has as much protein as some bread flours)
Can’t wait to bake soon!