Cinnamon-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe

Cinnamon-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

July 15, 2006

Wolfgang Puck

Give me a handful of good oatmeal cookies any day. I like to use quick-cooking oats for the recipe that follows; but you could substitute old-fashioned rolled oats if you'd prefer coarser, chewier cookies. Of course, my recipe includes just about everything I like to add to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning: butter, sweet spices, brown sugar, raisins and walnuts. If you like, try replacing the raisins with dried cranberries or dried cherries. In fact, you might want to hide this article from the children, or they'll demand cookies for breakfast!

Ingredients

1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
Pinch of salt
8 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
2/3 C. granulated sugar
2/3 C. light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 C. quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats
2 C. seedless raisins
1 1/2 C. coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, allspice and salt. Set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle or beaters, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed just until soft and smooth. Add the granulated and brown sugars and continue beating; once the sugars are incorporated, raise the speed to high and continue to beat for several minutes until the mixture looks fluffy, stopping the machine from time to time to scrape down the side of the bowl and under the beaters if necessary with a rubber spatula.

Reduce the speed to medium and, one at a time, add the eggs, beating just until smoothly combined. Add the flour mixture and beat at medium speed just until combined. Add the oats, raisins and walnuts and beat just until combined. On the kitchen counter, place a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to completely enclose the cookie dough. With the spatula, scrape the dough from the bowl onto the plastic wrap. Seal the wrap around the dough and refrigerate at least 2 to 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Position the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. With your fingers, pinch off golf ball-sized pieces of dough and roll them between your palms until round, then put them on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake a sheet at a time until the cookies are slightly firm to the touch, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheet after 7 to 8 minutes to ensure even baking. With a wide metal spatula, transfer the baked cookies to a wire rack to cool. If reusing the baking sheet, let it cool slightly before placing more balls of dough on it. Once the cookies have cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Yield: 4 dozen

(Chef Wolfgang Puck's TV series, "Wolfgang Puck's Cooking Class," airs Sundays and Wednesdays on the Food Network. Also, chef Wolfgang Puck's latest cookbook, Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy, is now available in bookstores. Write Wolfgang Puck in care of Tribune Media Services Inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY. 14207.)
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