Thursday, November 17, 2011

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Nut Cookies

Just 'for because', I drizzled some browned butter icing across their tops after they'd cooled for about 30 minutes....

Below:  The cookies made with the small cookie dough scooper thing are on the left, and the row with the bigger dough balls are in the single row on the far right side and are noticeable larger.

Below:  Larger cookies are in the front row...



This makes a large batch, but they don't last all that long... for your convenience, I'll add the measurement for a small batch in parenthesis.

Cream together:
2 cups butter, softened (1/2 cup)
2 and 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed (2/3 cup)

Add and mix well:
4 eggs (1 egg)
2 teaspoons vanilla (1/2 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons baking soda (1/2 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon salt (1/4 teaspoon)

Add:
3 cups all-purpose flour (3/4 cup)
6 cups quick, or old-fashioned oats (1 and 1/2 cup)
3 cups raisins (3/4 cup)*
1 of 12-oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips**
2 cups chopped nuts, optional  (1/2 cup)

*I sometimes add a cup or two of dried cherries OR Craisins instead of the raisins.  Because the dried cherries are quite large, it works best to cut each into 2-3 pieces.

**  If I were making these cookies JUST FOR MYSELF to pig out on (I'm dreaming!), I would also add a 10-oz. bag of Andes Creme De Menthe baking chips; and I would add the full amount of the 'optional' chopped nuts. 


Form into balls, by hand or with scooper thing.  Sometimes, I use the smallest scooper I have-- the golf ball in the picture is a bit too big to fit INTO this scoop...




Other times, when the cookies are for 'big people', I use the larger scoop that, as you can see in the next picture, is a bit bigger than the golf ball.  I adjust baking times according to the size of the cookie ball....

Bake on parchment lined pans at 350-degrees for anywhere from 12-14 minutes or until set up and lightly browned.  (At 12 minutes, check your first batch to see how your oven does with these.)

Cool on the pans for about 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a cool surface, or a wire rack.  Freeze extras just as soon as they're cool.

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IF you wish to drizzle them with the same kind of icing I used, this is the recipe for that:
This is also my favorite 'drizzle' for cinnamon rolls, coconut chew bars, or pumpkin bars, etc.

Heat ½ stick butter in pan only until golden brown in color (stirring all the while).  Quickly add about two Tbsp. milk to stop the browning, and then some SIFTED powdered sugar until you have the amount and consistency of frosting you need to drizzle OR spread.  It may be necessary to add tiny amounts of more milk to get the right texture.   I drizzle this icing over whatever is 'drizzable'.  (You have to get on with this 'drizzling' quickly before it thickens too much to be 'drizzable'.)

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