The best thing about an oatmeal cookie, besides its wonderfully chewy interior and crunchy around the edges exterior, is the fact that I can justify eating more than I normally would because it contains oatmeal. Oatmeal = Health Food = Eat As Much As You Want. You can’t argue with reasoning like this, especially if you refuse to think about the copious amounts of brown sugar and butter involved.
I was drawn to this particular oatmeal cookie, probably because it contains everything but the kitchen sink, and figured that it would be a winner because it’s from Cook’s Illustrated, whose recipes I’ve tried in the past with much success.
The result was probably the most rich tasting oatmeal cookie that I’ve ever had. You’ll definitely want to have a nice, tall glass of milk on hand when you eat one of these babies. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the texture, which ended up being crisp rather than chewy, very unlike the type of oatmeal cookie that I love. The recipe stated that the cookies would appear underdone and raw in the center after their allotted baking time and, even though I baked them on the lower end of the time scale given in the recipe, they were still crunchy.
I’ll admit that the less than stellar results were probably due to my error. I ended up with 18 cookies instead of the 16 that the recipe states, so I must have made them a bit too small (I used a disher to get a uniform size) or flattened them too much before baking. However, if I try this recipe again I’ll cut the baking time by at least 5 or 6 minutes. Still, it was a very tasty cookie and would be fabulous if the result was much chewier.
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries (the original called for dried tart cherries), coarsely chopped
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate , chopped into chocolate chip sized chunks
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12×18 inch cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. If you need to roast the pecans, put them on a cookie sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until you can smell the pecans. Cool and chop.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together dried cranberries, pecans, oatmeal, and chocolate. In a second medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt.
4. Cream butter and sugar together on medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer or spoon), about 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until fully incorporated. On low speed, add flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Still on low, add the oatmeal mixture and mix until just incorporated. If using a stand mixer, give the dough a final mix with a rubber spatula to incorporate any pockets of flour or oat mixture that may be hanging out at the bottom of the bowl.
5. Divide the dough into 1/4 cup (2 oz.) portions and roll into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Stagger the dough balls onto the two cookie sheets, spacing them approx. 2 1/2 inches apart (8 to a sheet). Gently press each dough ball down until approx. 1 inch thick. Bake both cookie sheets for 12 minutes, then rotate pans in the oven and bake another 6 to 8 minutes.
NOTE: Keep your eyes on the cookies during the last 6 to 8 minutes and remove from the oven when they still appear underdone — raw, wet, and shiny in the cracks — if you want chewy, crunchy only around the edges cookies. When the cookies are done, the edges will be set, but the centers will still be somewhat gooey.
6. Cool cookies on the cookie sheets placed on a wire rack or racks for 5 minutes. After the first 5 minutes of cooling, transfer the cookies to a wire rack using a large spatula and cool until room temperature.
Posted in Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Food | 1 Comment »
Solid logic indeed! My wife has a healthy breakfast cookie recipe which my son just loves. He hears “cookie” and he lights up. And, of course, anything with chocolate…forgettaboutit.
posted: June 14th, 2010 at 2:54 pm