It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...A Cookie Covered Kitchen

Hey there! Meri here, now fully immersed into the holiday/baking season. Before I came home, I spent hours of procrastination time on various cooking blogs (Sam can attest to this), looking for some new recipes to try out this year. So, in addition to our family's classic cookie recipes that return each year, I've added 15 new recipes to the mix. We'll see if I make it through them all.



I made these cookies first because we just happened to have all of the ingredients in the house (we made a trip to Wegmans later that day to stock up, of course). And, I have to say that I made a good choice with these guys. I'm constantly on the search for the ultimate oatmeal cookie, and these are going to the top of the list along with some other choice recipes.



But, these Brown-Butter Oatmeal Cookies aren't your typical oatmeal raisin cookie. When I first tried one I was kind of surprised by the taste. They have a great depth of flavor that develops throughout each bite. They are slightly crispy on the outside, but warm and gooey on the inside, and the yellow raisins give it an extra little bite (along with a splash of color). Basically, these are super-delicious and definitely deserve a spot on any cookie tray.



Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of www.buttermilkbakes.com

Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
¼ cup water
¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup turbinato sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup currents

Directions:

In a large bowl toss the oats with the water, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, then whisk in the salt.

Place the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is lightly brown and fragrant. The butter will start to pop and make really scary noises--don't worry! This is supposed to happen. In fact, when the popping is just about over, that means that the butter is done browning. This should take a few minutes. Pour the butter over the oats, stir in the sugars, egg, and vanilla. Gently fold in the flour mixture. When the flour is almost entirely incorporated, add the pecans, golden raisins, and currents. Continue to fold until everything is well combined.

Refrigerate dough for two hours, or overnight which is even better if you have the time. (The dough gets very firm when cool, so it is easier to portion out the cookies before they are refrigerated. If you do this, put the balls of dough on a parchment lined dish, before wrapping with plastic wrap, just so the cooled dough does not stick to your dish.)

Preheat oven to 350º F., and line sheet pans with parchment paper. Scoop dough by 2 rounded tablespoons, and place 6-8 to a pan. Press cookies down gently to form little disks. If the cookies are breaking at the edges, smush them together a bit so that they hold their form, otherwise they may break apart a little while baking. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

-Meri