Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These are the very first things I baked in my new house. After five years with my may tag dual oven, I now own a Dacor wall oven and cooktop. Since my old Maytag was also gas, the cooktop is like an old friend to me; there are no surprises and no learning curve.

Ovens are another animal. Every oven is different, even the same make and model. I tested my oven with my oven thermometer to verify that the temperature it displayed was correct. It passed that test (and it preheats faster)! For my next test, I knew I had to bake something.

I am one of those strange people that like oatmeal raisin cookies more than chocolate chip cookies. I knew that this cookie would be the perfect first baked good to make; chewy, soft, full of nuts, raisins, oats and spices and dead simple and super quick to make. No chilling the dough- just cream everything together, portion the dough and bake. You’ll be enjoying cookies within a half hour.

My new oven and I are becoming fast friends; I can’t wait to share with you what I bake next in her!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups oats

1 cup raisins

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well until well-combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the oats, raisins and nuts to the batter.

Drop 2 tablespoon sized balls of dough onto a large rimmed baking tray, leaving 1 1/2 inches of space between the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through baking time. Remove and allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays to cool for 5 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely or devouring them warm with a glass of milk. Yum!

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