Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These cookies have an average post-oven lifespan of about 20-25 minutes in our house.  Chris is not usually a big dessert fan (I’m often stuck eating them all on my own…darn), but he scarfs down fresh cookies like none other.  I got out of lab early this afternoon, so I made a batch when I got home.  Since Chris likes them fresh, I bake up one tray of cookies, and then freeze the rest of the batch for later use. (By later, I mean probably tomorrow.  These don’t even last in the freezer.)

Also of note: this recipe makes a batch about half the size of a normal batch of cookies – perfect for two, but feel free to double it.  Or quadruple it.  Especially if Chris is coming over.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup flour (all-purpose, or whole wheat if you’re feeling healthy)

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups instant/quick oats

1/3+ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cream the butter & sugar.  Add in the egg & vanilla, and beat until smooth.  Mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt (I don’t believe in dirtying two bowls to make cookies, so just plunk these all in the bowl at the same time, mix them around a bit on the top, then stir into butter/sugar mixture.)  Stir in the oats and raisins.  Chill the dough for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator (or speed up the process in the freezer). Use ice cream scooper to divide into equally shaped balls, then bake for 12-14 minutes.  

I don’t love tons of raisins, but feel free to use more if you’d like.  I suppose you could also add some nuts, but we’re not big on nuts in cookies around here.