Don't Overlook Their Subtle Charm: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I'm determined to try all of the recipes in Sarah Kieffer's 100 Cookies, and I'm already a third of the way through. This means I am trying some recipes that I might otherwise skip. For instance, I would normally not bother with a rather ordinary-looking recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. I love the texture oatmeal provides in a cookie, but I've always thought that oatmeal raisin is pretty boring. I'm much more likely to try something slightly unusual in the oatmeal cookie category, like white chocolate, rosemary, and apricot cookies, oatmeal cookies with white chocolate and golden raisins, cranzac cookies, or toffee-apricot oat cookies.
 
The headnote to Kieffer's "Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" recipe acknowledges that oatmeal raisin cookies are easily overlooked. "[T]his unassuming cookie doesn't always make a big splash. Its charm is subtle; it hums quietly while other confections roar." 

The cookies come together quickly. You beat softened butter with sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy; add an egg and vanilla; incorporate flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and ground nutmeg; stir in oats; and add the raisins. I didn't have any regular raisins, so I used a mix of golden raisins and currants. I used a #30 scoop to portion out the dough and got 21 cookies.
The baked cookies were attractive, but probably not something I would choose if I saw them in a bakery case. And that would be a mistake, because they were so dang good. They had a crisp exterior and a perfectly chewy interior, lots of texture from the oats and raisins, and a lovely warm spice flavor from the cinnamon and nutmeg. This might be the ideal oatmeal raisin cookie. It was so comforting and familiar, and yet so much better than the typical oatmeal raisin cookies I encounter. Kieffer is spot on when she says: "in all honesty, I'm fine with the majority of people passing by these raisin-filled circles because it means there are more for me."
 
Recipe: "Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" from 100 Cookies by Sarah Kieffer. 

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