Stress = Baked Goods

March 19, 2008 10:06 AM

Please help with with the best oatmeal raisin cookie recipe to help my doctor friend.

A friend of mine is stressed with life (she's opening her first office) and I'd like to help her out a little. Food means love in my family, and I'd like your best oatmeal raisin cookie receipes. Please note, I don't eat these so I don't know what's a bland oatmeal raisin cookie and what is a great one.

posted by Attackpanda to food & drink (18 comments total)

I just use the recipe inside the top of the Quaker Oats carton, but I substitute golden raisins. Everybody loves them. Be sure not to overbake.
posted by Evangeline at 10:16 AM on March 19, 2008

Hershey's to the rescue!
posted by Smart Dalek at 10:24 AM on March 19, 2008

I also recommend the one inside the top of the Quaker Oats carton.

And, although this is not a direct answer to your question, I will let you in on my secret: substitute a cup of chocolate chips for raisins, and you have the BEST cookies IN THE WORLD.

But the Quaker recipe is much better than you'd expect from its location.
posted by theredpen at 10:31 AM on March 19, 2008

I third the Quaker oats recipe and second the call for chocolate chips, but here's what makes them amazing. Use 1/2 cup less oats, and add some butterscotch chips in with the chocolate chips. For real, everyone loves them. Throw raisins in too, if you want.
posted by leesh at 10:36 AM on March 19, 2008

I love the oatmeal cookie recipe in The Joy of Cooking. I like to use chopped golden raisins.

One thing I learned from Alton Brown is that you can make a cookie crispier or chewier by tweaking the butter - the more melty the butter, the chewier. For crispier, don't let the butter get quite as warm. If you know your friend has a preference in this regard, you can use one of these recipes and when you use the butter, err a little bit on the side of whatever she prefers.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 10:59 AM on March 19, 2008

Evangeline's suggestion to use the Quaker Oatmeal recipe is dead on. I've been making cookies that way since I was six. It's a no-fail plain. I also add a few walnuts sometimes and they are always a hit. And the "do not overbake" advice is key. You want them a bit chewy.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 11:16 AM on March 19, 2008

Guess I was late...I should have said I was thirding the suggestion.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 11:17 AM on March 19, 2008

Consider adding walnuts. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and will therefore help reduce stress. And they are yummy!

Also, consider using frozen butter. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar, grate the frozen butter with a cheese grater, and don't mix it too well with the sugar. Your cookies will be crisper and kinda flaky. (This butter technique works even better with pastry.)
posted by owhydididoit at 11:17 AM on March 19, 2008

I like this oatmeal-cranberry-cookie recipe at Bake or Break. Raisins substitute in just fine.

Why oatmeal raisin? If it's her favorite, maybe you could find out what she likes about them before picking an oatmeal raisin cookie with a twist like chocolate or butterscotch. I personally think butterscotch chips are nasty and wouldn't think that was the best oatmeal raisin cookie ever.
posted by crush-onastick at 11:19 AM on March 19, 2008

Nthing the Quaker Oats recipe - I use 1/2 shortening, 1/2 butter to get good "loft" and a good butter flavor. I like to use the raisin medley from Trader Joe's along with some regular Sun Maid raisins for looks.
posted by fiercekitten at 11:30 AM on March 19, 2008

What's loft?
posted by canine epigram at 12:12 PM on March 19, 2008

@ crush-onastick - she loves oatmeal raisin cookies swears they are the One True Cookie! I've made all kinds of other cookies, but she tells me how good the "One True Cookie" is. (in my family that was health food so we never ate them)

@ fiercekitten - what's loft? I've never heard of it
posted by Attackpanda at 12:38 PM on March 19, 2008

And the "do not overbake" advice is key. You want them a bit chewy.

A handy tip: if you remove the cookies from the oven while the centers are still a bit shiny and raw-looking, they will be chewy and soft. If you wait until they look like they are fully cooked, they will be overcooked and dry.

I also plump raisins in hot liquid before I mix them with the cookie dough, as recommended by Cooks' Illustrated. I usually use kirsch, but plain old water is better than nothing. Steep the raisins in a small quantity of hot liquid to soften and hydrate them so they don't draw moisture from the dough.

I just dump 'em in a microwave-safe jar, sans lid, pour a little liquid over them, and heat for 15 or 20 seconds, then remove from microwave, slap on the lid, and let the raisins steep for fifteen minutes. Drain if necessary, cool if necessary, then put the raisins in the dough.

This step means you bite into soft, plump raisins instead of hard wizened ones.
posted by Elsa at 2:39 PM on March 19, 2008

"Loft" - more puffiness in the finished product, like a pillow. When you make a sugar cookie or pie crust with butter it's less "puffy" because of the water content in the butter itself. It's flatter and more crispy but tastes like something. When you make it with shortening you get more puffiness but it's less flavorful because it tastes like nothing and has less of the crumb you get with butter.
The whole butter/margarine/shortening/oil thing can drive people to distraction.
posted by fiercekitten at 5:15 PM on March 19, 2008

I don't know how this compares to the Quaker recipe (it could even BE the Quaker recipe, but I don't have a tub around to check), but if you're looking for a thin, almost crispy oatmeal raisin cookie, I've always had great success with this:

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, soft
3/8 cup molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup raisins, or more

Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add eggs, butter, molasses and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Fold in oats, then raisins.

Drop heaping teaspoons on greased cookie sheet.

Bake in 325 degree oven 12 to 15 minutes.


Makes about 6 dozen.
posted by bibbit at 9:38 PM on March 19, 2008

Does anybody have the Quaker Oats recipe on hand? They don't have Quaker Oats in Africa.... or molasses from what I've seen in these parts.

Bibbit, your recipe looks tasty too!
posted by nathaole at 6:40 AM on March 20, 2008

Here you go. There are a lot of variations on this site as well.
posted by Evangeline at 7:45 AM on March 20, 2008

My mother's "kitchen sink cookies"---oatmeal, pecans, raisins... and chocolate. because chocolate makes everything better. (also good with some peanut butter chips.)


1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raisins
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
8 oz. semi-sweet choclate chips
8 oz. milk chocolate chips

Cream the butter, shortening and sugars with the vanilla.
Add the eggs and milk and whip 3 minutes at high speed.
Sift the flour with the baking soda and salt, beat into the batter and mix another minute.
Stir in the oatmeal, pecans, raisins and chocolates.
Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 about 12-15 minutes (check them rather than timing them). They should look set and dry on top, but not yet brown around the edges.
Best served warm and squishy.
posted by FlyingMonkey at 7:09 AM on March 25, 2008