It’s been a while since I’ve made cookies! I have no idea why that is, but when Zander looks at me and says “Mommy, we should make cookies” I listen, and hunt down a recipe for the day.
These days there are so many cookie cookie recipes, that simply searching for “a cookie” can be very daunting. So today I took a pantry assessment and decided to make a cookie based on what I had to save me a trip to the store. The result of my search was an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie dough.
I made a few changes to the additions. Instead of raisins, I used dried cranberries, since that is what my kids prefer, and instead of nuts I used a new favorite here, honey-roasted sunflower seeds, and then because I was feeling fun I added a 1/2 cup of mini M&M baking bits. The resulting cookie is an excellent oatmeal cookie. This is a crispy cookie- which is exactly how I like my cookies. Crispy, delicious, and sweet. In fact, despite my affinity for sweet, I daresay, this cookie might be on the overly sweet side, and you could probably cut back on the sugar a bit. I would try using 3/4 cup granulated sugar instead of the full cup. (Please understand when I say this that I like sweet- and it always bothers me when people call cookies too sweet- they’re meant to be sweet! But in this case…let’s just say I’m surprised that I’ve found a cookie that I can deem almost too sweet. Upping the salt to 1/2 a teaspoon couldn’t hurt either.)
Here is the cookie I used, add whatever you want, it’s a great cookie.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1 cup honey roasted sunflower seeds (or nuts of choice)
Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and the sugars together until creamy. Add the vanilla and egg and mix well. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and stir just until combined. Finally, stir in the oatmeal, raisins, and sunflower seeds.
Drop by tablespoon-ful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to a baking rack to cool completely.