If you're thinking that "Oats are only for health freaks", I think you're wrong! The crunchiness of oats is simply inevitable in this simple recipe. Not to mention, the sweetness of the raisins just compliments the oats like glue to paper.When mixing water to the wet batter (step 3), it may look as if it will never combine. Remember, butter is a form of fat, and fat + water don't mix that easily. All you have to do is just keep mixing until it forms a smooth, slightly runny mixture. When mixing oats and sifted ingredients, its best to mix till just combined because working the gluten too much may harden the cookie when it bakes.
Baking the cookies at a moderate oven need not take too long, especially for these delicate cookies. I may suggest an extra minute or two, but not to the extend of 15 minutes. It'll brown too much and burn the raisins. When removing the cookies, it may appear to be soft, but it'll get to its crunchy state after leaving it on the wire rack for a while.
You can also substitute raisins for mixed peel, dried cranberries or even better, chocolate chips for the extra indulgence. As you come to see the recipe, I would actually suggest that you use less than the amount of sugar stated. For my case, I did cut less than 1/4 cup of sugar because the sweetness of the raisins is good enough to exhilirate the taste of the cookie. But if you prefer a sweeter cookie, by all means! You can even use honey for the rustic taste. Just substitute 1/4 cup of sugar with honey. Not too much though! You don't want the honey to take over the taste of the authentic oatmeal raisin cookie, do you?
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Recipe makes : 50-60 cookies
Ingredients :
- 1 cup wholemeal flour
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup of water
- 3 cups rolled oats or quick cooking oats
- 1 cup raisins
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celcius. Sift the wholemeal flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl and leave it aside.Beat the butter and brown sugar till fluffy and creamy.Add egg and vanilla essence to the butter mixture. Beat till just combined. Then, add water and mix. Pour in sifted ingredients into the bowl and mix. Add the oats, and finally the raisins. Mix till just combined.Roll the batter into small rounds and flatten it onto a sheet of baking paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly brown. Be aware that the cookies do not expand that much. Flattening it will add the crunch to the cookie.Cool on a wire rack and munch away!By Sabrina
