Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - made dough December 24, 2022 from Sally's Baking Addiction

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon molasses

1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats

1 cup raisins

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add eggs and mix until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bottom and sides of bowl to keep mixture even textured. Add vanilla and molasses; mix until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Beat in the oats and raisins. Dough will be thick yet sticky. Cover and chill dough in refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
4. Portion into golf-ball-sized dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls, 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about raisins in oatmeal cookies. Or any other kind of cookies for that matter. The only time I ever put raisins in oatmeal cookies is when I make them for my nephew-in-law, Zack. In fact, I decided to try this recipe in case it was something I wanted to make for Zack next time I saw him and my niece.

Plus, to be honest, I still had a container of raisins from the last time I made oatmeal raisin cookies for Zack and I didn't want to waste them (I'm a first generation immigrant; we don't throw food away). So I put them in this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction instead of doing my usual substitution of chocolate chips.

With the exception being the taste test cookie, of course. When I made the oatmeal cookie dough and before I added the raisins, I portioned off a cookie-size portion of dough and studded it with milk chocolate chunks instead. That was my taste test cookie. I used up the rest of the raisins with the remaining dough.

Let me tell you, the taste test cookie was fabulous. Crisp edges, chewy middle, delicious caramelized brown sugar flavor and great texture from the oats. In fact, I'm not exaggerating when I say this was so good that I don't think I'll be testing new oatmeal cookie recipes for awhile. This one is good enough to be my go-to recipe for oatmeal cookies, at least for the foreseeable future. 

And in case you wondered what I did with the rest of the batch with raisins in it, since Zack wasn't around, I shipped them off in military care packages for Soldiers Angels. Hopefully there are military service members who won't mind raisins in their oatmeal cookies when the packages arrive at their destinations.