Oatmeal Cookies

These oatmeal cookies are one of the first things I made when I started baking. They’re a dessert that my family has loved eating for many years, and it is a fairly simple recipe for beginners who are just starting out. These cookies are versatile as well because you can switch up the type of add-ins you can mix into the cookies. For this recipe, I’m only using raisins, but you can add something like chocolate or nuts if you’d like.

1/2 cup of butter plus 6 tablespoons, both softened

1 1/4 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3 cups of quick or old-fashioned oats

1 cup of raisins

The first step in making these cookies is to preheat the oven. This will make sure the oven is at the proper temperature, and you won’t have to wait for it to heat up after you have already made your batter.

The second step in the recipe is to cream the butter and sugar. Add the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and cream for about 5 minutes or until the mixture looks white and fluffy as shown in the picture. I will be using a stand mixer for all of my mixing, but you can use a handheld mixer for the following steps.

After creaming the butter and sugar, add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda to a bowl. In a second bowl, add the 3 cups oats into it. Make sure to stir the mixture containing the flour with a whisk or a fork to incorporate the ingredients. This will make sure the flour mixture is properly distributed when added to the batter.

Add the eggs one at a time into the creamed butter and sugar, and mix them until incorporated. Afterwards, add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

After mixing in the vanilla, add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Make sure to scrape the bowl with a spatula or a spoon to get any excess flour off the sides of the bowl, and mix again until you see no more flour.

Now is the time to add the oats and raisins. In this step, you can also add other things such as nuts to the cookies if you wish. If using a stand mixer, first mix the oats on the lowest setting and continue to do the same with the raisins. If you don’t have a stand mixer, mix the oats in by hand with a large spoon and continue to do the same with the raisins. After mixing everything, we now have our finished batter.

Note: I used wheat pastry flour, but depending on the type of flour you use, the finished mixture will look slightly different.

Using a cookie scoop or spoon, place tablespoon sized balls of batter onto an ungreased baking sheet. The flour I used for this recipe prevent the cookies from spreading, but if you used something like all-purpose flour, make sure there is about two inches of space between each ball. After placing the cookies on the baking sheet, place them in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Once the cookies are done baking, take them out of the oven, place the baking sheet on a heat safe surface, and let them cool for about 5-10 minutes. You have now finished your oatmeal cookies!