Best Oatmeal Cookies EVER!

A few weeks ago I actually BOUGHT bakery cookies for my daughter's birthday treat.  My kids normally insist on having those big Great American cookie cakes for birthdays, frosted and decorated and oh so yummy, but our Great American Cookie is currently shut down for new ownership or something...  We have another local cookie bakery called Hot Box Cookies which was actually started by a college kid in our town.  Those cookies are awesome and beyond wonderful!  

What I figured out when I bought Hot Box Cookies was that even though most people won't say that oatmeal raisin cookies are their favorite, they are always the first cookies to go.  I decided right then and there that I really needed to find a go-to oatmeal cookie recipe.

Of course, I have several favorite blogs that I can always depend on for great, home cooking food.  I found this recipe at one of the best- Chickens on the Road.  HERE is Suzanne's original recipe for Iced Oatmeal Cookies.  I believe the last recipe I posted also came from this great blog.  I don't mean to just re-post recipes Suzanne has already posted, but I definitely want to be able to look back and find recipes that work well for me.  I have found the best way to do that is to post them right here in little old bloggyland.  This way, I know just-a-what-I-like!

These cookies are so wonderful!  Suzanne frosts hers with melted white chocolate and I had some leftover cream cheese frosting in my fridge from the Ditch the Box Homemade Chocolate Cake that I thought about using but, after tasting these cookies?  They needed nothing!  These cookies are nice and chewy, yet crisp - fabulous, fat little cookies that didn't spread out into lace.  I just cannot describe them in any better way than PERFECT!

Here's how I made the Best Oatmeal Cookies EVER - AT HOME MY WAY:

Best Oatmeal Cookies EVER!

• 3/4 cup butter (use the real thing), softened to room temp
• 1 cup dark brown sugar (I didn't have brown sugar so used 1 cup regular sugar and added 1 teaspoon molasses to my creamed ingredients)
• 1/2 cup regular white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I omitted-didn't have any)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup raisins (+water for cooking them)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Put the raisins in a little pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and then shut off.  Let them sit 15 minutes - just while mixing your cookie dough.  Then, fully drain and cool a little to add to the dough last.

Cream butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg.  Then add baking powder, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves.  Stir until well blended.

Add flour and stir to mix completely.

Then add oats, stir to mix completely (will be a very stiff dough).

Add the drained, plumped/cooked raisins and stir to mix.

Place scoops/rounded balls of dough on sprayed cookie sheet to bake.

Bake in fully preheated oven at 375 for approximately 12 minutes.

Look how fat these little babies are!

Enjoy!

Gina