Oatmeal Cookies

I’ve heard a lot about Alice Medrich’s book, Cookies and Brownies, so I decided to pull it down off the bookshelf and try some recipes. I love her books, and enjoyed her chocolates many moons ago when she owned Cocolat in the Bay Area.

I would not make the chocolate chip cookies again, not because they weren’t tasty (they were), but because the dough was dry, crumbly, and very difficult to work with. The results weren’t worth the aggravation.
The oatmeal cookies, on the other hand, were amazing. Usually, I like my cookies thick and chewy, so I wasn’t too sure about these when they came out of the oven. I was pleasantly surprised – thin, but crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and a buttery symphony on the tongue. The nutmeg makes these cookies taste amazing.

It’s a mystery to me why this book, which gets universal praise, is out of print.

P.S. Thanks to all of you who wrote and wished me well. I’m doing a lot better!

Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon FRESHLY ground nutmeg (wonderful – try grating it fresh)
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar, lump free
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup raisins

Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinammon, and nutmeg in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or a fork. Set aside.

Cut the butter into chunks and melt it in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Let the mixture and the pan cool. Stir in the walnuts and the raisins. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator to soften. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Scoop about 2 level tablespoons of dough and place them 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. If you want smaller cookies, use 1 tablespoon of dough. Bake for about 15 to 17 minutes for large cookies, 13-15 for smaller ones, or until the cookies are a deep golden brown. Rotate baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.

Remove from the oven and let cookies firm up on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Use a metal pancake turner to transfer them to rack to cool completely before storing or stacking. May be stored in a tightly sealed container for several days.

Makes about 40 large cookies, and about 80 small cookies.