Thick & Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

I have been baking up a storm lately!! Ok, I have made banana muffins and oatmeal cookies, but whatever, I don't really bake that often. I also made some Toll house Choc. Chip Cookies last night, but that doesn't really count, cause its the recipe off the bag and not really that exciting.

So a while ago I looked up recipes for chewy, soft oatmeal cookies, cause really, I despise crunchy hard cookies...especially if they are meant to be soft! So I found a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, who by the way, I love! This is the 2nd recipe I have made so far. She has a recipe for Thick & Chewy Oatmeal Cookies, and they are yummy! Now I love a good oatmeal cookie, and I have to say I really enjoy making these more than other cookies. They are so easy and I had everything on hand.

Thick & Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg1/2 tsp. vanilla3/4 cup flour1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins (I used ones that were actually made for baking, they were moister)
1/2 cup walnuts (I used 1/4 cup almonds, cause half my batch was with nuts)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and egg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture until smooth. Stir in the oats, raisins and nuts if using them.
• At this point you can chill the dough for a bit, or scoop the dough on the cookie sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking.
  
• Scoop cookies onto parchment lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes (mine took 7 1/2 - 8 cause my oven runs a bit hot) until the edges are brown and golden.
  
• Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.

I found my cookies to get a bit more brown than I expected, but they are still delicious.

*Note: By the way! I am having so much fun being able to take my food photos in natural lighting!! So fun!! I swear I took 40 pictures of these cookies...some were a bit blurry which was kinda disappointing, but seriously...I am so proud of the pictures, as well as the ones for the Sour Cream Banana Muffins. Plus it helps that I have a lovely green wall to take pictures against. Shout out to my brother and sister-in-law who got me those great appetizer plates in the first photo up there...I was so glad I saw them and thought to use them for my cookie pictures.

left: with slivered almonds right: just raisins

Happy Baking & Eat, Drink & Be Merry!

-BellaRosa