Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
While I was sure that more cookies are probably baked in December than any other time of the year, I had no idea that the very day that I planned to publish my cookie recipe would actually be the National Cookie Day—December 4. Everyone loves a good cookie, and here is one that we have been making for almost twenty years, and they are a success with everyone that we share them with. These cookies sustained us on many a long trip, and provided a great Saturday evening dinner for many years. Years ago we used to eat an early dinner at 2:00 on Saturday afternoons. Then for supper we would make oatmeal raisin cookies and have all that we could eat with a glass of nice cold milk. For awhile we had two young men who would come and spend the weekends with us working on the farm. The tradition of oatmeal raisin cookies for dinner was a big hit with them, especially since all the ingredients are whole foods and they could eat as many as they wanted and not have a sugar crash. The nice thing was that since the cookies were so wholesome—you didn’t need to eat too many of them before you were satisfied. One Saturday we had spent the day processing chickens, and afterwards we were all relaxing on the front porch when one of the young men asked if we had made any cookies yet. We told him “Not yet,” and he strongly suggested that we spend the next hour making some. We gladly obliged him. How would you like to make a cookie that you do not have to feel guilty about during the holidays—or any day?
The ingredients in this recipe make all the difference in the world—just ask my brother-in-law who fell in love with the cookies when my sister would make them for him before they got married. After they got married, she tried to make them for him—using white flour and brown sugar, and they just didn’t taste as good. I use whole wheat pastry flour—freshly ground when I can. Pastry flour is made from soft white wheat, and has a more delicate texture than the hard red wheat. It works great for pie crusts, cookies, and cakes. Years ago when Mom made homemade sourdough bread, she always made it with half soft wheat and half red wheat.
The rapadura sugar is minimally processed and therefore the natural sugar is not separated from the molasses, it has more nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It is metabolized more slowly than white sugar, and therefore will not affect your blood sugar levels as much as refined sugars.
Organic rolled oats, farm fresh eggs, rich yellow organic butter all help to add to the wholesomeness of these cookies.
3 cups organic rolled oats
1 1/2 cups rapadura sugar
1 cup softened, butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups raisins
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a mixing bowl combine oats, sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Add flour, and continue to blend until well mixed. Stir in the raisins by hand. Drop dough by teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with fork, and bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie rack and ENJOY!
