There are 5 types of cookies 1) chocolate chip, 2) oatmeal cookies, 3) peanut butter, 4) monster cookies, and 5) Girl Scout Cookies! Today’s focus is oatmeal cookies. These drop cookies are a descendant of the Scottish oatcake.
What is an oatcake you may ask? Glad you asked, because an oatcake is a type of flatbread similar to a cracker or biscuit. They are prepared with oatmeal as the primary ingredient, and sometimes they include plain or wholemeal flour. Oatcakes are cooked on a griddle (girdle in Scots) or baked in an oven. Oatcakes have been documented as existing in Scotland since at least the time of the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, and likely even before then. Oatcakes have also been described as being the “mainstay of Scottish breads for centuries”. Around AD 1357-60, Jean Le Bel, describes the Beguine nuns making “little pancakes rather like communion wafers”. This is thought to be an early description of a Scottish oatcake.
Now the first recorded oatmeal cookie recipe was published in the United States by Fannie Merritt Farmer in her 1896 cookbook, the Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. While Farmer’s original recipe did not contain raisins, their inclusion grew more common over time, due in part to the oatmeal raisin cookie recipes featured on every Quaker Oats container beginning in the early 1900s. I like adding dried cranberries along with the raisins, it just gives it an extra pop of flavor.
As these cookies became prominent in the United States in the early 1900s, they came to be known as a health food because of the fiber and vitamins from the oatmeal and raisins. But don’t let that fool you, the nutritional value of an oatmeal raisin cookie is essentially the same as a chocolate chip cookie in sugar and calorie content. Depending on how many raisins or oats are added, the fat and fiber content may not be much different either. Just something to think about before eating an entire plate of cookies. And trust me that is completely possible with this recipe. It’s like getting a warm hug from a good friend.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Beat in eggs, one at a time; add vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder. With the mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until well combined.
Beat in oats and raisins until just combined.
Arrange tablespoon size of dough on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
