Chewy Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

With temperatures in the UK at 32C(90F) for the past couple of days I wanted to bake something that didn’t take too long in the oven, so that I didn’t heat up the flat too much.  In the event even though these cookies bake in 10 minutes the flat still hit 34C and took quite a while to cool down.  But the excess heat was worth it as the cookies turned out very well.

The recipe is very simple and results in a cookie that has a little crunch on the outside, once they have cooled down, but remain nice and chewy in the centre.   Although I used raisins, as I like them very much, the cookies would be very good without them.  Or they could be swapped out for some chocolate chips or something similar and would still make a very good cookie.

I was very happy with mine, they tasted great and had a simply perfectly chewy texture.

Ingredients:

• 140g(1 cup) plain flour
• 255g(3 cups) old fashioned oats
• 85g(6 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 80ml(1/3 cup) vegetable oil
• 150g(3/4 cup) dark brown sugar
• 100g(1/2 cup) caster sugar, or granulated
• 1 medium egg(large in USA)
• 1 medium egg yok(large in USA)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 70g(1/2 cup) raisins

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170CFan/375F.
2. Line two or three baking trays with parchment paper.
3. Place the flour in a large bowl and add the salt, baking soda and cinnamon, and stir to combine.
4. Add the oats and both sugars and stir again to mix in thoroughly.
5. Add the raisins and stir again to mix in thoroughly.
6. Add the egg, egg yolk, oil, butter and vanilla extract and mix everything until all is well coated with moisture and is sticking together.  Make sure to mix to the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any flour that may be lurking there.
7. Scoop about 2 1/2 tbsp of mixture up into a ball(I used a small ice-cream scoop) and place on the baking tray.  Repeat with all the mixture, leaving a gap of a couple of inches between each.
8. Press the top of the balls to flatten them somewhat, to form thick disks.
9. Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to change colour and to firm up.
10. Remove from the oven and leave on the bakings trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.