Thursday 22 October 2015

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Yum

"Cooking is an art, baking is a science"

I’m sure everyone is familiar with this quotation. In fact, this is the reason why I was put off by baking for a very long time. Now I’m not here to tell you the aforementioned saying is rubbish, but I am here to prove to you that baking doesn’t have to be that hard.

For one, baking only requires a few basic, non-expensive ingredients, most of which should already be in your pantry:

unsalted butter-85p
plain (all-purpose) flour-45p
baking soda & baking powder-£1 each
vanilla extract- £5.50 (your one and only expensive item, and the bottle lasts a lifetime
salt-25p
*eggs-£1.75 for a dozen of free-range
*milk-£1

 *these aren’t always essential, but they are definitely used in many cases

As long as you have these ingredients, you can make anything: cake, cookies, muffin etc., and you can probably do it in less than an hour, with little trouble. Consider their combination as a blank canvas to which you can add whatever you fancy: chocolate, peanut butter, molasses, oats, fruit, etc.

There is one important rule for baking- always be precise in your measurements. If you can do that, then you are set.

The recipe I have for you today is especially easy, and my favourite combination, so I do hope you will all give it a go. If not, definitely try the banana bread- nothing easier than putting all your ingredients in a bowl and mixing it up.


Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes about 12 large cookies

Supplies
Measuring Cups
Hand Mixer or Kitchen Aid, or if you are going old school, a wooden spoon
2 large bowls
Baking trays
Wax paper

Ingredients
½ cup Butter
2/3 cup Sugar
1 ½ cup Oats
¾ cup Raisins
¾ cup Flour
1 Egg
½ tbsp. Vanilla
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Salt


Method
  •  Preheat oven to 350F/180C, and have your baking trays ready with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, cream Butter and Sugar until smooth. Then add Egg, and Vanilla, and continue to beat until light and smooth.


  • In a separate bowl, add Flour, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, and Salt. Mix.
  • Add your dry ingredients (bowl 2) to your wet (bowl 1), and mix with a wooden spoon until they are combined. Add oats, and continue to mix.

  • Chill your dough for 5 minutes. When the time is up, scoop out your dough, roll it in a ball, and flatten.
  • Add to your baking tray and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookie are golden brown.

  • Remove and let cool. (I like my cookies to be soft. If you prefer them to be hard and biscuit like, then leave in the oven for 15 minutes total)




On a difficulty scale, with 1 being super easy and 10 being impossibly hard, I would say these are probably a 3. So, if you are new to baking, and would like to test the waters, try this recipe. It's almost fail proof.

Enjoy

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