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Recipe: The Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies with 7 Variations

Desserts - Cookies, Brownies, Bars
THE ESSENTIAL CRUNCHY OATMEAL COOKIES

"This oatmeal cookie is crumbly-crunchy, the lightest-textured of all the oatmeal cookies we tested. If you're not a raisin-lover, leave them out; but we feel both raisins and nuts give a plain oatmeal cookie pizzazz."

3/4 cup (6 ounces) brown sugar
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 cups (10 1/2 ounces) rolled oats
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (6 ounces) raisins, packed (optional)
1 cup (4 ounces) diced pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease or line with parchment two baking sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugars, butter, shortening, salt, baking powder, spices and vanilla, beating until smooth. Beat in the egg, then add the oats and flour. Stir in the raisins and nuts. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Using the flat bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten each ball of dough to about 1/4-inch thick.

Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. These are supposed to be crunchy, so don't underbake them. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

VARIATIONS:

CHOCOLATE CHIP-OATMEAL COOKIES:
Add 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips to the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe.

VERY VANILLA OATMEAL COOKIES:
Add 1 vanilla bean, finely ground, to the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe. This will add an assertive hit of pure vanilla to your cookies.

TRAIL MIX JUMBLES:
Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, replacing the raisins with 1 cup (5 1/4 ounces) dried cranberries, and adding 2/3 cup (4 ounces) chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolates, and 1/3 cup (1 ounce) flaked coconut, unsweetened preferred.

CRANBERRY CHEWS:
Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, substituting 1 1/2 cups (7 7/8 ounces) dried cranberries and 1/2 cup diced walnuts for the raisins and nuts. Add 1/4 teaspoon orange oil, or 1 tablespoon grated orange rind.

OAT SCOTCHIES:
Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, substituting 1 cup (6 ounces) butterscotch chips for the raisins and using diced pecans. Add a few drops strong butterscotch or butter-rum flavor, if desired.

MOCHA CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES:
Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, adding 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder to the dough, and substituting 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips for the raisins, and 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts for the pecans or walnuts.

COCONUTTIES:
Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, adding a few drops strong coconut flavor to the dough and substituting 2 cups (6 ounces) shredded unsweetened coconut for the raisins and nuts. If you use sweetened coconut, reduce the sugar (either brown, or granulated) in the recipe by 2 tablespoons.

Makes 4 dozen cookies
Source: The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
MsgID: 0220720
Shared by: Betsy at Recipelink.com
Board: All Baking at Recipelink.com
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