Phoenician Gourmet: One Recipe Two Cookies

A cookie is described as a thin, sweet small cake. By definition; a cookie can be any of a variety of hand-held, flour-based sweet cakes, either crisp or soft , crunchy or chewy, variously shaped, filled, and cut . Whatever is the definition a good cookie is a good cookie and the flavour and texture is the big star.

I am sharing with you a good base Oatmeal cookie which you can take it to another level,
by adding spices, fillings, even the leavening agent can make it soft and chewy or crumbly and crunchy.

Best Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup raisins
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter softened “not melted in the microwave”
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar (if you prefer your cookie too sweet use one cup)
1 ¾ - 2 cups all-purpose flour depends on the flour and the humidity
1 ½ - 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ tsp. each freshly grated nutmeg and all spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups rolled oats

For the cranberry oatmeal cookies

1 cup cranberry
1 cup toasted chopped cashews or pistachios
1 cup dark chocolate

For the raisin oatmeal cookies

1 cup raisin

1 cup toasted chopped almond , or walnuts/pecans

Directions:

1. In two separate bowls soak the raisin and the cranberry in hot water for 1 hour then drain on paper towel.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. In a large bowl, cream the soft butter (do not melt the butter in the microwave the cookies will be flat) brown sugar, and white sugar together. Whip the eggs one by one into the batter to get a smooth fluffy texture.

4. Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda and the salt. Add the oats and stir. Add the wet ingredients and keep mixing with your hands and don’t use the machine it will over mix the ingredients. Your hands are the best Machine.

5. If you are planning to use the two kinds of cookies divide the batter in two bowls “otherwise adjust the stuffing ingredients” in one bowl add one cup raisin, and one cup toasted chopped almond. In the second bowl add one cup cranberry, one cup chocolate and one cup toasted chopped cashews. Mix well to combine

7. Leave the batter in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

8- Line the baking trays with parchment papers; either use a tablespoon and drop the cookies or use an ice cream scoop , which I used 2 inch scoop for my cranberry cookies and got large cookies, for the raisin almond cookies I rolled by hand a walnut size balls .

9. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 9-10 minutes depends on your oven, keep your eyes as they get dark quickly.

Enjoy.

Cranberry, Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies