italian dessert recipes

The BEST Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

"Basic, easy and truly THE BEST!"


best oatmeal raisin cookies The best oatmeal raisin cookies come from a basic recipe. This is one of those basic drop cookie recipes - BUT there are a few tips that keep these chewy and moist. ( Read the substitutions and FAQs below for tips)



I have tried a zillion recipes for oatmeal raisin cookies - and I have been baking this one for over twenty years. There are a couple of things I do that keep them moist and keeps them from turning into flat frisbees.

I would have to say this so far is the only recipe on my site that I can't truly classify as an authentically Italian dessert recipe. I'm sure my Italian grandma is forgiving in that ( God rest her soul). And too she is probably laughing because of all places I found this recipe - (pause) - in a cookbook I bought at Walmart. (*gasp*!)



The BEST Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

YIELD: 4 Dozen

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup of flour

1 cup quick oats (not INSTANT)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups of raisins



Procedure

 * Preheat oven to 350 degrees

* Lightly spray or grease cookie sheets

* Cream butter and both sugars

* Beat in egg and then vanilla

* Add remaining ingredients ( except raisins) and thoroughly combine.

* Add raisins last, just stir in.

* Drop cookies on prepared sheet

* SEE TIP BELOW so that your cookies won't be flat pancakes or crispy frisbees.

* Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. JUST UNTIL set but still soft and edges are lightly golden.

* Don't over bake



Recipe found in All The Best Cookies by Joie Warner





Can I use shortening instead of butter?

Noooooooooooooooooo! Don't do that. You will lose all the flavor. Besides shortening probably has some toxic waste in it and we will find out 100 years from now that it shortened our life. PUN INTENDED!

How do I keep the cookies from flattening if I use butter?

Simple. Make sure your dough is chilled before you drop the cookie on the sheet. I stick the batter in the fridge while I clean up. Then I drop the cookies on the sheet and keep the cookie sheets in the fridge until I bake. If you don't have room to do it that way - KEEP THE DOUGH CHILLED until it hits the oven. So drop 'em at the last minute.


Can I add nuts?

Yup


How do I make this an Italian cookie recipe?

Well you could do several things - but it wouldn't be the traditional flavor that makes these the best oatmeal raisin cookies. Ok, so if I were going to experiment, I may try the following:

  • Soak raisins in rum or bourbon


  • Substitute 1/3 cup of almond meal in place of 1/3 Cup of flour


    • Of course, I can't suggest these with experience behind my words. I'm only appeasing my ethnic conscience. I really do think these are the best oatmeal raisin cookies ever without messing around.


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    Other Italian Cookie Recipes




    lisa gianotti I love sugar and I eat dessert EVERYDAY! Ok, not MASSIVE amounts. But I do have to finish off the evening meal with a little sweet something.

    When I was a kid my health conscience mother would ration my Halloween candy. Her mantra was, "white sugar will kill you". But my Italian grandma always told me, "Everybody needs a little bit of sugar." :-) So, to get my October Halloween sugar fix I will make the traditional Italian cookie recipe, Venetian Bones of the Dead. Italians make these for the Day of the Dead on November 2nd. So - hey, our holiday in America - Halloween is the closest.

    So - while the neighborhood is slamming down a bunch of gross mass produced candy on October 31st, I'll have a real goodie. Oh yeah, I'll have to post it too! (Eventually!) You know how it is. Work. Kids. Clean. Cook.



    I'll see if Bones Of The Dead is in my grandma's first recipe file she started when she married in 1932. Most of the recipes on my site came from her influence. If they aren't in her file - then I got them from her friends. And the remainder I experimented with adapting her style.

    I hope she looks down and smiles this Halloween.

    Lisa


    Would you like to share this page? You know how to do it! Thanks for sharing the sugar love!



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    Recipes on this site are from family cookbooks, family traditions, or intentional adaptations from traditional recipes to add an Italian flair. If a recipe was adapted or used from another cook - it is mentioned on the recipe page and the recipe author is given credit.