oatmeal raisin cookies

Oatmeal raisin might be my favorite cookie, but it is hard to find a good one. A crisp outer edge and a soft center is ideal, but often they are too dry and hard. And, they never seem to have enough raisins.

Growing up, my mom made great chocolate chip cookies and wonderful Christmas cookies using her Aunt’s recipes. But, when it came to oatmeal raisin, it was my dad that did the baking. After much experimentation, the recipe he settled on is the one right on the Quaker box.

1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups Quaker® Oats
1 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered

I like adding more cinnamon and vanilla for flavor and 1/4 cup less oats for a slightly thinner cookie. Also, in my oven with convection, cooking time is 9 minutes when baking 2 sheets at a time. The picture above is from last night's batch. Thanks to Lisette for doing the beating.