The BEST Oatmeal Raisin Cookies EVER!

[Andy M.]

Andy, I don't know about any changes - all I know is that I've used this recipe for so long and have the same one in my hard copy recipe binder. It's my go-to. What recipe do you use?

Quaker Oats has the same recipe on their webpage.

Hi Cheryl, the recipe I copied was from 2003 and there are slight differences in the amounts of butter and the two sugars. The recipe I use calls for a full cup of butter, ½ cup of sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar.

I noticed this change a couple of years ago when I happened to be opening a new carton of oatmeal and decided to check out the recipe to see if there were changes.

 

[JustJoel]

Officially Cookie Obsessed!

It’s official. I’m mad about cookies! My oatmeal cookies were super (if I do say so myself). Then I came across a recipe for cookies made from boxed cake mix! I happened to have a box of yellow cake mix in my cupboard, so I made oatmeal raisin cookies with it:
1 box cake mix
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsps molasses (not in the recipe, but I like the flavor and how it makes the cookies softer)
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups raisins, plumped in hot water (okay, sweet vermouth, honey and hot water! ‘‘Tis the season, after all!)
A few grains of coarse sea salt on each cookie

Each cookie 1 heaping tablespoon, baked at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes.

I have to admit that the oatmeal flavor was lost pretty much, though the oats did add a nice texture.

Tonight, I’m ditching the oats altogether and making cookies with boxed devil’s food cake mix, and stuffing each cookie with a Rolo candy! And maybe, again for the texture (and the fiber), I may add the little bit of oats I have left.

And the challenge after that? Florentines! You know, those lacy thin, crisp cookies dipped in or drizzled with chocolate. I may have a hard time eating them, but I’m willing to make the effort! Oh, and I must try those cut out cookies from Katy H, here on DC!

It won’t be long before I’m a Sessame Street character. Cookies, cookies, cookies!!!

 

[JustJoel]

Update: Devil’s Food cake mix cookies

Mixed results on the devil’s food cake mix cookies.

I made one batch of dough/batter. I say “batter” because it was very very moist, almost (but not quite) pourable:
1 box cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
I added, as is my wont, 2 tbsp molasses. This may have been a mistake.

I separated the batch in half. I pressed Rolo candies into each cookie (a heaping tbsp). I anticipated that it would be a royal mess, so I froze the candy first. I chilled the dough as well, because it was so moist! Pretty good actually, but several of the cookies lost the candy center. Not enough dough surrounding the candy, maybe?

I added plumped raisins and rolled oats to the second half. The oats added a nice texture, although the dough was still very wet. The raisins weren’t unpleasant, just a little odd.

Both batches exhibited a slightly bitter taste (that’s not a good thing), and the oven spread was considerable. The cookies from both batches were very very soft (that’s not a bad thing!).

Neither batch was as sweet as I expected.

Could the molasses have something to do with the slight bitterness? In my next trial, should I add a quarter cup or so of light brown sugar to make it sweeter, and leave out the molasses?

Most of these soft cookie recipes say to bake until the edges brown a bit and the centers are just starting to brown. But how do you tell, if you’re using a chocolate cake mix???

Comments are more than welcome! Please!

 

[Bama-Rick]

I always use butter flavored shorting for cookies, when I use butter the cookie often flattens like a pancake.

 

[Andy M.]

I always use butter flavored shorting for cookies, when I use butter the cookie often flattens like a pancake.

That's because butter has a lower melting point than shortening and melts, allowing the cookie to spread out flat. To combat that, you can chill the dough before putting cookie dough on the cookie sheets. As the butter is colder, its melting is delayed allowing the cookie dough to set into a thicker cookie. Keep the dough in the fridge between batches and cool off the cookie sheets under cold running water between batches.

 

[taxlady]

That's because butter has a lower melting point than shortening and melts, allowing the cookie to spread out flat. To combat that, you can chill the dough before putting cookie dough on the cookie sheets. As the butter is colder, its melting is delayed allowing the cookie dough to set into a thicker cookie. Keep the dough in the fridge between batches and cool off the cookie sheets under cold running water between batches.

That sounds, to me, like a better way to deal with it than to use something that isn't real butter.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Along the same lines. When majing Toll House cookies, use. Baking powder in place of baking soda, and add 2 tbs. water to the recipe
Fold in crispy-fried bacon bits, alon with chpprd, roasted pecans. Add raisenettes to some cookies. Butterscotch morsels to some, and chocolate chips to some. Cocoa nibs are great in these as well. Chewey, crispy, comes from the same coockie dough. It just fepends on how jong you bake them. Of course, if you like a flatter, chewyer cookie, use the baking soda. You can still add the other ingredients. You can even omit the cjocolate and they come out great. You can also mix cocoa powder with the flour to make a chocolate Toll House coockie.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Bama-Rick]

I do keep cookie dough in the fridge between baskets but I never thought of cooling the baking sheets between batches I'll try that. Most cookies turn out alright, not flatten out but cookies have always vexed me.

I'll try cooling the pans and switch back to butter, thanks for the tip.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Using the baking powder jn place of backing soda leavens the dough. Adding the water activates the baking powder, and the cookies come out soft, and cake-like. The water also develops the wheat gluten just enough for the cookie to hold its shape. I use butter only, as I trust the products of nature far more than I trust the man-made substitutes. If I have to use a solid fat, I use lard. But that's just me. Use what you prefer.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North