I realize it is a pretty big claim, but I stand by it – these are the Best Ever Oatmeal Cookies!
Packed with yummy things like coconut and butterscotch chips, not to mention toasted walnuts and raisins, they have a nice crispy exterior and a very chewy interior.
My taste-testing panel has been increased significantly lately. It is temporary, but you have to take advantage of these things as they come along. I mentioned before that our daughter, her husband and soon-to-be baby daughter stayed with us for a bit while they are transitioning from Georgia to a new location that is only a few hours away from us.
In my experience, there is no more discerning cookie tester than a pregnant woman. These definitely met with her approval. Maybe not quite as much as the Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies, because I don’t think you could expect otherwise, but these still fared well.
Of course, this is not the first time our daughter had enjoyed these cookies by any means. I have been making them for years, after finding plain old oatmeal cookies to be on the boring side. I worked on making them a little more tempting by adding other tasty tidbits to the recipe until this version was settled on. They have always been a favorite of Larry’s, probably because he was fonder of oatmeal cookies than I was to begin with.
You can vary the good things you add to the basic recipe. They are good with pecans or hazelnuts, any sort of dried fruit, and you can use other flavors of chips if you like. Definitely use regular rolled oats, not the quick cooking kind, which will kind of lose their texture. The dough sits at room temperature for a couple hours which ensures the oatmeal gets nicely hydrated before baking.
- 1 cup room temperature butter
- 1 & ½ cups light brown sugar, well packed
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cups whole rolled oats
- 1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- Cream together the butter and sugar, until fluffy.
- Add the eggs and beat until well combined.
- Beat in the molasses and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Add the oatmeal to the flour mixture and mix well.
- Add the flour-oatmeal mixture, and coconut to the mixing bowl and beat until well combined.
- Mix in the nuts, raisins and butterscotch chips.
- Cover bowl and allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours. It can also be refrigerated overnight if you prefer.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350º, and line heavy baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease the sheet.
- Portion cookies with a medium scoop - about 1 & ½ tablespoons, leaving a couple inches of space around each cookie so they can spread out.
- Bake for about 16 minutes, turning halfway through to ensure they bake evenly.
- Cool completely before storing in a tightly sealed container. Will keep at room temperature for up to a week.
I have to say that they are pretty much irresistable!
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