Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies used to be my least favorite cookie when I was little especially the ones with raisins. Good thing I have grown out of that dislike because now I make them all the time. My dad always requests oatmeal cookies and there is no escaping a batch of oatmeal cookies when he's around. This recipe is not my traditional recipe, it's a tiny bit healthier because there is whole wheat flour. I guess you could say you are eating healthy when you eat this cookie... Anyway the original recipe for this had icing on the top, but I decided to skip the sugary topping and eat it plain. A good idea that was because these cookies turned out great without icing and I'm sure they would be even better with. So if you have a dad that constantly bugs you for cookies, or you are just in the mood for a warm oatmeal cookie I would no doubt make this.

Yield: 30 3-inch cookies (with a 2 tablespoon or #40 scoop), larger if your spread more

I halved the recipe and it made 19 (2 1/2 inch cookies) with my medium scoop. You can always refrigerate extra dough and bake it another day.

What you need:

Butter for baking sheets 2 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon (8 1/4 ounces or 231 grams) old fashioned oats 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces or 65 grams) whole wheat flour 1 cup (4 3/8 ounces or 125 grams) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons (20 grams) baking powder 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 cup (8 3/8 ounces or 238 grams) dark brown sugar 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) granulated sugar 1 teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon 1 teaspoon (2 grams) freshly grated nutmeg (I used less, because I was nutmeg-wary, but wouldn’t have minded more) 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 2 large eggs

Icing: * 2 1/4 (9 1/2 ounces or 270 grams) cups powdered sugar 5 to 6 (75 to 90 ml) tablespoons whole milk 1 tablespoon (6 grams) cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Rub two baking sheets with butter. In a food processor, grind 1/2 cup of oats to a fine powder, then add remaining oats and grind them all together until it resembles coarse meal, with only a few large flakes remaining.

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back any bits of grains or other ingredients that remain in the sifter. In a small bowl, whisk butter and eggs until combined. Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Scoop balls of dough about 2 to 3 tablespoons in size (I used a #40 cookie scoop, which scooped 2 tablespoon-sized balls) onto cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. When tops are evenly brown, take them out and transfer them to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Let cookies cool completely before icing.

In a bowl, whisk icing ingredients together until smooth. It should have a honey-like consistency. Drizzle the frosting over the cookies. Let the frosting set for 30 minutes (or more; it took longer at my place but by the next day, was fully firmed up) before eating. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

* I chose to leave out the icing which is why the photos just show the plain cookies. You can make the icing but I found the cookies to still taste good without.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen