Growing up, I had a dislike of raisins. Nah, more like a deep set hatred. Any cookies or other treats with raisins either got tossed aside or dissected to remove the offensive bits. To this day, I prefer to avoid foods with raisins, but I will eat them to keep from being rude.
After all of these years, I've finally found one food with raisins that I enjoy! Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies! This is actually a recipe that I inherited from my mom. I remember enjoying a variety of delicious cookies growing up, but I honestly don't recall having these as a child.
Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins
Directions
Cream butter, shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (or small cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet (or parchment paper). Bake 10-12 minutes until light and golden. Cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet. Store in an airtight container.
After all of these years, I've finally found one food with raisins that I enjoy! Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies! This is actually a recipe that I inherited from my mom. I remember enjoying a variety of delicious cookies growing up, but I honestly don't recall having these as a child.
Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies:
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins
Directions
Cream butter, shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (or small cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet (or parchment paper). Bake 10-12 minutes until light and golden. Cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet. Store in an airtight container.
I absolutely LOVE baking things...and eating them. In the years that I've been making them, I've learned some very helpful tools of the trade. Here are a few of my favorites...
For cookies:
For muffins/cupcakes:
For cookies:
- Parchment Paper (This works so much better than non-stick spray and helps in the after-baking clean up.)
- Cookie Baking Sheet (This is a pre-cut version of Parchment Paper, which comes in a roll.)
- Cookie Scoop (The cookies scoop, which is the smaller of the two scoops shown, is the perfect portion for regular sized cookies.)
- Air Bake Cookie Sheets (These aren't sold as widely as they used to be, but I LOVE by Air Bake Cookie Sheets! They provide more even baking and help to prevent burning.)
- One trick of the trade: if the cookies start to get hard, place a slice of bread in with the cookies. I know it sounds odd, but it will soften them up pretty quickly.
For muffins/cupcakes:
- Baking Cups (For some people, this is a given, but I've tried making muffins and cupcakes without them, and it's messy and not as convenient.)
- Ice Cream Scoop (I'm not sure if this is actually an "ice cream" scoop, but regardless of the name, these help in filling the cups of the pan. Less mess and more consistent portioning.The slider in the scoop makes it so easy to fill the cups.