OATMEAL RAISIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: National Oatmeal Cookie Day & National Raisin Day!

Today we celebrate two food holidays: Oatmeal Cookie Day and Raisin Day. Put the two holidays and their ingredients together, add Chocolate Chips, and make these delicious Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

OATMEAL RAISIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup ground walnuts
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup raisins

Directions
In small bowl mix flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
In large mixing bowl beat butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
At low speed, beat in flour mixture until blended.
Fold in ground walnuts, oats, chocolate chips, and raisins.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease 2 baking sheets.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly with fork.
Bake cookies until lightly browned around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer to flattened brown paper bags or wire racks to cool.

Tip: Dough also freezes well. Freeze dough balls on a cookie sheet and then put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer until ready to bake!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies: National Oatmeal Day

Today is National Oatmeal Day, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than with Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies! Make sure you use the very best ingredients for the best results. For these cookies, I've used great chocolate from Amano, Guittard, Taza, and Alter Eco, but you can use what you have or like! Just break the bars up into small chunks. Of course, you can always use chocolate chips!

This is an easy recipe that consistently wins the hearts and reaches the tastebuds of friends and family. I've adapted this from myrecipes.com. I like walnuts rather than pecans, and I use sweet European butter, Madagascar vanilla and great dark chocolate.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies 

Ingredients
1 cup sweet European butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla  (Madagascar)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups uncooked regular oats
About 11 oz. dark chocolate chopped into chunks
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring well. Add oats; stir well. Add to butter mixture; stir until well blended. Gently fold in chocolate chunks and walnuts.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until brown around edges. Cool on pan 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

Easy and fabulous! Celebrate.

Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies: National Oatmeal Day

October 29 is National Oatmeal Day. I've posted Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies several times. As with most chocolate chip cookie recipes, you can never have too many! Variety, after all, his the spice of life!

Epicurious has a great recipe for Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. The steel cut oats (Scottish oats) give it a very chewy-crunchy flavor you'll love. If you don't have steel cut oats, you can use old fashioned oats, but you'll have a softer cookie. I use DARK cocoa powder for an even richer chocolate-y taste and dark chocolate (85% cacao bars, broken into small pieces) instead of chips, but you can use either.

Ingredients
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract
2 tablespoons steel-cut oats
1/4 cup dark chocolate (75-85% cacao, broken into small pieces or dark chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter large rimmed baking sheet. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat until moist clumps form. Mix in oats with spatula until evenly distributed (dough will be very firm). Add chocolate pieces or chips and knead gently to blend.

Using moistened palms, shape 1 generous tablespoon dough into ball. Place on prepared sheet; flatten to 2-inch round. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing rounds about 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until center is slightly firm and top is cracked, about 14 minutes. Cool on sheet.

Celebrate National Oatmeal Day!

Photo: Epicurious