Hello Recipe Club,

I would like to thank the fine folks at King Arthur Flour for contributing their recipes from their new book, The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, The Essential Cookie Cookbook. I would also like to thank Lisa Ekus and Trina Kaye for putting me in touch with the folks from King Arthur. If you don't have a copy of this book yet, or know someone who would like one for Christmas, now is the right time to order one. Click Here
 

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The Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie

This oatmeal cookie is crumbly-crunchy, the lightest-textured of all the oatmeal cookies we tested. If you're not a raisin-lover, leave them out; but we feel both raisins and nuts give a plain oatmeal cookie pizzazz.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (6 ounces) brown sugar
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 cups (10 1/2 ounces) rolled oats
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (6 ounces) raisins, packed (optional)
1 cup (4 ounces) diced pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease or line with parchment two baking sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugars, butter, shortening, salt, baking powder, spices and vanilla, beating until smooth. Beat in the egg, then add the oats and flour. Stir in the raisins and nuts.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Using the flat bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten each ball of dough to about 1/4-inch thick. 

Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. These are supposed to be crunchy, so don't underbake them. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

Baking time: 20 minutes.

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Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie Variations:

Chocolate Chip-Oatmeal Cookies:

Add 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips to the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe.

Very Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies:

Add 1 vanilla bean, finely ground, to the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe. This will add an assertive hit of pure vanilla to your cookies.

Trail Mix Jumbles:

Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, replacing the raisins with 1 cup (5 1/4 ounces) dried cranberries, and adding 2/3 cup (4 ounces) chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolates, and 1/3 cup (1 ounce) flaked coconut, unsweetened preferred.

Cranberry Chews:

Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, substituting 1 1/2 cups (7 7/8 ounces) dried cranberries and 1/2 cup diced walnuts for the raisins and nuts. Add 1/4 teaspoon orange oil, or 1 tablespoon grated orange rind.

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More Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie Variations:

Oat Scotchies:

Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, substituting 1 cup (6 ounces) butterscotch chips for the raisins and using diced pecans. Add a few drops strong butterscotch or butter-rum flavor, if desired.

Mocha Chip Oatmeal Cookies:

Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, adding 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder to the dough, and substituting 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips for the raisins, and 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts for the pecans or walnuts.

Coconutties:

Prepare the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie recipe, adding a few drops strong coconut flavor to the dough and substituting 2 cups (6 ounces) shredded unsweetened coconut for the raisins and nuts. If you use sweetened coconut, reduce the sugar (either brown, or granulated) in the recipe by 2 tablespoons.