Oatmeal raisin cookies

Last night, my roommate showed me the funniest thing I've seen in awhile: Twitch Plays Pokemon. If you haven't heard about it, basically, you have thousands of people attempting to play the same game of Pokemon Red/Blue at the same time. Essentially, it's a live stream of the main character walking in circles and generally just acting like a crazy person.

Amazingly, somehow, the game has advanced and several gyms have been beaten already. I'm not sure if this is a testament to the power of the hivemind, an argument against democracy, or just an example of the "monkeys typing on a keyboard will eventually produce Shakespeare" concept. This is really more amusing than it should be, but I've had a good time watching the live stream and just laughing to myself.

Anyways, tonight is another double baking feature - first up, these lovely oatmeal raisin cookies! I had initially planned on just making these cookies. Tomorrow's my last day in my current department before I rotate to a new lab, so I baked these cookies and put half of them in these cute cookie jars as thank-you gifts for my managers. I was going to give the other half to everyone else in the department, but there just weren't that many left over.

To compensate for the lack of cookies, I also made some brownies (which I'll write about in a separate post), so now I have plenty of desserts for everyone at work tomorrow!

This is a pretty versatile recipe for oatmeal cookies. I chose to load mine with raisins, but the possibilities are really endless of what to add: chocolate, butterscotch, M&Ms, nuts...The dough was pretty easy to work with as well. I didn't have to chill it that long to make it workable, and they baked up beautifully.

Also, it's pretty easy to convince myself that these cookies are "healthier" than my usual baked goods. I mean, oats and raisins are good for you, right? (Ignore the stick of butter and heaps of sugar). Especially after that cupcake tour on Sunday, it's important to delude myself of the nutrition of these cookies.

(By now, I hope people have realized that my blog is NOT the place to consult if you are looking for healthy dessert recipes...)

On that good note, eat up! :)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (makes ~4 dozen cookies)
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

• 1/2 cup butter (unsalted)
• 3/4 cup/150g of dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup/50g of white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp dark molasses
• 1 2/3 cup/140g of oats (not instant)
• 1 cup/125g flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup raisins (can also add in whatever you like)

1. Cream butter with brown and white sugars in stand mixer on medium speed until combined. 
2. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla and molasses and continue to mix on high speed until smooth. (scrape the bowl often). 
3. Combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the wet mixture and mix on low speed until just combined (do not overbeat). Add raisins and fold them in. 
4. Chill dough for 30 minutes in the fridge.
5. Preheat oven to 325F
6. Using a cookie scooper (I used my 2 tsp one) or your hands, form balls of dough and place them on baking sheets, at least two inches apart. 
7. Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies will look underbaked, but the bottoms and edges will be set. 
8. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and then remove from baking sheet.