Ditching the raisins

May your cookie jar be ever overflowing

I love me some oatmeal cookies, but I have never understood the necessity of putting raisins in them. What is it about oatmeal that it apparently NEEDS raisins? Most of the time, I'm simply not fond of raisins (especially that possibility of getting one that is gritty inside, which simply sets my teeth on edge). Other grape products, and the grape itself, are so much more palatable, I find. Raisins also bring back bad memories of the time when my son, aged 2, ate a whole bowl of raisins at a party, unnoticed by his clearly derelict mother, and then had a night of painful indigestion and bloating, relieved only by lying on top of his father in our bed, while his dad rubbed his swollen belly, and our son moaned and...err... relieved himself of the excess gas in the .... err... usual fashion (well, the least socially acceptable fashion of the two usual means of gas expulsion). It was not a night to remember, well, not for the right reasons. So, let's just say raisins aren't popular in our house.

However, that isn't to say that oatmeal cookies are unpopular - oh no! So I came up with this recipe for a more acceptable version of the classic. If I do say so myself, it is rather delicious, and will hopefully help to dispel you all of the myth that oatmeal cookies need raisins.


Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
(makes 25 large cookies)

1/2 cup unsalted butter plus 6 TBSP, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup golden granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup wholewheat flour
3/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl until creamy.
3. Add vanilla and eggs, one by one, beating after each addition.
4. In another bowl, combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add combined mixture to butter and egg mixture and mix well.
5. Use a large ice-cream scoop (1.5" across) to scoop mounds of the dough on to ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until light golden brown.
7. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheets and then use spatula to remove them to wire rack to cool completely.