The Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Previously on The Quest for the Perfect Oatmeal Cookie:

• Introduction
• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3

     I have done it!  After meticulously following and judging six different oatmeal raisin cookie recipes (yielding a total of about 12 dozen cookies) I am happy to announce that I have crafted the Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.  This is an oatmeal raisin cookie far more significant than any other.  They combine everything I liked about the recipes I tried.  Just take a look at it's ratings:

Name of Recipe:  The Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie (recipe by me)

Time: 1 hour 15 min (including 30 min chilling time)

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Special Characteristics: soaks raisins; has baking soda and baking powder; uses  coarse salt and old-fashioned oats; dough is refrigerated for 30 minutes

Taste: rich dark brown sugar taste; hint of nutmeg and cinnamon; flavorful raisins; hint of salt to balance sweetness; welcoming oat flavor

Texture: soft and chewy; slightly crisp on the outside; plump, juicy raisins

Appearance: nice wrinkled edges, cracks on surface, and golden brown color

Effort: Easy, and doesn't leave a mess in your kitchen

Overall Grade:  A+

      Need I say more?  These cookies are amazing. Try making these. If you've never cared for oatmeal raisin cookies, these will change your mind.  

      I know there are a lot of recipes that profess to be "the best" or "the ultimate" but really, this recipe is more trustworthy than any of those. Why?  Well for starters, I tried and judged those recipes myself. The experience of baking all those cookies really enlightened me on what techniques and ingredients made a cookie special.  To name some: coarse salt and dark brown sugar have bolder flavors, chilling the dough makes the cookie thicker, soaking the raisins keeps them juicy, and baking powder gives the cookies nice, appealing cracks on the surface.

      You may be wondering how I came up with this almost magical formula for the best oatmeal raisin cookie.   Well, for starters I looked at the recipes I tested and saw what was common.  For example, all of the recipes had 2 eggs.  

      Then I found the ratios of some of the essential ingredients in each recipe, and I connected the ratios to certain aspects of the cookie. For instance, I saw that recipes with a higher amount of oats and lower amount of flour had more of an oat taste.  Recipes with more butter and less sugar were flatter and crispier.  More sugar means a sweeter taste.  Then, I manipulated these ratios to determine what I believed would be the ratio of ingredients in The Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  This took some calculating, but I decided on these ratios:

• Butter to sugar:   3: 5
• Brown sugar to white sugar:  1.5: 1
• Flour to oats: .93: 1
• Oats to Raisins: 1.2: 1

     After that, I just threw in some ingredients and techniques that I saw worked in other recipes.

These cookies are really easy to make, too.  

Soak some raisins in hot water.

And drain them.

Whisk together the dry ingredients. 

Cream together the butter and sugars.

Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

Stir in the dry ingredients. Don't over-mix.

Fold in the oats and raisins until evenly distributed. Chill the dough. 

Scoop the dough onto the baking sheets.

Bake.

Let cool a bit and enjoy!

     I'm glad that I finally found the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.  And it feels good using my own recipe, too.  It was definitely worth going through all those recipes.  I'll probably do some test like this again sometime.  What should I test next?  Apple pie?  More cookies?  

Enjoy!

The Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

makes 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1-3/4 cup plus 2 tbs (8.4 oz) all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher or coarse salt

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup (4.8 oz) white granulated sugar

1 cup (7.2 oz) packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tbs vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup raisins, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to combine.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Mix in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
3. With a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Fold in the oats and raisins until evenly distributed.
4. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
5. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Prepare baking sheets by spraying with nonstick spray or lining with parchment paper.
6. Scoop 2 tbs of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center of the cookie is set. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool further.  

The Quest for the Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: Day 3

Left: Whipped's cookie
Right: Paula's cookie

Previously on The Quest for the Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie:

• Introduction
• Day 1
• Day 2 

     Spring Break is finally here today!  I know most other schools got out a week ago. Spring break means lots of time for baking and blogging, and that there's only one quarter of Freshman year left.  I don't know how I feel about that next part.  

      So today I bring you the last two recipes by other people that I will be testing.  Next, I will combine all the good aspects into one cookie, the one we're all waiting for.  Since Good Friday is tomorrow and Easter is this weekend, the ultimate oatmeal raisin cookie recipe may have to wait until next week, though.  Don't panic, it's worth waiting for.  

      This first recipe is by the famous Paula Deen and can be found here.  I'm sure you've heard of her.  I remember she made this crazy Krispie Kreme doughnut breakfast sandwich once.  It was like the epitome of unhealthfulness.  But it's not like her oatmeal raisin cookies are that bad for you, though there is more butter than usual. This recipe also has some nice PEE-cans, as Paula likes to call them.  It's pretty interesting how in this recipe, you put soak the pecans and raisins in water and then microwave the mixture for 90 seconds.  The resulting mix is delicious.  Also, the higher amount of butter and smaller amount of oats in the cookie results in a flatter cookie that spreads more when baked.

Name of Recipe: Paula Deen's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 3-4 dozen

Special Characteristics: more butter, less oats; has pecans; raisins and pecans are soaked

Taste: lots of good cinnamon flavor; nutty from pecans; buttery; very home-like taste

Texture: crispy, crunchy, a bit of softness in the middle

Appearance: lacy edges, very flat and spread out

Effort: easy to make

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: I like the pecans and the cinnamon

Cons: they are very flat-looking and don't have any chewiness

     This next recipe is from the food blog Whipped and the recipe can be found here.  The recipe is titled "The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies."  They're great, but I wouldn't say that they are the best.  They are a lot different from the oatmeal raisin cookie I'm used too, since they lack cinnamon and instead have a strong dark brown sugar flavor.  These cookies also use craisins in addition to raisins, which add some tang.  I adore dried cranberries.  The old-fashioned oats add a nice texture contrast to the chewiness of the buttery cookie, but I feel that the cookie needs a bit more oats.  The cookie feels like a chocolate chip cookie.  The recipe, like Paula Deen's, calls for 2 sticks of butter, but this cookie has more sugar. The dough is also refrigerated, which is supposed to make the cookie thicker.  Overall, I liked this cookie better than Paula's, but it still could use some improvement.

Name of Recipe: Whipped's "The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookie"

Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 24-28 large cookies

Special Characteristics: has cranberries, more butter and sugar, old fashioned oats, dark brown sugar, and no cinnamon; dough is refrigerated for 10-15 minutes; cookies are not completely baked through in the oven

Taste: ruled by dark brown sugar and a vanilla taste; a bit too sweet

Texture: soft and chewy, slightly crisp outside

Appearance: deep brown, wrinkled edges; round and large

Effort: creaming the butter takes more effort because of the higher sugar to butter ratio; the dough has to be rolled into balls by hand

Overall Grade: A-

Pros: chewy, nice appearance, nice dark brown sugar flavor

Cons: needs more oaty flavor and some spice

     Now I'm done with testing other people's recipes, and I have to formulate my own.  Making all these recipes was a really nice, educational experience for me and I think I now know what makes an oatmeal raisin cookie good.  On the other hand, now I have a ton of oatmeal raisin cookies at my house, even though I halved each recipe!  I think I'm going to have a break from my favorite cookie for a while after this.  

Enjoy!

Paula Deen's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

makes 3-4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup raisins

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 cups old-fashioned oats, uncooked

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Add 1/2 cup water to the pecans and raisins, then microwave for 90 seconds.  Allow the raisins and pecans to sit on the counter for about 10 minutes.  Drain the raisins and pecans and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the butter and the sugars and beat with an electric mixer until very creamy.  Add the vanilla extract and eggs, and beat again until mixed.
4. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Add it to the butter mixture.  Add the oats, raisins, and pecans.  Mix together.
5. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheet.  Leave plenty of room for the cookies to spread.  Bake until the cookies are cooked in the middle, 10-12 minutes.  Remove the cookies from the oven. Cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Whipped's "The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookie"

makes 24-28 large, 3-inch cookies

Ingredients

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cups raisins

3/4 cups dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350*F.  
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Whisk to combine well. 
3. In a separate bowl beat room temperature butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add room temperature eggs, one at a time, beating each until fully incorporated.  Add vanilla and combine.
4. Add the flout mixture little by little, mixing until fully incorporated.  Use a large wooden spoon to mix in the oats and the raisins and cranberries.
5. Put the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare your baking sheets, lining each with parchment paper.  After about 10-15 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator and spoon out large scoops of dough making balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick.  
6. Place 6 balls on each pan so they won't be too close together.  Lightly press each ball to make a disk that is about 1/2 inch thick.
7. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, turning the pans half way through.  When you remove them from the oven, the edges should be lightly brown and the inside should look uncooked.  Leave the cookies on the hot pan for 10 minutes when you take them out of the oven.  They will continue to cook and the middle will firm up.  

The Quest for the Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: Day 2

   

Left: Annie's Eats' Cookie
Right: Cuisine Magazine's Cookie

Previously on The Quest for the Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie:

• Intro
• Day 1

     Judging cookies is really hard.  That is one thing I learned from testing these oatmeal raisin cookie recipes.  I don't like being so negative in my reviews, but I kind of have to here.  It's for the good of finding the perfect recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies.

    So here we have Annie's Eats' "The Ultimate Oatmeal Raisin Cookie."  This recipe uses some pretty fancy ingredients like mixed raisins and real vanilla beans.  Though I did rather like the appearance of those little black speckles of vanilla bean seeds in my cookie, I decided that vanilla beans were not essential and vanilla extract would work just as well.  Normal raisins would be a good substitute for mixed raisins too, though the fancier raisins did have a lovely flavor similar to that of sunshine.
     Aside from using the mixed variety of raisins, this recipe does something unique with its dried grapes.  The recipe tells you to soak the raisins in hot water for half an hour to re-hydrate them.  This produced a lovely, moist cookie with nice plump raisins which actually somewhat burst when you bit into them.  Another technique in this recipe was refrigerating the dough before hand, which I believed made the cookie nice and thick.

Name of Recipe: Annie's Eats "The Ultimate Oatmeal Raisin Cookie"

Time: 30min + 30min chilling time and 10 minutes thawing

Yield: 2 dozen

Special Characteristics: has vanilla bean seeds, mixes raisins, and kosher salt; refrigerates dough; soaks raisins in hot water

Taste: Spicy (it reminds me a bit of pumpkin pie without the pumpkin); oat-y; nice hint of salt; flavorful, bright raisins

Texture: Soft and chewy; plump raisins

Appearance: Dark, circular, lumpy, thick but flat, little air holes

Effort: moderate: worth the effort but takes some time

Overall Grade: B+

Pros: bold flavor, chewy, good use of kosher salt, plump raisins

Deltas: uses ingredients that aren't always on hand; could use more texture; not the most attractive cookie

     Next I will be judging Cuisine Magazine's "The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookie." Food.com claims that "they're better than any you've tried before."  The recipe may seen ordinary at first, but at a closer glance you'll see it's much different than many other oatmeal raisin cookie recipes.  First of all, it uses dark brown sugar instead of the usual light brown sugar.  Dark brown sugar has a higher amount of molasses in it, thus giving the cookie an intense, deep flavor (and a beautiful tan color).  Unexpectedly, this cookie doesn't have any cinnamon or nutmeg in it, but the flavor of the dark brown sugar definitely compensates.  Also, the recipe calls for kosher salt, which gives the sweetness a nice balance, and equal amounts of baking soda and baking powder.  Most recipes call for just baking soda, but I believe that the inclusion of both leaveners is what contributes the cookie's attractive cracked surface.  Believe me, this cookie is attractive.  

Name of Recipe: Cuisine Magazine's "The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookie"

Time: 26 minutes

Yield: 3 dozen

Special Characteristics: has dark brown sugar, kosher salt, and a mix of baking soda and baking powder; doesn't have cinnamon

Taste: the deep flavor from the brown sugar is the star of this cookie, combined with the oats;  also has a hint of salt and a buttery flavor

Texture: crunchy outside, chewy inside; a bit floury

Appearance: crackly top, tan color, nice thickness, very round cookies

Effort: I really like how instead of creaming the butter and sugar separately, you just throw all the wet ingredients in a bowl and cream them together; this recipe is really easy to follow and quick to make

Overall Grade: B+

Pros: nice intense flavor, quick and easy to make, very attractive

Deltas: Could use some spice and less crumbliness 

     So there we go.  There wasn't a clear winner this round.  I enjoyed the bold flavor of the first cookie, but as I took a bite of the second cookie I just couldn't decide which was better.  Both recipes had their pluses and minuses.  Anyways, this isn't about comparing recipes, it's about finding certain ingredients/ techniques that work and then putting them together in one perfect oatmeal raisin cookie.

Enjoy!

Annie's Eats' "The Ultimate Oatmeal Raisin Cookie"

Yield: 2 dozen

Recipe from Annie's Eats

Ingredients

1 cup plus 1 tsp (144 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tbs (7.7 grams) ground cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp (7.4 grams) baking soda

1-1/4 tsp (3.6 grams) kosher salt

11 tbs (5.5 oz or 155 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup (140 grams) light brown sugar

5-1/2 tbs (69 grams) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (62 grams) eggs (about 2 large eggs)

2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise

1 tbs vanilla extract

2 cups (155 grams) old-fashioned oats

1 cup (156 grams) mixed raisins, re-hydrated (soak in in hot water for 30 minutes, then drain and blot out excess moisture with towels)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour,  cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla beans into the bowl and mix to blend in.  With the mixer on medium-low speed, blend in the vanilla extracts and eggs just until incorporated.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, stir in the oats and raisins, mixing just until evenly incorporated.  Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 325*F.  Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Use a large cookie dough scoop (about 3 tbs) to drop the dough in rounds on the baking sheets, about 2-3 inches apart.  Bake, rotating the pans once halfway through baking, until the cookies are just golden brown and nearly set, about 17 to 18 minutes.  Let cool on baking sheets.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Cuisine Magazine's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Yield: 3 dozen

Recipe from Food.com

Ingredients

Whisk together and set aside:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

Cream wet ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Then stir in:

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1-1/2 cups raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Whisk dry ingredients; set aside.
3. Combine wet ingredients with a hand mixer on low.
4. To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the color lightens.
5. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible.
6. Overmixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie.  Now add the oats and raisins; stir to incorporate.
7. Fill a #40 cookie scoop and press against side of bowl, pulling up to level dough (to measure 2 tbs of dough)
8. Drop 2 inches apart on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.
9. Bake 11-13 minutes (on center rack), until golden brown, but still moist beneath cracks on top.
10. Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Quest for the Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: Introduction

     The question I most like to ask people is simply "What's your favorite type of cookie?"  I guess to me, it just tells me a lot about their personalities.  For instance, there are the daring double-chocolate chip fans, mellow white chocolate chip macadamia nut lovers, and traditional chocolate chip advocates.  Personally, I have a soft spot for a good oatmeal raisin cookie.
      Why oatmeal raisin?  While I was growing up as a younger kid, oatmeal raisin cookies were the treat my mom baked for me most often.  They have always been something to indulge in on Sunday nights, right before I had to face another week of having to wake up early and cramming for tests.  Now, I'm addicted to the nutty flavor of the oats combined with the soft, chewy raisins in oatmeal raisin cookies.
       Recently, though, I have been searching for the perfect oatmeal raisin cookies.  There are so many variations on a classic cookie that I don't know which recipe to bake.  There are recipes for crisp cookies and chewy cookies, recipes that soak the raisins in water and recipes that don't, and recipes for cookies with chocolate chips, nutmeg, chopped apples, pecans, quick oats, old-fashioned oats, and even vanilla beans.  See how daunting this quest I have set upon is?
        This quest thing is probably going to be just like cookie quest in 6th grade and my science project in 7th/8th grade.  I remember in 6th grade I had to bake six dozen chocolate chip cookies for my classmates to sample during cookie quest (some competition thing where different classes try to have the best cookie stand, which was actually pretty fun).  In 7th and 8th grade, I did a science project on how pH level of cupcake batter affects the height of the cupcake, and I had to spend an entire weekend baking 10 dozen cupcakes.  I'm so glad that's over.
        So throughout the next week or two, I will be testing various oatmeal cookie recipes from numerous sources.  I will probably bake a half-batch of two different recipes at a time and compare them, then make special notes of their ups and downs.  When I have acquired enough knowledge on the characteristics of a good oatmeal raisin cookie, I will try to make my own recipe, combining what I like from different recipes.  Then we will have the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie.
         Before I start with the recipes,  I should say what in my opinion is a perfect oatmeal raisin cookie.  Though I am very open-minded, I do have some specific standards for a good oatmeal raisin cookie, such as:

• They can't be too sweet.  Not like those store-bought ones that just taste like sugar cookies with raisins thrown in.
• They have to have some chewiness.  They can't just be clumps of flour and oats that crumble when you bite into them.
• They have to have some crispiness.  They need texture, and some flimsy cookie won't cut it.
• They can't rely on chocolate.  These are oatmeal raisin cookies, not chocolate chip cookies.  If you really want to, you can add chocolate chips to the recipes yourself.

        So, let the quest begin!