Chewy whole wheat oatmeal cookies

After going over how to grind your own whole wheat last week, I wanted to pass along a few more recipes. Here’s another one: oatmeal cookies.

Sometimes oatmeal cookies can get dry, especially when you’re using whole wheat. The secret to chewiness here is letting the raisins get a soaking in the eggs before going into the batter.

This recipe was tweaked from the original which appeared in the 1978 Colorado Cache Cookbook put out by the Junior League of Denver.
Recipe

Ingredients:
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup raisins
*I use a combo of golden raisins, dried cranberries and regular raisins
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla)
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
¾ cup chopped walnuts or almonds

Directions:

1. Lightly beat the eggs. Add the almond extract and the raisins. Let this mixture stand, covered, for one hour.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream the sugars and butter together—whip until fluffy.
3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine all of your dry ingredients except the oatmeal and nuts.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the whipped butter and combine well with the mixer.
5. Stir in the raisin/egg combination with a wooden spoon.
   The oatmeal is the last ingredient to be stirred in. I use regular, whole oatmeal and toss 1 cup into the batter. With the other cup, I pulse it in the food processor to mince the oatmeal.  (I also add 1 Tablespoon or more of ground flax seed to the oatmeal for a health boost.)
   After your oatmeal is mixed well into the batter, add your chopped nuts.
6. Place the dough into the refrigerator for at least an hour before baking.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cook on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly golden brown.