Oatmeal raisin cookies

Sometime ago, I embarked on another type of snacks : cookies.  This is a deviation from my usual cupcake baking, which has begun to look alike to me, if I forgo the embellishments.

In my earlier experiments, I made some cookies which looked better than its taste. Some self reflection and trouble shooting later, I pinpoint the culprit to the soapy taste of baking soda, an essential component of cookies. It was a great revelation to me and suddenly, I began to notice its presence in even store bought cookies.

Needless to say, that called for subsequent experiments. After n numbers of oatmeal raisin cookies, I have derived one that is not rock-hard and without any hint of baking soda.  A last note: 5-spice powder is an unlikely bedfellow to go with cookies, but think of it as a double strength cinnamon. It is a linchpin to the character of this cookie, but if you wish to stick to cinnamon powder, double the cinnamon powder to 1/2 teaspoon instead.

Here's my recipe for 36 small cookies.

A:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg, room temperature

B:

3/4 cup al purpose flour

1/4 tsp 5-spice powder.

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

C:

1 1/2 cup rolled oats, quick cooking type

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts,toasted and chopped coarsely

Preheat oven to 200 C. Prepare baking tray big enough for 36 drop cookies. I baked in 2 batches in my convection microwave oven.

Sieve ingredients B twice. Set aside.

Mix ingredients C well. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, whisk softened butter until it is broken up. Add sugar and whisk in batches. Add vanilla, egg and whisk until mixture is runny.

In  3 batches,  again sieve  B into butter-egg  mixture and whisk.

When flour and butter mixture is well mixed, add small portions of C and mix thoroughly. The resulting batter will be sticky and lumpy.

Transfer teaspoons of batter to baking tray. Bake at 200C for 10 minutes or until cookie edges are golden brown.

Cool for 2 minutes and remove cookies from sheets. Cool cookies further on wire racks. Store in an air tight container only when completely cool.