Golden Oat and Raisin Cookies

Whenever I see that another blogger has made cookies using oats I get a jealous impulse to make some of my own. Baking is, in my opinion, the true calling for an oat – porridge just doesn’t do it for me. The texture of oats seems to impart exactly what I look for in a cookie; a homeliness that is hard to find in the more flashy cookies. In my original oat and raisin cookie recipe I remarked that chocolate chip cookies are all well and good, but if I’m being honest, oats are where it’s at! However, I need to be more careful since using such a grammatically troubled phrase may well give me a nosebleed.

I’m posting an updated version of this recipe, simply because I don’t feel I did them justice the first time round. The recipe could have been a little more interesting, a problem rectified by the presence of almonds and golden syrup (corn syrup). However, you can probably tell from the new photos that I’m still experiencing occasional lighting issues, something which is still waiting to be fully rectified. Though, you will be pleased to note that my girlfriend, in terms of photography, has been replaced by a large white sheet.

Cookies and I have never seen eye to eye, though by all accounts cookies don’t actually have eyes so I’m not entirely clear on whether that’s my fault. However, this is the one cookie recipe that has served me well time and again – it manages to always maintain a perfect balance between cakey and gooey. Still, I’d like to hone my skills, so perhaps something a little trickier ought to be attempted. If you do not feel comfortable enough with your baking skills, consider using this Christmas cookie delivery with one of the tastiest cookies out there.

Oat and Raisin Cookies

Makes 18-20

Ingredients:

• 85g butter

• 60g light muscovado sugar

• 40g golden caster sugar

• 1 tbsp golden syrup

• 1 medium egg

• 150g self-raising flour

• 120g wholemeal porridge oats

• 50g ground almonds

• 100g raisins

• ½ tsp cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a suitable oven tray. Cream together the butter and the sugar, stir in the golden syrup and whisk in the egg. Sift in the flour and fold until fully incorporated. Fold in the oats, raisins, almonds and cinnamon.

2. Dollop one large teaspoon of mixture onto the greased tray for every cookie, flatten it a little making sure there is plenty of space between each cookie.

3. Bake in batches of 6-8 for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool a little before removing them from the tray.

Cost: Compared to the old recipe, this is a little more expensive since it uses more raisins and ground almonds. However, the price for the whole batch has increased only a little to £1.30, so I expect all to be forgiven.