Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Once upon a time, I joined a Facebook group called "Raisins, stay the f**k out of my cookies". And I meant it. If I was to eat a cookie, fruit was never welcome. Why fruit when you can have a lovely chocolate chip? Or chip of any other variety? Fruit cookies were for weirdos.

Well, colour me weirdo now, as I have come across a delightful recipe that features none other than the feared raisin.

Given that this pregnancy has seen me turn to the chocolate box or the biscuit barrel far more than I ever have in my life (which isn't saying much), I figured that if I were to eat a biscuit or nine with my tea, it should probably have some kind of goodness in it.

Now I'm not one of those crazies that insist every piece of food that goes into someone's mouth must be healthy. I'm not campaigning for McDonald's to cut their calories and add more salads or to ban all fried foods on Earth. While I agree that there should be more nutritious options available, I understand the idea of food that is bad for you and tastes damn good and hell, you've gotta just enjoy yourself a little every now and then. Which I normally would do. But since I now eat twelve biscuits* a day instead of a year, I would much prefer they not whack me in the face with a ton of sugar and fat and pretty much no goodness whatsoever. Hence the move toward this recipe.

It's crunchy on the outside, the merest hint of chewy in the middle, the raisins are plump and kind of caramelised on the outer edges, and the whole thing has a subtle spice flavour. I'm a fan.

Ingredients:
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.

2. Soak raisins in hot water.

3. In a large bowl, mix flour, soda, salt and spices. Mix in rolled oats, sugar and nuts.

4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and add oil, vanilla, raisins and water.

5. Pour into dry ingredients and mix well.

6. Roll into balls and place on a baking tray, slightly flattening them as you do so.

7. Bake 10-13 minutes until edges are golden. The longer you bake, the crunchier they get :)


*Exaggeration may or may not have just occurred.

Original recipe here