Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The summer between my junior and senior year of college, I spent the break with my best friend in her home state of Alaska. That summer was filled with fresh-caught salmon, white water rafting, hiking, trips to "town," new musical discoveries, and laughter with my friend and her family. 

It was a summer full of views like this: 

But I digress.

While we were there, we worked at a lodge (Alaskan for hotel rooms + restaurant), where I ended up becoming the baker. This was the start of my love for baking, as I hadn't done a ton of it up to that point. Thankfully, I had an awesome teacher and learned some great recipes. This is one of them.

Sheep Mountain Lodge Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

(Recipe was originally for a HUGE quantity, I cut it down to this, which makes about 18 cookies. Also, I'm pretty sure this recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens or something, but I can't remember...so I'm just naming them after the lodge.)

1 Stick butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cloves

pinch of salt

1 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats (NOT quick oats!)

1/2 cup raisins

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes, flipping pan halfway through baking. 

.......

Cookies seem like a pretty straight-forward thing, right? Practically everyone's been making them since they were little. That being said, there are a few tricks I learned that can take cookies from good but nondescript, to great. 

Here are the steps:

1. Make sure your butter has sat out for a good long while and is soooooft. Add both types of sugar to bowl with butter and "beat the tar out of it." That's how it was taught to me, anyway.

You're not done until the mixture has lightened in color a bit and is a nice, whipped consistency. 

2. Next, put the vanilla and egg together in a small bowl and add the whole thing to the butter/sugar mixture, beating just until thoroughly combined. 

Now let's talk about flour. Maybe the proper way to scoop flour is common knowledge to everyone but my 2008 self, but on the off chance that someone else might benefit, I'll mention it here. The correct way is to scoop it into the measuring cup without packing it, til it makes a mound on top, then level it off (again, without packing it down too much). 

3. Then combine all of your powdery-type ingredients together before introducing to the wet mixture: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves, and salt. Side note, I am in love with cloves. You may hear me mention this one or two more times throughout the life of this blog.

Mixing those things together first ensures even distribution throughout the whole bowl.

4. Mix the oats and raisins together first, then add to dough. Mix until just combined. 

5. Use an ice cream scoop or some type of measuring device to portion out dough balls to a consistent size. Since my ice cream scoop made a rounded ball, I flattened them just slightly so they'd bake evenly and end up nicely shaped.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes, flipping pan at 7 minutes to ensure even baking.

I love these cookies, my husband loves these cookies, our neighbor loved these cookies, and I hope you will, too. If you try it, let me know how it turns out for you!