I've been craving cookies all week and saw this high rated recipe on Allrecipes.com, so I decided to try it. I've always liked oatmeal raisin cookies, but I've not loved them. This recipe made me change my mind. The added spices completely make these cookies. I even altered the recipe slightly to make the spice flavor stand out a bit more. Oatmeal raisin cookies always seem dry to me too, so I added a small box of vanilla pudding to the mix. Yum. A perfect ending to a cold winter day.
Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves or Allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins
optional: 1 small box instant vanilla pudding
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. {An optional step is to first soak the raisins in hot water, to plump them up a bit. Mine were getting a little dry, so I put them in a bowl covered with hot water, then microwaved them for 1 minute.I let them sit in the water while I mixed the rest of the ingredients.}
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 9-11 minutes until light and golden. Do not over bake!
Enjoy!
