If having to make a choice between homemade and store bought anything, but particularly cookies, I am definitely on team homemade. And not just because I have spent the last eight years trying to convince you that cooking and/or baking for your friends/family brings joy or that it can be one of the best ways to express your love for them. I am pretty sure I am not alone in genuinely believing high quality, fresh ingredients create seriously good, maybe even great food. Not even the time (and money) it takes to buy ingredients and clean up the kitchen could sway me away from being on team homemade. Okay, maybe the mess, especially the mess I make, sometimes gives me pause. But then I think of just how intoxicating, how divine stepping foot into homemade nirvana feels. For those of you who know and have been there, you know.
I really had no business creating and making a new Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. Because there is already a really, really, really good recipe for
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies on the blog. But then last week I was visually bombarded with images of oatmeal raisin cookies on Oatmeal Cookie Day (who knew there was such a thing?). So I started to wonder what Oatmeal Raisin Cookies made Levain style might taste like. Would they be like one of those to-die-for cookies capable of sending even the most diehard oatmeal raisin cookie lovers into a cookie coma? Would they be the kind of cookies you would obsess over and dream about? Or could they be the ones convincing those on team store bought it was time to switch teams? I knew if I didn't answer those questions they would forever haunt me.
From the start I decided to be an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie purist. In other words, there wouldn't be any walnut or pecans in these cookies. Just lots of raisins and a hint of cinnamon. While I knew I wanted them to be Levain style (aka as big as saucers, thick, beautiful, insanely delicious cookies), I also knew I wanted their texture to have that perfect crispy on the edges, soft in the center combination. All of this meant both the ingredients and ingredient amounts as well as the assembly and baking temperatures had to be just right.
Ever since making cookies using either a European or European style butter, I am more than convinced that it really does add a deeper, more buttery, richer flavor to baked goods. Which meant these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies would definitely be made with a European style butter. Because I wanted these cookies to have a bit of a crunch to them, I decided a dark brown versus a light brown sugar, might be the better option. And to get that high-end bakery cookie softness in the center, a combination of all-purpose and cake flours along with some cornstarch, would be needed. Last but not least, I wanted the cookies to also have a discernible vanilla flavor undertone to them. Which meant vanilla would definitely be one of the ingredients. The cookie making process would have to be slightly untraditional in the fact that the (slightly beaten) eggs would be the last ingredient going in. And as far as the baking temperature went, 375 degrees (F) was probably going to be high enough to give them a bit of a rise. However, using the double cookie baking sheet method would help prevent the bottoms from burning as the baking time for 5 to 6 ounce sized cookies would need to range somewhere between 21-23 minutes.
You have probably already guessed that all of those carefully made decisions created Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Levain Style even better than the ones in my wildest hopes and dreams.
I somewhat jokingly shared on a Facebook post that these cookies would not just be serious contenders in an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie contest, but that they would win it. And it's true, there is always some truth in humor. I should probably start looking for some Oatmeal Raisin Cookie contests.
There is a trick to getting perfectly round cookies. For smaller cookies, I like to use a large glass, small bowl, or round cookie cutter to gently swirl the cookies as soon as they get out of the oven. But with cookies as large as these, an offset spatula is the secret weapon. By gently pressing the edges of the cookie in with the back of the offset spatula as soon as they come out of the oven, you can create the most gorgeous, resplendent cookies!
As soon as I took a bite of these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies I was beyond smitten and deliriously giddy. I was obsessed with everything about them. Their texture, their flavor, and their size were better than perfect, if there even is such a thing. Those aforementioned burning questions would no longer be haunting me. These cookies answered all of them. But while I may never be able to convince everyone on team store bought that these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are leaps and bounds better than anything found in a grocery store, I am more than certain my friends are thrilled to have a more than passing acquaintance with someone on team homemade. And I am equally happy to have these kindred spirits in my life.
Recipe
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Levain Style
Makes 8 - 9 large cookies
Updated June 2022 (See update notes)
Ingredients
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature (preferably European Style butter)
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (225g) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (56g) cake flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups (135g) old-fashioned oatmeal (not instant) (I used the Quaker Oats brand)
1 1/2 cups (239g) raisins (dark and/or light, or a combination)
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Note: I actually like baking them at 365 degrees (F)!
2. Sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, cornstarch, baking soda, Kosher salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy (approximately 2 minutes).
4. Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat until light and fluffy (approximately 3-4 minutes).
5. Beat in the vanilla.
6. Add in the sifted dry ingredients. Mix just until blended.
7. Mix in the raisins and oats.
8. Add in the lightly beaten eggs. Mix just until blended (approximately 1 minute).
9. Divide the dough into 8 or 9 balls of dough (ranging from 5 ounces/142g to slightly more than 6 ounces/172g).
10. Place 4 balls of the dough on the baking sheet. Do not press the cookies down. Place a second baking sheet under the baking sheet holding the cookies. This is the double baking sheet method.
11. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the tray midway through the baking process, until the cookies are golden around the edges. Remove from the oven. Use a small glass bowl slightly larger than the cookie to swirl around the cookie to create a perfect round bakery perfect looking cookie.
12. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 15-20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
13. Finish baking the cookies.
Notes: (1) If not measuring brown sugar using a scale, firmly pack into measuring cup/measuring utensils. (2) Highly recommend using a European style butter to give the cookies a deeper flavor. (3) To get a perfectly rounded cookie, use an offset spatula to gently shape the cookies as soon as they are removed from the oven. (4) I did not chill the balls of dough before baking them as the temperatures were cool the day I baked them and my batter wasn't too soft. On a hot day, I might consider chilling them for 15-20 minutes if the batter felt soft. (5) To get the same oatmeal raisin cookie outcome, I strongly encourage you use the ingredients recommended.
UPDATE: (1) I formed the dough into 13 balls of dough (95g/3.3 oz), about the size of golfballs and refrigerated them overnight. (2) I baked them at 365 degrees (F) for 18-20 minutes or until golden on top. Be careful to not over bake.
Cave Point, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin (April 2021)
