Oatmeal Cherry Cookies
Why I Love This Recipe
Recipes like these are great because they're tried-and-true, come together in a snap, and can be made from ingredients already in the kitchen. I like the cherries and nutmeg in this version - something slightly different than the norm, but still homey and familiar. This recipe was adapted from one by Cook's Illustrated.
I'm a big proponent of measuring ingredients by weight. For one thing, it's more precise. And you can pour ingredients right into a bowl set on a scale, and so save yourself from having to wash countless measuring cups. I think using a standing mixer to combine everything works better than doing it by hand – it's a stiff dough, so mixing the dry ingredients into the wet by hand will take too long, and your cookies will end up tough. It may seem like a lot of oats, and it is, but it gives you a great flavor and nice chewy texture.
I tend to buy raw pecans, and I don't feel they get a chance to toast up enough inside the dough, which is why I make the extra step of pre-toasting them. If you buy toasted pecans, you can skip this. Make sure that you use tart dried cherries, as opposed to sweet dried cherries. Trust me, there's plenty of sugar in here to offset any unwanted tartness, and it provides a nice balance. Oats are a tough ingredient – they can hold up to more assertive flavors than the standard raisins and sweetened coconut.
These ratios work well for me, but depending on what your personal tastes are and where you're cooking (high altitude, high humidity, etc...), you may want to play with them a bit. This recipe will give you a big, chewy cookie. These cookies still bake a bit after they come out of the oven, so it's important to pull the cookies from the oven as soon as the edges turn golden brown but the centers are still a bit molten – if you wait until they're cooked through, the end result will be a dense brick.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup packed (7 oz) light brown sugar
1 cup (7 oz) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups dried tart cherries, such as Montmorency
3/4 cup pecan pieces
Directions
Adjust the oven racks to the low and middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Spread out the pecan pieces on a small sheet pan and toast in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, checking frequently, until lightly toasted and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool.
3. In a standing mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture until just combined. Add oats, cherries, and pecans, and stir until just combined.
5. Using a small #20 disher (or using generous 2 tablespoons mixture), roll the dough into 2" balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
6. Bake until the cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes.
I'm a big proponent of measuring ingredients by weight. For one thing, it's more precise. And you can pour ingredients right into a bowl set on a scale, and so save yourself from having to wash countless measuring cups. I think using a standing mixer to combine everything works better than doing it by hand it's a stiff dough, so mixing the dry ingredients into the wet by hand will take too long, and your cookies will end up tough. It may seem like a lot of oats, and it is, but it gives you a great flavor and nice chewy texture.
I tend to buy raw pecans, and I don't feel they get a chance to toast up enough inside the dough, which is why I make the extra step of pre-toasting them. If you buy toasted pecans, you can skip this. Make sure that you use tart dried cherries, as opposed to sweet dried cherries. Trust me, there's plenty of sugar in here to offset any unwanted tartness, and it provides a nice balance. Oats are a tough ingredient they can hold up to more assertive flavors than the standard raisins and sweetened coconut.
These ratios work well for me, but depending on what your personal tastes are and where you're cooking (high altitude, high humidity, etc...), you may want to play with them a bit. This recipe will give you a big, chewy cookie. These cookies still bake a bit after they come out of the oven, so it's important to pull the cookies from the oven as soon as the edges turn golden brown but the centers are still a bit molten if you wait until they're cooked through, the end result will be a dense brick.