{In The Kitchen: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies}

We host home group (our church small group) at our house on Wednesday nights, and usually I provide coffee and some sort of dessert.  On a particularly difficult week, dessert may be as dull as a box of Mike & Ike's dumped unceremoniously into a cereal bowl.  Most of the time, however, I try to actually make something.  This is both an effort to build my baking repertoire and a manifestation of hours spent drooling over Pinterest. 

This week we didn't have a home group meeting scheduled, but I figured I could still whip something up in the kitchen.  I wondered why I don't make dessert for our little family more often.  Shortly after baking these, I remembered it's because there is safety in numbers.  Three people and a batch of cookie dough can only lead to trouble...

I followed this recipe for Thick and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and the final result certainly held up to the name.  These cookies are dense and comforting.  I haven't actually baked all the dough yet, but I would approximate the recipe makes about 20 cookies.

I should note that I made a few tweaks to the linked recipe, but I doubt they were that impactful.  I omitted the salt and used a little less than a cup of raisins.  I also ground hard white wheat berries to make whole wheat flour with a similar gluten and protein content to store-bought bread flour.

Final verdict:  These cookies get four out of five stars.  I'm not going to lie, if I was hoping simply to satisfy a craving for oatmeal cookies, I would look to this recipe's unhealthier and more involved cousin, the Oatmeal Creme Pie.  But if you are looking for a simple, wholesome, and traditional Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, this recipe will do the trick! 

Happy baking!