My favorite oatmeal cookie recipe was given to me by the caretaker of a field station in the rainforests of Costa Rica. They are incomparable--a little taller than your average cookie with a nutmeggy kick that is quite distinctive.
Galletas de Avena
Ingredients:
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the workbowl of a stand mixer (or a bowl suitable for use with a hand mixer) and beat together with mixer until combined thoroughly.
- Gradually add flour mixture to bowl, continuing to beat, until all flour mixture has been added and batter has achieved a thick consistency.
- Gradually fold in oatmeal and chocolate chips with a large spatula, until all oatmeal and chips are added and batter is thoroughly mixed and has a stiff-dough consistency.
- With hands, take walnut-sized balls of dough and place them evenly-spaced on cookie sheets. Place cookie sheets in oven and cook for 9-11 minutes until balls have spread and cookies have risen slightly, and edges of cookies are slightly browned.
- Remove cookies to a cooling rack and cool until you can eat them without burning the roof off of your mouth.
Yield: About 4 dozen cookies, depending on how much of the batter you eat raw.
Notes:
- Fresh butter is important. Because butter is such a prominent ingredient in these cookies, it's important that it be fresh and not contaminated with stinky freezer smells.
- Freshly ground whole nutmeg is ideal, if possible. It gives the cookies a bit of extra oomph.
- Part of the appeal of these cookies for me is their slight cakiness. They're a little drier than a typical cookie, but still chewy.
- Purists may complain about the lack of raisins in this recipe. One could probably substitute raisins for the chocolate chips, but the extra moisture might change the cookie's texture a bit. Be sure to soak the raisins first to prevent them drying out during cooking.