Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

When I look for new recipes to try, I usually go with ones that have lots and lots of reviews with at least a 4 star rating. A little while back, Mike asked me to find a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. I tried the standard recipe on the oats box, and found them to be a bit dry and a little too crunchy for my taste. So, I set out to find a moist and chewy cookie! When I found this one online, the near 5-star rating with over 1,000 reviews sold me. After making this recipe about 5 times already, I know I have found the winner!

The cookie is chewy with a bit of a crunch on the outside. It's loaded with raisins and a ton of great vanilla flavor. Man, are these good!!

The day before we left for the beach, my bridesmaid, Courtney came over for a baking day! We made 1 1/2 times the recipe below so that she could have some and I could take a bunch to the beach for my family! About 4 dozen cookies later, they were gone in a few short days :) Definitely a hit!

Total Time: 45 minutes (+1 hour for chilling)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 1 hour
Baking Time: 13 minutes (about 30 minutes total)

Yield: approx. 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups oats
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

Directions:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. (I used my stand mixer, but you can also use a hand mixer.)
3. Once the wet ingredients are combined, increase the speed to high and mix for a few minutes until light in color and fluffy.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, small amounts at a time, until just combined. Don't overmix!
5. Add the oats and raisins by hand until the raisins look evenly distributed.
6. *One thing I changed from the original recipe*  Refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour, until chilled. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Using 2 spoons, shape about 2 Tablespoons of dough into a slightly compact, rounded dough ball. Place 12 cookies on each sheet, about 2 inches apart. 
8. Bake 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are slightly browned but still a little bit moist on top of the cookie. (This helps them to turn out chewy!)
9. Remove from oven; allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes and then place on a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!

Source:  Food.com