RAISIN AND OATMEAL COOKIES (perfect for the lunch box)

May 9, 2012 Alison Lambert

I am forever trying to find a healthy or semi healthy, yet tasty biscuit for the children. And to be honest as much as you want them to cut back on sugar, on wheat, on chocolate at the same time you still want them to eat what you have baked and packed neatly into their lunch box or it is a lot of wasted time and wasted ingredients. So i have found another version of the 'rolled oat biscuit' this has ticked all the right boxes - childen happy - mum happy - end of story!

RAISIN AND OATMEAL COOKIES
makes 24 kids size or 12 large

(if time i highly recommend chilling the dough before cooking as it helps to keep them thick, which will make them yummy and chewy!)

115g butter, softened
2/3 cup (125g) light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (120g) rolled oats (oatmeal)
3/4 cup (120g) raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 175°C.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.
At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.
I rolled walnut sized pieces as i was wanting them small for the children if you want larger then roll larger. If you chill the mix they won't spread as much! The cookies should be 4cm apart on a greaseproof-lined baking sheet.
Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.