I wrote earlier of my quest to make the perfect Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie, pushed forward to insane measures by the nearly perfect cookie available from Petsi’s Pies in Cambridge, MA. Though my first attempts resulted in an excellent cookies, I knew that I could do better, and in fact, had to do better. So I kept trying out recipes. Of course, when you’re experimenting with cookies you realize there’s almost no such thing as a bad oatmeal cookie. You just eat your mistakes. No one was complaining, but I wasn’t satisfied. I was trying for a particular taste and texture. In other words, on a mission from God. Remembering a chocolate chip recipe that used bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, I started looking specifically for an oatmeal cookie recipe that used bread flour and found one at Averiecooks.com (that was itself modified from a Land O’Lakes recipe). I use Kate’s for all my butter baking, just FYI, but this was a great recipe. Of course it needed some tweaks. A little more butter, salt, vanilla and natch, the secret ingredient of butterscotch. I think 1/4 tsp is the right amount but if someone tasting it immediately says “these have butterscotch in them!” you’ve used too much.
Keep your butter and eggs and room temperature. If you can’t find infused cranberries, you can always just buy regular and soak ’em. I used to soak them in a vanilla/water base for 30 minutes but ultimately I found that it didn’t hurt to use them dry. But if you want people to ask for you the recipe (as I was asked for) than you go that extra few miles.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp butterscotch extract
- ~2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole rolled old-fashioned oats (not quick cook)
- 1 cup apple juice infused cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
- In a stand mixer, cream your butter and sugar for about five minutes and add the egg.
- Add the rest of the wet ingredients slowly; vanilla and butterscotch extract and mix till incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, mix some but NOT ALL of your dry ingredients: the bread flower, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- In a third bowl you can mix your cranberries and walnuts.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients inside the stand mixer bowl, but ignore the paddle and mix with a spatula (I find this better than mixing it with the stand mixer).
- When sufficiently mixed, add your oats.
- Then add the cranberry-walnut mixture. Mix with the paddle attachment but DO NOT OVERMIX. Just enough to to ensure incorporated ingredients.
- Transfer mixture to cellophane wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, but ideally overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Non-Stick Baking Mat set aside.
- Use a cookie/ice cream scoop to form mounds, but after you’ve set them up (I get about 12 to a tray) use a metal spatula sprayed with PAM to flatten the cookie. I found this necessary because otherwise the mound of cookie doesn’t melt to the proper width (for my taste). I am aiming for a crispy and chewy cookie; the mounds end up softer and chewier; flattening them allows more crispiness.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes (depending on your oven, your cookie tray and your altitude). For more on the difference between your pans and baking time, read this incredible article from King Arthur Flour.
- Let the cookies set up on the tray, at least five minutes, before transferring them to another location, like a cookie rack, or your mouth.
This recipe is dedicated to Mike B, Justin and F.Y. Ruts, and the guys from the Chinatown Collective.
Master of Low Arts 