Screw The Low-fat Cookies– A GREAT Oatmeal Currant Spice Cookie!

Yah, I’m tired of the low-fat baking.  Evidently so is Ken– “I don’t want anymore of those chocolate cookies.”  The snickerdoodles were a bust with my brother-in-law; he and my sister thought they were too sweet.  Kurt’s take on it all was “You can’t replace all that ‘butter feel’ with sugar.”

Ah well.  I try.  I made a new cookie this morning that I know Kurt will love and possibly Ken if he can get over the “fruit” part of the cookie.  He’s not a big oatmeal raisin cookie fan, but LOVES Fig Newtons– go figure.  Last night while re-organizing my pantry, I discovered a box of currants stashed in the dark recesses of the top shelf, so I searched on line for currant recipes.  I finally found this one on Epicurious.  It had lots of butter (2 sticks), the big old-fashioned oats, DARK brown sugar and handful of spices that included cardamom.  (I have a lot of that now, too, after the Indian dinner).

The dark brown sugar and cardamom were what drew me to select this recipe.  I read the reviews and folks said not to use the full amount of cardamom, especially if you grind your own (I do), because it can be overwhelming to the uninitiated, like my son Ken.  I used a quarter teaspoon of freshly ground cardamom and it was perfect; the scent was omnipresent and the flavor delicate and subtle.

You make these like most cookie– by creaming butter and sugar, adding the eggs, then stirring in the flour and other dry stuff.  The exception is that the currants are soaked in the beaten eggs and vanilla, so you add them in with the liquid.  Weird, but it worked.

These are NOT diet cookies; I under-baked mine and, due to the two sticks of butter, they came out thin and crisp on the edges, with a slight chewiness in the center.  I ate three while baking them!

Here’s how it’s done:

Soak the currants in the egg/vanilla mixture for an hour.  Don’t shortcut this step or you’ll have hard bits instead of chewy currants in your cookies!

The beaten eggs will be colored by the currants as they soak.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment, silicone mats or butter/flour.  Then, get everything ready– sift dry ingredients, measure the oats and sugar, cream the butter and pre-soaked eggs/currants.

My cookie mise-en-place!

Add the brown sugar to the butter and cream together.  I crumble it in my hands over the bowl to make sure any lumps break down.

Dark and thick and fluffy

Add the currant/egg mixture and beat until combined.

The currants have plumped and the egg mixture has become tinged with the currant color

STIR in the flour (do not use mixer).  I use a wooden spoon.

You’ll be able to discern the cardamom, even with 1/4 teaspoon!

Then stir in the oats.  The dough is significantly stiffer.

“Old-fashioned” oats are just bigger flakes of oatmeal; the texture is better if you use these over the instant (teeny flakes)

Scoop by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheets.  Wet your fingertips with some water and gently flatten the dough.

I use a spring-loaded scoop

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes (less if you want a chewier cookie).  Let the cookies rest for one minute on the sheet, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

The are considerably darker than most cookies because of the dark brown sugar

Enjoy however you want– hot cocoa, cold milk, tea, or solo!

I don’t think these will last very long!

An Announcement

I keep forgetting to post that I added a Pinterest “Follow Me” on the side menu.  I’m using Pinterest to organize my recipes, so take a look there if you’re having issues with the search (some readers have) until I figure out a better taxonomy/search system.  Thanks!