Cookie #90 - Raisin Biscuits

Number 90.  Woot, woot!  I'm about 25% of the way there. 

These cookies were inspired by a cookie I used to eat at my best childhood friend's house growing up.  Michelle's mom always had these Golden Fruit biscuits on hand.  They weren't super sweet.  Just a soft, flaky biscuit with sweet, chewy raisins in the middle. 
Years later, my mom found a similar cookie in a catalog and ordered some for me.  They were indeed delicious, but like I've mentioned before, often times the memory is greater than the taste. 
These cookies were delicious.  Very scone or tea-biscuit like. 
They were very much loved by my trusty taste tester #2 (my mom) and my mother-in-law (who was visiting this week). 
These cookies are also super easy to make and I can see making them over and over again.  Yum!

A few notes about the recipe:

1. Next time I'd chop the raisins a bit before adding them.  The raisins were a bit big and I think needed to be pared down a bit.  The inspiration biscuits had more of a chopped raisin filling - I don't know why I didn't stick with that. 

2. While I like the technique I used for these (based on a currant cookie I've made before), I think next time I'll do more of a biscuit with a top and bottom crust.  I think it'll work rolling out the one portion of the dough into a large rectangle, cover the raisins and then covering with the other rolled out portion. 

3. Though the recipe I list below states milk, I used heavy cream.  Totally not necessary, but I had it on hand and wanted to use it before it spoiled.

4. The turbinado sugar.  Please don't use regular granulated white sugar.  I know often times you can get away with using just regular granulated sugar for sprinkling on top, but in this case the coarse sugar really adds a nice crunch to a really soft and chewy biscuit.  Regular granulated sugar, while adding the necessary sweetness, would just be lost. 

Raisin Biscuits

1 cup flour
2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in to cubes and cold
2 tbsp milk
1 egg, beaten with 2 tsp cold water
1 cup raisins
2 tbsp turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, confectioner's sugar, baking powder and salt.  Pulse a few times to combine.  Add butter and pulse until crumbly and the texture of coarse sand. 
Add vanilla and milk and pulse until the mixture forms a ball.
Divide dough in half, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
On a well floured work surface, roll one portion of dough into a rectangle about 12" long and 1/8" thick.  Brush surface of dough with egg wash and sprinkle half the dough evenly with half of the raisins.  Fold the dough onto itself, sandwiching the raisins inside.  Lightly roll the dough again until about 6" wide and 12" long.  Fold the dough in half lengthwise again and transfer the entire piece to a parchment lined cookie sheet. 
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with 1 tbsp turbinado sugar.  Cut the length of biscuits into 2-3" pieces using a pizza cutter (no need to separate them at this point, just cut them). 
Repeat the process with the other portion of the dough.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. 

Cookie #46 - Montana MONSTER Cookies

I was first heard of these cookies it was from my husband's college buddy Jim and his wife Tricia.  They talked up these cookies so much that I had to try them myself. 

Imagine my excitement when I was searching for Montana cookies and this recipe came up in several results.  Initially, I was going to save them for October and Halloween week.  Since I love these cookies so much, the second the name graced my laptop screen I got a craving.  Montana Monster Cookies it is!

These are some serious monster cookies.  From the size of the measurements to the size of the cookies. Each cookie is about 4".  What's funny is, they're not overly sweet.  The peanut butter and oats really balance out the sugar.  You can add whatever you want to these cookies, too.  I've seen different recipes that use different dried fruits like cranberries and blueberries, Reese's Pieces, white chocolate chips, toffee chips, peanuts, walnuts - anything you'd like mixed into a cookie.  I kept mine simple - semisweet chocolate chips, raisins and M&Ms. 

What's also great is that this recipe contains NO flour.  Now, I don't know much about gluten-allergies, but I assume the lack of flour would make these cookies gluten-free.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. 

Now, obviously, this makes a TON of cookies.  Feel free to halve the recipe - I've done it before and it works better.  I halved it the first time I made them because the initial ingredient measurements wouldn't fit in my KitchenAid.  When I mentioned this to Tricia, she said she actually mixes the dough by hand.  Her reasoning is that if she does the actualy physical labor, she can eat more cookies.  I like that thinking. 

I also have this philosophy that if a cookie contains good for you stuff like oatmeal, peanut butter and raisins, you can totally eat them for breakfast.  Let's just say I ate Monster cookies for breakfast for about a week. 

If you're going to mix these by hand, be very certain that your butter and peanut butter are room temperature before starting.  It will make mixing the dough much easier. 

Montana MONSTER Cookies

1 cup softened butter

2 cups sugar

2 cups packed brown sugar

3 cups chunky peanut butter (you can use smooth if that's your preference)

6 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

9 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups M&M's

3/4 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and sugars together until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla extract, baking soda and salt.  Stir in oats until well combined.  Fold in chocolate chips, M&Ms and raisins. 

Drop by 1/4 cups full onto parchment line baking sheets, about 3" apart.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden.  Cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes to allow the cookies to set before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Keep the cookies tightly covered to ensure they don't dry out. 

Cookie #22 - Arizona Agave Oatmeal & what happened to Alaska?

When I think of Arizona, I think of the Grand Canyon, roadrunners and cactus.  I toyed with the idea of using actual cactus in the cookie, but just couldn't wrap my head around it.  They I thought about using cactus pear, which proved to be difficult to find in this part of PA.  Then I had a brainstorm:  Agave. 
The agave plant is used to make a sweetener that has a very low glycemic index and therefore healtier for you.  I used the sweetener in place of white sugar in the cookie.  It just turned out that this recipe ended up being vegan as well, since I didn't use any butter or eggs.  The cookie is soft and chewy and nutty.  I think increasing the baking time by a few minutes and flattening them slightly more would create a crispier cookie.  I think they tasted just like a granola bar.  I imagine you could add any combination of dried fruit and nuts - whatever your favorites are.  I used what I had on hand:  almonds, coconut and raisins.

Arizona Agave Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup AP flour

3/4 cup chopped almonds

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup flake coconut

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add agave, oil and vanilla and stir well to combine.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten with the bottom of a glass or back of spoon.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.


Okay, now I KNOW I skipped Alaska.  Alaska's cookie is going to utilize sourdough.  Since I don't know of anywhere in my area to buy a sourdough starter and no one I know has one, I had to make my own.  Unfortunatley, this takes 48-hours to create and with the hubbub of Independence Day, I forgot to set it up.  So, the starter is bubbling away in a glass bowl and I moved on to Arizona.  I will post Alaska's cookies once the starter is ready - either Wednesday or Thursday. 

Cookie #9 - Raisin Bran Cookies

My husband loves Raisin Bran.  I love watching him try to eat a bowl while Sydney picks the raisins out.  I really wanted this cookie to come out like a soft, chewy, fluffy oatmeal cookie.  Instead, they fell flat.  Literally.  In retrospect, I needed baking powder, not baking soda.  This mistake is the reason I'm doing this experiment - so I learn all the quirks of creating your own cookie recipes.  So I give you the recipe to critique.  The flavor was fantastic - they tasted just like Raisin Bran cereal.  I just need to work on the texture.

Raisin Bran Cookies

1 cup flour

1 cup Raisin Bran
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Cream together butter and sugars.  Add egg and vanilla.
Add flour, cinnamon and baking soda.  Fold in cereal and raisins.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until done.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I invite any and all constructive criticism to my recipes.  If you have an idea as to why a recipe failed or what might make it better, please feel free to leave me a comment.

Cookie #2 - Oatmeal Raisin

I've managed to convince myself that if a cookie has something healthy in it (i.e., oatmeal) that you can eat it for breakfast.  Bring on the oatmeal raisin cookie. 
The nutty oatmeal, spicy cinnamon, chewy raisins and sweet brown sugar meld together and remind me of snowy winter afternoons.  Exactly what I needed to beat the heat and humidity of June.  In hindsight, maybe I should've saved this cookie for a hot August day. 
I used the recipe I've always used - right off the Quaker Oatmeal canister.  They're affectionatley called "Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies." 

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Quaker Oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.