After the long week at work, I wanted nothing more than a lazy weekend. Initially, we had planned to head back to Union Market, but overcast skies and chilly weather kept us even closer to home. So close to home in fact that I never left our apartment on Sunday.
Instead I wanted to stay in sweatpants, with no makeup, and untamed hair that only results from showering and letting it dry on its own. As the afternoon progressed I craved something sweet, but not wanting to leave I was limited to the options as to what I could bake. There was buttermilk so a chocolate cake was a contender. There were fresh lemons and ricotta cheese with a slight hope for a cheesecake. Then the idea of oatmeal raisin cookies came to mind. And we all know, I like to add a little bourbon.
I took the Smitten Kitchen's recipe for thick, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies as the base. I just soaked the raisins in some bourbon to bring a little extra love. Let's just say they are awesome. I'll go so far as to declare them the best oatmeal raisin cookie I've savored. Go ahead try for yourself.
Bourbon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 stick, unsalted butter softened
2/3 c. packed, light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/5 t. vanilla
3/4 all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1.5 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. raisins
2 T. bourbon
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional, I didn't feel like chopping so those were omitted)
1. In a small bowl, toss the raisins with the bourbon and set aside.
2. 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. Combine the flour mixture with the butter / sugar mixtures. Once combined, add the oats, raisins, the bourbon and walnuts if you're using them.
3. Place the dough in the fridge to chill a bit. While the dough was chilling, I cleaned up the kitchen and preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the oven is heated, scoop the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure the oven is at 350 before you put them in.
4. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. (Baking time will vary. Mine took closer to 12 minutes.) They're done when the edges are golden, but they still look undercooked on the top. Let me them cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
5. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container. Of course, that's assuming they last that long.
6. Enjoy!
