Cranberry Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies (what a mouthful)

I'm calling these "Cranberry Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies" (see above) but really, the versatility of this recipe is key. You can add or substitute or subtract based upon what's in your kitchen. For instance, they're based upon an Epicurious recipe for "Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies." But when I woke up and wanted to make "thank you" cookies at the end of an internship segment, I didn't have any chocolate on hand. You see where I'm going with this.

I always think these photos are going to come out better - oh well, here you can see how I used golden raisins, dried cranberries, and chopped pecans.

Admittedly, I committed the cardinal sin of altering a recipe before trying it out as written first - but it worked out! I also made the mistake of automatically turning the oven off when I took out the first batch, and put the second batch in without noticing. Whoops. It took me about 10 minutes to notice, at which point my nice cookie balls had spread out pretty thin. I cranked up the oven back to 350, baked them for 10 minutes, and took them out. That batch of cookies ended up much thinner (obviously) but still chewy - almost like a softer lace cookie. Some people even preferred them to the heftier batches! So, I'd call this recipe pretty forgiving.

Thinner cookies

Cookies baked according to plan.

You may not be able to see the difference, but both were delicious! If you're after the thinner cookie, I'd suggest either lowering the baking temperature, adding back in the tablespoon of butter that I omitted from the original recipe, or making the same "mistake" I did. Good luck!

Cranberry Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies (based on an Epicurious recipe)

Ingredients:

1 C flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C golden brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 C old-fashioned oats
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C rough chopped pecans
1/2 C golden raisins (plumped in hot water)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and the sugars. Cream for about 4-5 minutes, or until mixture has lightened up. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour and oats to the sugar mixture, and mix together until smooth. Add in the raisins, cranberries, pecans (or whatever else your heart desires!), mix until just incorporated. Drop in roughly 1 tablespoon sized balls - can be a little bigger if wanted. Should make roughly 30 cookies.

Put cookies in oven, one cookie pan at a time. I fit about 10 balls per pan, alternating rows of two and three in order to leave enough space. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown at the edges. Remove from oven, cool, eat.