Big, Bakery-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

One of the first things that catches my eye when I walk into a bakery or cafe are stacks of large cookies, either arranged in a pastry case or appealingly stacked in glass canisters. The cookies are almost always jumbo sized, much larger than the size of cookie I typically bake at home, and they are very tempting for a cookie-lover like me. Fortunately, I can make Big, Bakery-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies easily at home and satisfy my sweet tooth that way.

The cookie dough itself seems pretty standard at first glance, but there are a few things in the dough that help the cookies to look bakery-worthy after they come out of the oven. First, this recipe uses a bit more flour than some oatmeal cookie recipes. This helps discourage the dough from spreading excessively and the cookies from becoming too thin. Second, I used a combination of regular rolled oats and quick cooking oatmeal in the dough. The large rolled oats give the cookies a great texture and encourage a chewy texture, while the quick cooking oats make the cookies a bit more tender and help give them a more uniform look. I shaped my dough using 1/4 cup measures, which makes the dough “balls” look like hockey pucks and also helps encourage an even spread. The finished cookies have a great balance of tenderness and chewiness, just what I like to taste in an oatmeal cookie!

These cookies are loaded up with raisins. You could use regular seedless raisins (which I used here) or mix things up with golden raisins, for a different look to the finished cookies. You can also substitute chocolate chips for the raisins in this recipe. No matter what you put in them, these cookies will be delicious and they will keep well when stored in an airtight container for several days after baking. If you want to keep some on hand longer, you can store them in the freezer. That said, the recipe halves very well, so you might just want to make a smaller batch instead of stocking your freezer full of extras.

Big, Bakery-Style Oatmeal Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup rolled oats (regular oatmeal)
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract and the eggs, incorporating the eggs one at a time. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then stir in both types of oatmeal and the raisins.
Pack the dough into 1/4-cup scoops to form evenly sized dough balls. Arrange dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, allowing about 4 inches between each cookie to allow for spread.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the cookies are just about set in the center and the edges are very lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 20-22 cookies.