PERFECT Oatmeal Cookies

I've earned a reputation at the girls' school. After having the cookies the girls bought in for their birthday, the teachers ask me to do the baking for all class parties. I can understand why, I've tried some of the other mother's cookies and there is no comparison. Not to mention, I've inherited my mother's baking skills! Even the bakeries up here are nothing to rave about. Oooh, just got an idea, Mom and I should open one! We'd be so successful!!![dreaming]

El's been bugging me to make oatmeal raisin cookies. Really?? Of ALL the cookies out there, he wants those? I like to show of my skills and bake things like this, this, and this because I don't have time to bake! If I'm forced to, I want to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labors! I have to bake what I like. Oatmeal Raisins are boring. The same with Chocolate Chip. Oatmeal cookies need peanut butter and chocolate chunks, not raisins. But, I eventually had to give in. It occurred to me that they're getting so much junk at the party, I might as well provide a "healthy" cookie. So, I made some oatmeal cookies. They were just like I thought they would be ... boring. But even more disappointing was how crispy they were. Now, there are a lot of things that come to mind when I think of oatmeal raisins and crispy is not one of them!

So I set out to find the perfect recipe and here it is, just in time for Valentine's Day. They are plump, chewy and oh-sooo good! There's only one problem ... we ate too many! Now I have to bake more for the parties on Monday.

1 cup butter, softened
1 and 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 and 1/2 cup raisins (or cherries, which is what I used)
1 cup walnuts, chopped (Abby has an allergy in her class so I left them out)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

There you have it! Enjoy :)