Weekend Oatmeal Cookies

Simply calling these "oatmeal cookies" does not do them justice. I am personally not a fan of cookies in general. If I choose to eat a cookie, I like for it to be soft and chewy, and flavorful. However, I LOVE these cookies. This oatmeal cookie is robust and moist and will make you want to eat all of them in one sitting. If you gather the ingredients ahead of time, or as the French would say "mise en place," you could make these cookies in half an hour. This recipe is astoundingly easy to make, but taste like you worked in the kitchen for hours. In fact, TELL them you worked for hours.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of Muscovado dark brown sugar (regular dark brown sugar also works)
1/2 cup of white granulated sugar
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (to make them gluten-free use 1-to-1 gluten-free flour )
3 cups of whole grain rolled oats
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of dried cherries (preferably unsweetened cherries. Cranberries work too)
1/2 teaspoon of ground all-spice
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the softened butter in a medium bowl and whip it slightly with an electric hand mixer.

3. Add the white sugar, mix well, then add the dark brown sugar. I prefer to use Muscovado sugar instead of the ordinary brown sugars sold at most supermarkets. It is unrefined, very moist and has a high molasses content, that makes anything you make with it very rich and incredibly succulent. I buy my Muscovado sugar online. If you cannot get your hands on Muscovado, then use regular dark brown sugar.

4. After the sugar is completely dissolved and fully incorporated with the butter, add the eggs and the vanilla. You should see the mixture become creamier.

5. At this point mix in the flour, salt, baking soda, all-spice, cinnamon and nutmeg. When all of those ingredients are properly combined, you will be left with a velvety mixture.

6. Add the oats, one cup at a time, and then lastly add the dried cherries. I happened to have Michigan dried cherries in my pantry, but if you cannot find them at your local market, you can always opt to use dried cranberries or raisins.

7. Line two large sheet pans with silicone mats or parchment paper. If you do not have parchment paper you can also use aluminum foil with the dull side up.

8. With a spoon, scoop your cookie batter onto the sheet pans, separating each cookie by at least 1 1/2 inches.

9. Bake for 9 minutes and check them. All ovens are different and some may take longer or less time to bake. If they are not done after 9 minutes, then keep baking them for another 3 minutes. If you cook them for more than 12 or 13 minutes, you may have possibly ruined your cookies, as well as your weekend. Bake for up to 16 minutes if using gluten-free flour.

10. When you take them out of the oven, they will look very soft, but once they cool down (I prefer to use a cooling rack, because it helps them cool down faster), the cookies will solidify a bit more, still maintaining a soft and chewy consistency on the inside. Your family will love these!