Thick & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Browned Butter Icing

I’m taking this really interesting class this semester, called Introduction to Group Dynamics. I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I registered but I’m glad I did it! So basically, the goal of the class is to ‘observe yourself in the here-and-now’. The class is divided into two groups and each week, one group sits in a circle in the middle of the class and interacts with one another while the other group watches and analyzes them, Then we switch.

The first two weeks were nerve-racking for me because a)I hate it when people look at me and b)when I get nervous, everything I say is incoherent and irrelevant. I felt like I wasn’t contributing enough to the group, so during the 4th session, I decided to bring some baked goods to class! They were very well received and made me feel better about my lack of intellectual contributions=) So now, me bringing baked goods has become somewhat expected, not that I mind, of course. As long as it makes people happy I’m willing to do it.

For our termination session (which was not as scary as it sounds), I decided to bring oatmeal raisin cookies. I only had two hours in between classes so I had to find a recipe that incorporated most of the items in my pantry and that tasted great as well. Of course I looked on Smitten Kitchen for a reliable recipe because it has yet to disappoint me! This recipe was no different. However, although the cookies were good, they needed something that would put them over the top, so at the last minute, with 15 minutes to get to class, I made a quick browned butter icing which I drizzled on top, and ran out the door!

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
The last trick to getting a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake it. You can scoop it and then chill it, or, if you’re like us, scoop it, freeze them and store them in a freezer bag so you can bake them as you wish. I find they’re always thicker when baked from the cold — only a couple extra minutes baking is needed.

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats 1 ½ cup raisins 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
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 together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slightly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), 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.
Drizzle with Browned Butter Icing

Browned Butter Icing
1 c. confectioners' sugar
4 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind.
Add sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add some more milk, a little at a time, until consistency is thin enough to drizzle. Let cool 5 minutes. Use immediately