#FrannyCooks : Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and more on California Raisins
Did you know that raisins can aid digestion? Furthermore, it can be a cure for anemia, insomnia and hypertension? In fact, a quick search online will point you to more benefits that eating raisins can bring however... I got to admit that I'm personally am not a fan of this healthy snack. I know that it has natural sugar making it a good treat option for young children. Perhaps, someday I'll train my twins to have raisins and pray that they won't grow up to be as picky as me. I hope they'll take after their Dad who doesn't have a single food aversion and he loves raisins too.
So, if I don't eat raisins, then why would I make one with it? Simple. It's because my family loves it and since I love them so Oatmeal Raisin Cookies it is! Another reason is because I got this huge bag of raisin sitting on my kitchen counter and OC me just can't bear seeing it untouched. I have to make good use of it and so here I am, baking away again while the twins were busy playing. Thankful for my sweet twin stars who are always so behaved when they know that Mommy is busy baking. Guess the smell of butter and sugar has a nice calming effect, don't you think?
It has been a dream of mine to create giant sized cookies. The kind that's just about the size of my palm. This time, I took a bold step and attempted to create these large cookies. Luckily, it turned out yummy but I must have molded it too thinly that some pieces fell apart as I tried to lift them out of the baking pan. *sigh* I shall try again with a smaller mold next time.
Here's what you'll need:
Do it in 7 easy steps:
Speaking of raisins, let me tell you about the workshop that I recently attended. It had Grand Chef Yukichi Matsubara who's a Japanese Chef based in Malaysia. To highlight the versatility of raisins, he prepared 4 different dishes in the span of an hour. Quite impressive!
Check these out:
Here's what you'll need:
- 1 and a half cups rolled oats (please don't use the instant oatmeal kind if you don't want mushy cookies)
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter, soften
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup cinnamon
- 1 egg
Do it in 7 easy steps:
- Preheat your oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius.
- Mix the dry ingredients first : oats, flour, raisins, salt, baking soda, cinnamon powder. Set aside.
- My favorite part! Cream your butter and sugar. Add in your egg. Whisk well.
- Slowly pour in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix mix mix.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes (don't go beyond this) in the fridge.
- Scoop out using an ice cream scooper and mold into small balls placing them 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes and let cool for another 5 minutes.
Check these out:
California Raisin Passion
I got to try this and I love how the passion fruit complemented the creamy base and the raisin as well. Very refreshing dessert!
California Raisin Snow White
Sugar coated cookies which are so buttery that it melts easily in your mouth.
California Raisin Rocks
Chef's take on the European scones. Personally, I find it too oily as opposed to its British counterpart.
California Raisin Tart
While Chef may have demonstrated all sweet treats, there are a lot of ways on how you can incorporate raisin in your everyday home cooking. In fact, it serves as a natural sweetener to chutneys and relishes already. It can also bind chunky treats, ice cream and yogurt together. It may take me some time to really like raisins but I would gladly make more raisin-filled dishes and goodies for my family to enjoy.
Give the recipe above a try and do tell me what you think!
Give the recipe above a try and do tell me what you think!
