I should probably begin by saying that I normally don’t like oatmeal raisin cookies. In the past, if I was offered one the only reason I would have taken it would be if I thought they were chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal. And then I’d take a bite and realize I’d been ripped off. Back in the day if a dessert didn’t have chocolate in it, I was not on board. My how things have changed! Living in Italy is mostly to blame. Those Italians make delicious concoctions out of almonds. And pistachios. For realz as my California friends like to say. These cookies have neither almonds or pistachios. But they do have toasted pecans.
My second confession about these cookies; I almost always make them with dried cherries. But we still call them Oatmeal Raisin. Huh? The first time I subbed in cherries I realized I was out of raisins after I started baking and I had already hopped on my bike once because I didn’t have enough oats. Two trips to the store during one batch of cookies? Not going to happen. Obviously, I should have made sure I had all the ingredients prior to starting. Unfortunately, that’s not how I roll.
So I know I said I don’t like oatmeal raisin cookies, but these? Are delicious! I still don’t care for oatmeal raisin in general, but these are an exception. Maybe it’s the the pecans?
These cookies were adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s version. I cut the sugar in half, traded part of the sugar for coconut palm sugar, and changed the flour to part almond, part whole spelt. If you don’t have almond flour you can use all whole spelt, whole wheat, or even all-purpose. I haven’t tried it with buckwheat flour. Yet.
Preheat your oven to 350 F. You’re going to toast the pecans first. I used to not like nuts in my cookies either. Perhaps I’ve finally grown up?
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- 1 1/2 cup pecans
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup whole spelt flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups oatmeal
- 1/2 cups raisins (or dried cherries)
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment. Toast the pecans in the oven for 5 minutes. Allow to cool a bit before coarsely chopping.
- While the pecans are toasting, cream (beat) the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl/bowl of a stand mixer. Add the eggs one at at time and the vanilla, beating after each addition.
- In another mixing bowl add the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Give it a stir with a whisk to break up any clumps. Or you can sift it.
- In batches add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
- Using a small scoop, drop about a tablespoon or so of dough onto your parchment lined baking sheet. Press down just a bit to flatten the cookie.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool on a rack. If you like your cookies chewier, cool on the baking sheet.
cupcakes & chia seeds 