Tender Cranberry - Rasin Oatmeal Cookies

By Mother

These soft, chewy cookies are packed with nuts and fruit, as well as a healthy serving of oats. They’re not aggressively spiced, so kids will like them; but feel free to double the amount of cinnamon, if you’re a fan. And what’s the rum doing in there, by the way? Alcohol is a flavor carrier; even though you can’t taste it, it enhances the flavor of everything around it.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (1 7/8 ounces) trans-fat-free vegetable shortening
• 1 3/4 cups (13 1/8 ounces) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) spiced rum (optional)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons (2 ounces) boiled cider (for great flavor; substitute maple syrup or dark corn syrup, if desired)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) dried cranberries, packed
• 1 cup (4 ounces) golden raisins
• 1 cup (4 ounces) chopped pecans or almonds
• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur 100% Organic White Whole Wheat Flour or Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3 cups (11 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats

Preparation

Step 1

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, shortening, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, vanilla, and rum, beating until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; then add the boiled cider or syrup. Stir in the fruit and nuts, then the flour, beating gently until well combined. Add the oats last, making sure they’re thoroughly distributed throughout the bowl.

Now, you can make these cookies three different sizes. A tablespoon cookie scoop will make traditional 2 ½" cookies. A heaped scoop of dough, using a tablespoon cookie scoop (3 tablespoons, about 2 ounces), will make 3 ¼" cookies. A muffin scoop (1/4 cup) will make big 4" cookies, suitable to wrap individually and sell at a bake sale. Drop balls of dough onto the prepared sheets, leaving about 2" between them. Bake the cookies until they’re just barely set on top–about 12 minutes for the small cookies, 13 to 14 minutes for the medium cookies, and 16 minutes for the large cookies. Remove them from the oven, and cool them on the baking sheets, or transfer them to a rack to cool.
Yield: about 4 dozen small, 30 medium, or 2 dozen large cookies.