President Clinton's Oatmeal Cookies

Every time I get a cookbook, it is a little like Christmas.  I furiously flip through the pages of the book to find my next project and proceed to dream about all of the things I am going to make someday.  Some of these hopes and dreams actually pan out...while others await the day I have more money to fund my baking projects.  Anyways, I was lent several books by my Chef Danny Jacob that I mentioned in a previous post and one of these books was Desserts By the Yard by Sherry Yard.  She is the famous Pastry Chef of a place called Spago in Beverly Hills and is also known for the desserts at the Oscars each year.  In others words, the woman is legendary.  With so many recipes to choose from, I picked her President Clinton's Oatmeal Cookie recipe for my first project out of her book.  Why this recipe you may ask?  Well, I picked this one mainly because I had most of the ingredients in my pantry.

From Desserts By the Yard by Sherry Yard p 250

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups FAT RAISINS (see recipe for these below)

Directions:
1. Sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter on high speed until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle or beaters.  Add the sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Continue creamin the mixture on high speed until it is smooth and lump-free, about 2 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition.  Beat on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds, until the eggs are fully incorportated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
4. On low speed, add the sifted flour mixture, beating until all the flour is incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  On low speed, mix in the oats and FAT raisins.
5. With a rubber spatula, scoop out the dough and divide it in half.  Center one half along the bottom of a sheet of parchment paper and roll it up in the paper, creating a log about 2 inches wide and 12 inches long.  Repeat with the second piece of dough.  Fold over the parchment, creating a sausage.  Twist the ends over and wrap in plastic.  Chill the dough logs for a minimum of 1 hour. (At this point the dough will keep nicely, wrapped well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or the freezer for up to 1 month) You can also simply spoon the dough onto parchment-covered baking sheets and bake at once. (see Note)
6. Place racks in the middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  When the dough is chilled, remove it from the parchment paper.  Using a chef's knife or an offset serrated knife, slice 1/2 inch rounds off the log.  Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back, and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes.  remove the cookies from the oven and carefully slide the parchment off the sheets and directly onto your work surface.  Cool the baking sheets between batches.  Wait a minimum of 5 minutes before eating, or allow to cool completely before storing the cookies in an airtight container.
NOTE: Instead of forming the logs and chilling, you can also scoop spoonfuls of dough onto the parchment lined sheets.  Spoon teaspoons for small cookies, tablespoons for large.

Fat Raisins (Note the recipe for this makes 1 cup and the above recipe calls for 1.5 cups
Ingredients
1 cup golden or Red Flame raisins
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 tablespoons sugar

1, Combine the raisins, wine, orange juice, rum, and sugar in a small heavy saucepan, bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring all the while.  Lower the heat so that the liquid is at a bare simmer and poach for 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, cover pan with plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temperature.  Transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks!

 I want to first start off by saying that I haven't found an oatmeal cookie recipe that I am in love with.  After making these cookies, I am here to tell you that I still haven't found an oatmeal cookie recipe that I am in love with.  However, I did really like the FAT RAISINS in this recipe.  The idea of incorporating a sugary rum mixture into the raisins before using them to bake is glorious.  I think all oatmeal raisin cookies should have some soft of FAT RAISINS.  Overall, I give these cookies 3.4 out of 5 stars.  My biggest complaint about these cookies is they were not chewy enough and I baked each batch for shorter durations in an effort to achieve a softer cookie.  The cookies were too crisp when the directions were followed explicitly.  The recipe called for each batch to be baked close to 20 minutes.  Wow...way to long.  I eventually baked my fourth batch at close to 12 minutes... I don't know what I could have done to create a softer cookie here.  The cookies were cooled in the refrigerator prior to baking too.  If you have any suggestions, let me know.  Also, if you have a favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, please send it my way.  I want to find one that I am pumped about.