Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Back when I was studying in Sydney, cousin May and I used to spend Saturday or Sunday afternoons baking. Yes, you read that correctly - B A K I N G. Not a typical way how a pair of 18 and 20 year old single girls would spend their weekends. But anyway, juggling between coursework (mom and dad wouldn't pleased with less than perfect grades) and housework (must keep house clean and tidy regardless) left us with little time for anything else. So we ended up taking a liking to baking.

I always speak of those days with hubby and he says "Oh how come you don't bake anymore?". Hmmm?

So, since we ran out of our store bought CNY cookies, I decided to show hubby that I wasn't bullsh**ting when I told him I could bake! Found this recipe online at allrecipes.com and modified it a bit with home roasted hazel nuts

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:
3 (or 4 is small sized) eggs beaten
1 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup roasted hazel nuts (or pecans)

Method:
- Combine eggs, raisins and vanilla in a bowl. Let is stand for an hour - do not skip this step, the soaking makes all the difference!
- Pre-heat oven to 175 0C or 350 oF
- Cream butter, brown sugar and white sugar.
- Sift in flour, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix it well with the butter/sugar mixture.
- Then stir in the eggs, oats and nuts.
- Drop teaspoonful of the batter and bake for 10mins or until brown.

P/S. The batter will rise a little during baking, so small teaspoon sizes will end up a nice sized cookie of about 4cm across. My first batch was gigantic as I didn't know what to expect :P

This portion makes about 300 cookies, with the size I made. Hubby believes me now...and is happily munching away while I type this, with the aroma of freshly baked cookies still lingering about our house. :)