Oatmeal Raisin and/or Oatmeal Cherry Chunk Cookies

Sometimes the very best things, are those old favorites that never go in and out of style. Broken in jeans, a sweatshirt you have had since high school, and any song by Billy Joel.

Billy would probably not be happy to hear me call him old fashioned.  

But the truth is...being the best is a good thing, and you can't deny greatness. 

Take the old fashioned oatmeal raisin cookie.

It is, was, and always will be a favorite.  It is a cookie that you can count on.  

This recipe I used two ways.

The traditional Oatmeal Raisin, crispy and chewy and sweet.

The other half I threw in vegan dark chocolate chunks and organic cherries.  

I mentioned in an earlier blog that my family goes crazy from that sweet, tart combination.  

And here it works especially well with the chewy oats.  The picture above is the cherry chocolate cookie.  The ones below are the old fashioned oatmeal raisin.

Be creative though...throw in what you like.  It can't be wrong if it tastes good to you!

Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins/ or Chocolate and Cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.

Yields 25-30 cookies

With an electric mixer beat until smooth and fluffy:

1 cup Earth Balance buttery spread 

1 cup of light brown sugar

2 teaspoons of best quality vanilla

3/4 organic evaporated cane juice

Then add in:

1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce

In a separate bowl whisk together:

1 1/4 cup of organic spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Gradually add the dry mixture to the sugar mixture with the electric mixer until combined.

With a spatula, stir in:

3 cups organic rolled oats ( I use Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats, but this is not a gluten free recipe, so your choice)

Now for the fun!

Either add 1 cup of organic raisins to the whole batch or 

Split the batter into separate bowls and  add

1/2 cup of  raisins in one bowl

and  

1/4 cup of tart dried cherries 

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips or chunks

You can use more or less depending on how you like things.

Use a cookie scooper, or a tablespoon to place the batter 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden and the tops begin to look dry.  Remove from oven and let the cookies sit on the sheet for 5-10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack.  

Of course, they are phenomenal warm with a cold glass of milk, but wrap the rest and put in an air tight container in to the freezer.  Awesome cold, or you can pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds.

Yummy!