Cookies worthy of a midnight movie...

I grew up in a strictly chocolate chip dessert household. Sure, we had our variety: Mandelbrodt, Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, maybe even a Derby pie. The variety just happened to include chocolate chips. Don’t get me wrong. We had raisins and we had oatmeal. Two perfectly acceptable ingredients, which occupied separate spheres of the pantry and never really got introduced to one another.

Now, oatmeal raisin cookies are “memory” cookies, and as their scent wafts through the kitchen, you just might begin to conjure images of coming home from school, slinging your backpack over a kitchen chair, and sitting down long enough to devour a fresh-baked oatmeal raisin cookie. I searched my memory bank for some oatmeal raisin-nostalgia.

I may not have had an oatmeal raisin-childhood, but undergrad was a different story. Two of my best friends, Sarah Phillips (that’s her full first name, get it right or pay the price) and Callie, happen to obsess over all things Harry Potter as much as I do. Thus, when the films made their midnight debuts, we were first in line (okay, so we weren’t first) among those potentially more obsessed than we (yes, I mean those costumed fans, speaking in British accents and carrying “emergency” Sharpies for any passerby who might have forgotten to mark his forehead with a lightening scar). The only thing that could make this movie-going experience any better was COOKIES! Now, I am willing to admit that we (read I) took the easy way out and popped some Pillsbury jumbo chocolate chip and jumbo oatmeal raisin pull-aparts into the oven, smushed them into a plastic bag while still hot, and then smuggled the gooey concoction into the theater. Thank goodness for big purses. Even though I’m a diehard chocolate chip cookie girl, these oatmeal raisin cookies had a certain hold over me. They were delicious, warm, and comforting. And now, these cookies remind me of my wonderful friends and wonderful times. (Erin, even though you refused to attend Harry Potter, you still get to be in my oatmeal raisin memories.)

These oatmeal raisin cookies are extra special because they have some prebaked streusel, the recipe for which comes from Baking Bites! They are delicious—perfectly soft with a nice bit of crunch to them!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Streusel
Adapted from Baking Bites
2 c AP flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
¾ c unsalted butter, softened
1 c brown sugar, packed
½ c sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ c quick cooking (not instant) oats
1 c raisins
1 ½ c streusel (recipe below)

Plump raisins—place raisins water so that all raisins are covered. Bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, cover the pot and let raisins sit for about 5-7 minutes. Then, strain the raisins and set aside.
Whisk together flour, salt, and spices, and set aside.
Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.
Mix in dry ingredients in 2 parts. Stir in oats, raisins, and streusel.
Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 12-15 minutes (mine took about 12 minutes).

Streusel
adapted from Baking Bites
5/8 c AP flour
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
¼ c brown sugar, packed
1/8 tsp salt
¼ c butter, softened
¼ c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Stir dry ingredients together. Add butter with mixer until the mixture resembles coarse, wet sand. Stir in the walnuts. Using your hands, press the mixture into small clumps and place these clumps on the baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes.After cool, use a food processor to break the mixture into streusel crumbs.