dillymug 
Following on from my previous post I have been on a bit of a cookie making mission recently. I made these last weekend as we were off to visit our friends Simon and Louisa who have recently welcomed baby Esme to their family. I thought they might be in need of a sweet treat to keep them going so decided to give these a go. I have made lots of other oat and raisin cookies before and they are a particular favourite of Mr Birdie. My favourite recipe is this Hummingbird Bakery recipe. This recipe is a Jo Wheatley one from her Home Baking book. I have made her oat and raisin cookies before but this recipe is slightly different and does include the addition of pecan nuts.
This recipe will make 18-20 cookies. They are crunchy on the outside but chewy in the middle. They were a hit with Mr Birdie (always a good sign) and I have to say I did eat rather more than my fair share! You will need 2-3 baking sheets lined with baking parchment.
Ingredients:
170g unsalted butter (softened)
320g soft light brown sugar
1 large egg (beaten)
4 tablespoons sunflower oil
250g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
150g rolled oats
150g raisins
150g pecans (roughly chopped)
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2) In the bowl of a free-standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and light (if you don’t have a free-standing mixer you can use an electric hand mixer). Add the egg and oil and mix again.
3) Soft the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into the bowl, add the oats, raisins and chopped pecans and mix again until smooth and thoroughly combined.
4) Using your hands, roll the cookies into walnut-sized ball and place on your prepared baking sheets. Allow plenty of space between each cookie as they will spread as they bake. Slightly flatten them with the palm of your hand and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until pale golden and firm.
5) Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.
