Thursday, April 9, 2009

Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

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I've never made a crispy oatmeal cookie before. Actually, I think the WP cookies were my first non-chewy cookie. Since freezing cookie dough is the new thing, I prescooped and froze the cookies so they would be ready to bake. I knew I would be baking these soon so I wasn't worried about about freezer burn or dehydration. Normally I would wrap the dough tightly into a log and put it in a ziploc and then defrost and scoop. I reduced the butter by 4 tablespoons (from 14 to 10) because I read that these spread a lot for some people and I didn't want to have one large sheet of oatmeal cookie. Next time I'm going to use 12 tablespoons. I was debating whether or not to add chocolate in case no one would eat them because 'chewy' is always the overwhelming favourite, but I just stuck to the recipe.

Baking chilled dough works really well if you're looking for chewy and thicker cookies. I wasn't so sure it would be the same for thin and crisp cookies so I let my frozen dough come to room temperature. I also baked at 325 for 20 minutes because cookies always burn at 350 in my oven. These were really good for crispy cookies because they had crunch without that stale or hard/thick quality. The best part is biting into them and getting a nice flaky texture... it's almost like a suprise! If you're in the mood for a thin and crisp oatmeal cookie, these are the ones to make. The shatteryness makes these really special and it's crispy and crunchy without feeling like you're biting into a hockey puck.

In case you're like me and wonder how these taste the next day... They were still crunchy on the edges, but they lost some of their crispness. The center was a little stick to your teeth.. not sure if you would like that, but I find that texture interesting. Maybe if I baked them a little longer, they might have remained crunchy throughout. I guess I'm just used to baking chewy cookies all the time and worry about overbaking that it was almost hard to stop myself from pulling these out too early.

Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies
Cook's Illustrated

Makes 24 cookies
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon table salt 
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks), softened but still cool, about 65 degrees (I used 10 tbsps, will try 12 next time)
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
1 large egg 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars at medium-low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl again. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated and smooth, 10 seconds. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oats and mix until well incorporated, 20 seconds. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons (or use #30 cookie scoop), then roll between palms into balls. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 21/2 inches apart, 8 dough balls per sheet (see note above). Using fingertips, gently press each dough ball to 3/4-inch thickness.

4. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are deep golden brown, edges are crisp, and centers yield to slight pressure when pressed, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely on sheet.

28 comments:

  1. I love crispy cookies especially oatmeal ones :) these look delicious :)

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  2. Usually I prefer chewy cookies, but those crispy ones look fabulous!!

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  3. I love crispy oatmeal cookies. Yours look fantastic! I'm hearing more about freezing dough. What a handy trick.

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  4. i'm with veggie girl - chewier cookies are preferred but dang those crispy cookies look delish, too!

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  5. ahh and as for the ginger pudding - i "cooked" the milk with some ginger root so it had a subtle hint of ginger. the ginger-o additions really ended up diffusing throughout the pudding, and each little bite of pudding would include a little bite of a soft ginger-breadish cookie. :)

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  6. ooo I love oatmeal cookies! people always think I'm crazy when I say that but it's true! Especially with raisins...

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  7. These cookies look awesome. I love a crispy cookie - especially an oatmeal one with no raisins.

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  8. YUM! I love CI. Always the best cookies. Looks good over here, love that photo!

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  9. mmmm, they look so crispy, perfect to dunk in milk, or with tea!

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  10. I usually go for chewy cookies myself, but your pictures of these have me wanting to try them. They really would be great for dunking!

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  11. Those look so good! I Love the crunchiness to them!! I'll have to try these.

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  12. I love oatmeal cookies, I don't believe I've ever made a crispy version before. I definitely want to try these.

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  13. Oh, yum. Other than Christmas sugar cookies the cookie I make most often is oatmeal. I use the recipe from the Quaker Oats canister (I posted it once), with the only change being that I often use one stick of margarine and one stick of butter. So they're kind of chewy but thin. How weird is that? I will definitely have to try these and see if I need to rethink my thinking! Especially after looking at the picture!

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  14. I'm usually a chewy cookie girl, but you have me wanting to try these. Especially now that you're describing them as flaky. That sounds perfect! They certainly look delicious!

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  15. I'm not too crazy about cookies unless they are still hot right out of the oven with a large icy cold glass of milk at my elbow.

    Sorry to hear about your Snickerdoodle muffins. Did you use your own recipe or Peabody's? I've been thinking about making them as well.
    ~ingrid

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  16. Ooh I love all types of cookie but oatmeal ones always make me feel better as they are (oh-so-slightly!) healthier. They look delish!

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  17. I'm not usually a fan of the crunchy cookie, but these look really good. Nice, Steph!

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  18. I love a good oatmeal cookie! These look great!

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  19. I'm more of a fan of the chewy, but these look like great crispy cookies! Such a great job - as always! :)

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  20. I love a good oatmeal cookie myself . . . save me one please and I will bring my own glass of milk! ;)

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  21. Mmm these sound so good. Your description of them is making me salivate. I don't think you'd be able to retain the crispness by baking them longer, unfortunately. Well they'd be crisper for that 1 day but in the end cookies (and every other baked good basically unless it's really dry) will always become soft and lose its crispness, because the moisture in the muffin equilibrates.

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  22. From one obsessed foodie to another......These look major yummy. I have all the ingredients out. I am going to bake some right now! Thanks for the recipe. I have been wanting to make crispy oatmeal cookies for two weeks ! I might be forced to add dried cherries and dry roasted almonds. These seem to be finding there way into most of my baked treats lately. ♥ :)

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  23. Thanks for this recipe, will be trying it soon. You have a lovely blog.

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  24. Just tried the recipe-First batch I added walnuts and used 12 tbs butter-rolled into 1 tbs balls before baking. These came out too thick and cakey. Second batch I dropped teaspoons full and they were thinner and crispier (the way I like them). It's a better recipe than Quaker (I don't like added cinnamon and nutmeg) Next time I'll use the 14 tbs of butter and drop not roll the cookie dough. I like the idea of cherries and almonds. I only cooked half and froze the rest. Nothing beats the aroma of baking cookies.Thanks for a nice evening of delicious cookies with milk.

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  25. I just baked these and they are FANTASTIC...super thin and crispy! The only thing I added was cinnamon (a personal preference). Thank you for this recipe! I've saved it to my favorites.

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  26. Delicious! I like crunchy cookies... so thanks for sharing! I followed your idea to reduce the butter a bit. AND - I added a cup of butterscotch morsels... oh man!

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  27. Just made these cookies. They are delicious!

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