OATMEAL PECAN CRANBERRY COOKIES

These turned out to be so good that I just can't resist posting them. As inspiration, I started with a recipe from Ina Garten but decided to substitute and add, like any good cook should do when it suits his purpose. I'm sure you could use raisins instead of cranberries but that would make the cookies more usual. But if you can't find, or don't have the cranberries on hand, don't rush out to buty them. Just use raisins. And I'm sure you could substitute walnuts for the pecans but pecans are sweeter and have a more gentle flavor. Whatever the nuts, heat them in a 350 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes to bring out the oils. It intensifies the flavor. (Don't you just hate it when people say to cook for 5 to 10 minutes? I mean, one is twice as long as the other! Just use the time as a guide. After 5 minutes, check on the nuts to see if they've darkened slightly and if you can smell the flavor. If so, take them out. If not, cook them a little, but not a lot, longer. It's as simple as that.)

OATMEAL PECAN CRANBERRY COOKIES

makes 30 cookies (but see note below)

1 1/2 C pecans

1/2 lb unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 C dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1 C granulated sugar

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

2 t pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 C flour

1 t baking powder

1 t ground cinnamon

1 t kosher salt

3 C old-fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 C dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until darkened in color and slightly crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop coarsely.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, cranberries and pecans and mix just until combined. (In order to keep the cookies light, you can add the cranberries and pecans with a spatula instead of using the mixer.)

5. Using a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2" mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with damp fingers. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack  and cool completely. (I leave the cookies in the pans for 30 seconds or so, so that when I transfer them to the wire rack, they won't fall apart.)

Note: if you want to make more cookies, use 3 eggs instead of 2 and place the mounds close enough together so that the dough forms a complete sheet as it cooks instead of individual cookies. Bake a little longer, until the tops of the cookies are slighly brown and then remove from the oven. Cool the dough in the cookie pan and when cool enough, slice with a sharp knife into squares or rectangles. In order to bake the cookies to the same doneness, I switch the pans from lower to upper racks in the oven halfway through the cooking process. To be sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature, I leave them out overnight.