ginger, raisin and oat cookies

a recipe

i didn’t care much for oat and raisin cookies in the past. i used to mentally rank them well below a beloved chocolate chip cookie. however, i do really love ginger flavoured biscuits and cookies. so, i set about making an oat and raisin cookie with lots of ginger. this recipe incorporates ground ginger and lovely little pieces of stem ginger. the result is a crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, well spiced cookie that i really love and hope you will too.

i have found the key to the perfect cookie is plenty of chilling time in the fridge before baking. for this recipe you should factor in a minimum of 8 hours chilling time before baking. once you’re ready to bake pre-heat the oven to 175c (fan) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

ingredients
140g unsalted butter, softened
140g dark brown soft sugar
110g golden caster sugar
1 egg white, 2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
125g oats
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
a generous pinch of nutmeg
100g raisins
80g stem ginger in syrup (drained and chopped into small pieces)

method
1. use a stand mixer or electric mixer to combine the butter and both sugars in a large bowl. do not over mix, if the butter and sugars become fluffy the cookies will deflate when baking.
2. add the egg white, yolks and vanilla and beat in quickly until combined.
3. in a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients (baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sea salt, flour, oats, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg) and then fold into the butter, sugar and egg mix.
4. add the raisins and chopped stem ginger and stir through.
5. shape the cookies; i like to use an ice-cream scoop to do this so that the cookies are equal in size and have nice, smart edges. i have this oxo one. if you’re doing it without an ice-cream scoop aim for even, round cookies. place in the fridge to chill.
6. arrange the cookies on the baking tray with plenty of room between each; they’ll spread as they bake. bake for 12-15 minutes. you may need to bake them in batches. they should be golden brown and the middle just ever-so-slightly set. remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack, they’ll firm up as they cool.

notes
this recipe makes 12 cookies.