giant oatmeal spice chocolate chip raisin cookies

my friend Barbara and her husband Kevin are training for a 100-mile bike ride to support Barbara's mom, who is recovering from lymphoma, and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. as part of her fund raising, she is also hosting a benefit concert this weekend and asked if i would bake some cookies for sale during intermission.

i opted to make an oatmeal cookie. Barbara suggested making large cookies for the sale, so i went hunting for a recipe and found this giant oatmeal-spice cookie recipe from Southern Living, March 2003. i modified the recipe based on several others i had seen. this oatmeal cookie is chewy on the inside with a lightly crispy outside. while i was mixing up the ingredients, i discovered that i didn't have ground ginger, so i added a little more spice than what the recipe calls for below.


Giant Oatmeal Spice Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen large cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardomom

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons white sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups quick oats
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips

1 In a small mixing bowl, combine first 7 ingredients and mix well.

2 In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of white sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract, beating until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing in with a spatula or wooden spoon.

3 Stir in the oats, raisins and chocolate chips.

4 Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

5 Drop cookie dough by level 1/4 cupful two inches apart onto baking sheet. Dip the base of a round glass in the remaining 2 tablespoons of white sugar and press the cookie mound to flatten.

6 Bake 2 cookie sheets at a time at 350F for 11-12 minutes, switching cookie sheets on oven racks midway. Cookies should be golden brown when done. Cool slightly on baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container.