Exploring the Flour Cookbook: Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and White Chocolate Chunks

What does this picture say to you?

To me, it screams “turn us into cookies.” And when a plate of generally unrelated ingredients talks to me, I listen.

Earlier this year, I picked up some extra work that has me working with folks from some 30+ companies who, every six weeks, descend upon our offices in DC from all corners of the country. At our last meeting, I mentioned that I’ve been known to bake for out-of-town visitors.

“Do you take requests?”

Sure thing. The consensus was that for our November get-together, which started yesterday and wraps up today, something with oatmeal and cranberries would be just perfect from a seasonal perspective. Chocolate was a clear need as well, and I determined that white chocolate chunks would work best. It seemed everything was falling into place perfectly, except that I didn’t have an oatmeal cookie recipe in my pocket.

Then three weeks ago, David Lebovitz posted about the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe from Joanne Chang’s new cookbook. Just a week after that, I went to her bakery myself. And. Loved. It.

This wasn’t the ingredients talking to me. This was divine intervention. I had to make these cookies. Using that recipe as inspiration.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla powder

1 3/4 cup old fashioned oats

6 ounces dried cranberries

12 ounces chopped white chocolate chunks (suggest Callebaut)

The most notable changes were that I swapped in some vanilla powder and swapped out some nutmeg. And of course, dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks stand in for the raisins.

I started out by creaming the butter and sugar for five minutes.

It sure does get fluffy. While that is going on, I got all the ingredients from the flour through the white chocolate chunks mixed together in a separate bowl.

I thought that having the white chocolate chunks coated in flour would stop me from picking at them. I thought wrong. Luckily, I was almost done. I simply had to beat in the eggs one at a time, and then beat in the dry ingredient mixture on low speed until just incorporated. I then had dough.

Joanne suggests refrigerating the dough overnight. Even though she went to that other school in Cambridge, MA, she did develop the recipe, so I obliged.

Next up was baking time. I pre-heated my oven to 350° F, rolled the dough into balls about two tablespoons apiece in size, dropped them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and slightly flattened them. Since I divided the dough into half the size called for in the recipe, I baked them for a little less time – 13 minutes had them about right.

And did they ever turn out right. Hopefully the folks at my meeting today agree.