Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (with sourdough discard)

These are chewy, gooey, sweet, and full of flavor. My favorite cookie, your family will LOVE them.

Ingredients

The night before:

• 3/4 cup (105g) raisins

• 2 large eggs

• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

The day of:

• 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter softened

• 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) white crisco

• 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (avoid blackstrap)

• 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup (60g) of sourdough discard (sourdough that hasn’t been fed)

• 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats

Instructions

1. The night before, put the raisins, eggs, and vanilla together in a large jar. Cover and put in the fridge overnight.

2. The next day, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter, crisco, molasses, and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth. This takes about 2 minutes. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Add to the creamed butter, crisco, and sugar and mix on low until combined. Next, add the sourdough discard. Beat in the oats on low speed. Finally, slowly and gently mix in the raisin, vanilla, and egg mixture. Do not over-mix as the rasins are delicate.

4. Place the dough directly into the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

6. Roll balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft and under-baked. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Allow the cookies to “set” during this time.