Recipe. You Won't Want to Miss This!

Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies

Going back a couple of years, there was a little hole-in-the wall cafe on Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights called Tazza. I used to stop there often for coffee and I discovered what they called their breakfast cookies. It was an oatmeal cookie—heavy on the oatmeal, lighter on the flour—with raisins, nuts and I believe sometimes cranberries. I used to pick one up when I was bringing my grandson back to our apartment after school, knowing he would want a snack, I wanted to provide something somewhat healthy. Well, Tazza closed, and during the pandemic I decided it would be beneficial for all if I recreated them. I didn’t have to work too hard, as a recipe from Cuisine Magazine some years ago is a perfect rendition. My grandson proclaimed them FANTASTIC, better than the others, and promptly ate four. The proof IS in the pudding. They are delicious and crispy on the outside while soft on the inside. I usually half this recipe when I bake them.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups of oats (not instant)

1 1/2 cups golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Whisk together dry ingredients, except oats and raisins, and set aside.

Combine wet ingredients in mixing bowl, mixing with a hand mixer on low speed, then increase speed and cream until the color lightens.

Stir in the flour mixture until flour is no longer visible. You can do this by hand or I add 1/2 at a time and continue with the hand mixer on slow speed quickly for each half. You want to mix just till combined as over mixing will make them “heavy.”

Mix in the oatmeal and raisins by hand.

The original recipe calls for a #40 cookie scoop, but not having one or having knowingly even seen one, I use a teaspoon and take a heaping teaspoon of batter and rolling it into a round ball by hand. This works out perfectly!

Place cookie “balls” on non-stick cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes, checking them at 12 minutes and leaving them in for extra time if they are not yet browned around the edges. They should be light color with golden brown edges.

When you take them out of the oven, take a metal spatula and flatten the cookies slightly while they are hot—don’t squish them, just flatten a little so they are a bit wider and not so high in the middle.

Allow to cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes and then move to a metal cooling rack.

Makes 36 cookies

With a cup of coffee, tea, or a glass of milk, they are perfect for breakfast!