These are the cookies that have enough healthy ingredients in them to not feel entirely naughty but have enough naughty ingredients to feel like a super satisfying dessert. While traveling in Berkeley last year I bought some chewy oatmeal cookies from a lovely little bakery and I have not been able to get them out of my head since. They were perfectly chewy, they had the choc chip factor, which I never thought oat cookies needed until that moment confirmed they absolutely do, but most importantly they had candied lemon peel which transported them to another dimension of good cookiedom. You might be wondering why my recipe then calls for citrus candied peel? Alas, I have a rather shameful confession to make as a baker, I cannot make candied peel.
I’ll try my hand at anything and usually garner some degree of success, after years of baking experience, but candied peel just doesn’t like me. Or rather I’m too distractible to ever make it successfully. Every attempt has ended up with a sugary lump of black peel stuck to the bottom of a pan.
 
So this is the Australian (I can’t make candied peel to save my life) version of the good old Berkeley chewy oatmeal cookie. Luckily it tastes absolutely awesome and since you never tried the original you will be none the wiser (oh blast, shouldn’t have just told you that whole disaster tale).
 

 
Well as the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding”, and I just served up batches of these chewy yummy things as part of a wedding sweets table over the weekend and they went down a treat, no pun intended.
 
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Choc Chip Cookies w. Candied Citrus Peel
Makes 20 cookies
 
• 115g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g brown sugar
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp dark molasses
• 140g rolled oats
• 125g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp bicarb
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup candied citrus peel (or lemon peel if you can make it)
 
Cream the butter and sugar together in a freestanding electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and mix on high till combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high till combined.
 
In a medium bowl mix the oats, flour, cinnamon, bicarb, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on low till combined.
Mix in the dark chocolate chips, raisins and candied citrus peel.
Wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
 
Preheat oven to 160°C and line three baking trays with baking paper.
Remove dough from the fridge.
Roll balls of dough (about 1 Tbsp) and place 2 inches apart on the prepared trays. Pushing down slightly. Bake for 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the sides.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
 
Here’s a sneak peek at the wedding sweet table.
It was super happy and colourful as requested by a super fantastic bride.
I made these chewy oatmeal cookies, lemon thyme white chocolate truffles, apricot & mandarin amaretti, chocolate brownies, vanilla marshmallow freckles, lemon meringue tarts, coconut macaroons, white chocolate candy bark, fairy bite sprinkle cookies, caramel popcorn, dark chocolate roasted almond black pepper truffles and a wedding cake of course.
I’m officially baked out, after preparing so many sweet treats (well at least until I whip up another batch of these cookies to keep Signor Pot and I going through the rest of a busy month).
 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
xxBlighStBistro