I had dinner with my friend Alison recently, and she told me her absolute favorite cookie recipe was one she had for Rosemary Raisin cookies. I recently discovered a love of baking sweet things with rosemary, so I knew I had to have this recipe asap. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I nagged her until she gave it up! Ok, not really - I sent her one email and she replied almost immediately.
She didn't say where it came from originally, and I've adapted it slightly, but for real - these cookies are phenomenal. They're the size and texture of the best traditional chocolate chip cookies - crispy at the edges and on the outside thanks to some raw sugar, thick and chewy in the middle, with superb flavor. SUPERB I say!
Especially if you have an oatmeal raisin cookie-lover in your life like I do, I highly recommend you try these for a new experience.
Happy Baking!
MAKES 13 Cookies
INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES
1 stick butter, room temperature
100g sugar (1/2 cup)
100g light brown sugar (1/2 cup)
1 Tablespoon chopped rosemary (as small as in the first picture above)
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup (if you don't have it you can sub agave or honey or lyle's syrup)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
240g AP Flour (2 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (use half as much if using table salt)
1 cup raisins
Raw sugar for coating (optional)
stand mixer
medium mixing bowl
spatula
2-3 large cookie sheets & parchment
food scale or cookie scoop (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Heat your oven to 350F.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together 240g AP Flour (2c), 1tsp baking powder, 1/2tsp nutmeg, and 1/4tsp kosher salt - set aside.
In your stand mixer, cream (beat on medium-high) 1 stick butter, 100g sugar (1/2c), 100g light brown sugar (1/2c), 1TB chopped rosemary, and 1TB light corn syrup until fully combined and a little fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add 1 egg, and mix on medium-low until combined, then increase speed to medium-high and beat for 5-6 minutes until lightened in color and even fluffier.
Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well on medium-high (starting on low so everything doesn't go poof) for about 1 minute until completely combined - you may need to scrape down the sides in the middle.
Add 1c raisins, and mix about 10 seconds until dispersed.
In order to make the cookies look uniform, you need to scoop the batter either with a cookie scoop or by weight - I use a 2” cookie scoop. Scoop the dough balls onto a wax paper or parchment lined cookie sheet - it’s okay if they’re close together; you’re not going to bake them yet.
Roll each dough ball in raw sugar to coat, then place them back on the lined cookie sheet.
If you want to bake them soon, wrap the sheet in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour, preferably two, or up to overnight. If you want to save the dough to bake another day, put the cookie sheet in the freezer (you don’t need to cover it) and 1 hour later transfer the dough balls to a freezer ziplock bag. The dough will keep for up to 6 months, possibly longer. DO NOT BAKE THE COOKIES AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Chilling is a must. When you’re ready to bake, heat your oven to 350F.
Take out one tray’s worth of cookies and arrange them a minimum of 3” apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 13-14 minutes if the dough has been refrigerated, or 15-16 minutes if you’re baking them from frozen. Don’t overbake! You want the cookies to be nicely crispy on the outside/edges, but still chewy in the middle. Or…at least, I do.
Repeat steps 9 & 10 for one sheet of cookies at a time (i.e. don’t take cookie dough balls out of the fridge/freezer until you’re ready to put them on the tray and into the oven.)
Cool the cookies 10 minutes on their baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.
