MAY IT PLEASE THE PALATE: Half the recipe, double the fun

My wife had a late night craving for a chewy oatmeal raisin cookie.

As a dutiful husband, I was about to run out and buy one for her at the local overpriced boutique grocery store, when a novel idea dawned on me.

I could actually make them.

I scanned the kitchen. Oatmeal - check. Raisins - check. Pecans - check. Butter - you know it, baby.

I plugged “oatmeal raisin pecan cookies” into Google, and quickly found a five-star review for a recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

Who needs cookbooks anymore?

Given that my wife only wanted one cookie, I decided to make a half recipe.

That would provide enough for her, the office in the morning and enough leftover raw dough* for me to stuff myself silly.

The problem with halving recipes is remembering to use half of every single ingredient.

This I faithfully remembered through the entire list of ingredients, until I got to the 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

So instead of halving it, I put the full teaspoon in the half recipe.

Happily, while everyone noticed the extra salt, it worked — giving these cookies just the right kick that contrasted the raisins and sugars.

For the timid or traditional, use the amount the recipe calls for and experiment the next time.

Two more tips: if you too love the taste of raw cookie dough, you can achieve an approximation by undercooking these puppies a minute or too.
They will set as they are cooling.

Also, don’t forget to bake on parchment paper — not only won’t the cookies burn on the bottom, but they won’t stick.

Oatmeal Raisin Pecan Cookies
Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.

5. Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

* (Yes, I know those killjoys at the FDA not only don’t like us eating cookie dough with raw eggs; and now uncooked flour has been linked to E. coli. But if I have to go sometime, let it be over a bowl of raw oatmeal raisin pecan cookie dough. And who knows, maybe the extra salt acts as an antidote?)
   
Nick Roumel is a principal with Nacht & Roumel, PC, a firm in Ann Arbor specializing in employment and civil right litigation. He also has many years of varied restaurant and catering experience, has taught Greek cooking classes, and writes a food/restaurant column for “Current” magazine in Ann Arbor. Follow him at @nickroumel.