Recipe: Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Who doesn’t love a good oatmeal cookie? With the addition of delicious apples, this recipe from Stemilt Growers goes above and beyond to make for the perfect sweet treat to warm up any chilly winter day!

Yields 18 cookies; prep time: 15 minutes; cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter (or vegan buttery spread), room temperature (lightly softened)
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 cups old fashion oats (Quaker brand, or as preferred)
• 3/4 cups golden raisins
• 1 Stemilt Pink Lady apple (or other Stemilt baking variety), peeled, cored, 1/2-inch dice

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place chopped pecans in a skillet set over medium high heat and lightly toast for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing intermittently. Transfer to a small dish and set aside to cool.
• In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream softened butter and sugars until just mixed through and creamy. (Take heed to properly allow butter to soften/come to room temperature and to take care not to over mix as over aerating can result in a consistency that is too soufflé-like, and dough will spread too much while baking.) Add eggs, one at a time, at medium speed. Once incorporated, mix in vanilla at medium speed.
• In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt. Add flour mixture, in small portions, to creamed mixture with mixer set to medium low speed. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula, as needed. Once incorporated, add in oats. Set mixer to medium speed until oats are incorporated. Reduce speed to medium low and add in raisins, apple and cooled pecans. Mix until just incorporated.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a ¼ cup measurer, scoop dough onto baking sheet, leaving approximately 2” between cookies. (Dough will be very sticky so use fingers to get “ball” of dough onto baking sheet.) Then using fingers, press dough down to create an approximate ½” thick x 3” round cookie. Place in oven and bake approximately 17 to 20 minutes, until just lightly golden and set through. Remove to rack to cool… they will firm up as they cool.
• Serve once cooled or keep in airtight container for up to 3 to 5 days.

To learn more about Stemilt Growers, visit stemilt.com!