Rum Raisinet Cookies

As I mentioned in my earlier post on improvisational baking, it takes only a few tweaks to turn a classic recipe into something entirely new.

I started with my Better Than Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies as a source recipe and then did some brainstorming. "What flavors go with raisins?" I thought. And then it hit me: booze and chocolate. Rum raisin ice cream is pretty popular, and Raisinets (chocolate-coated raisins) are a common movie theater snack. What a no-brainer.

I wanted to keep the raisin-chocolate balance even, so I split the 1 1/2 cups of raisins from the source recipe in two and used 3/4 cup raisins and 3/4 cup chocolate chips. I then decided to soak the raisins in rum to infuse them with flavor and to enplumpen them. Next, I replaced a teaspoon of the milk in the wet ingredients with a teaspoon with rum.

I made just three small changes to the source recipe, and I've come up with a new cookie. It really was that simple. I just swapped out one ingredient for an equal amount of another.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Rum Raisinet Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	3/4 cup raisins soaked in 3/4 cup rum, drained 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon rum 1/2 teaspoon milk
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Soak the raisins in 3/4 cup rum to plump for 30-45 minutes.
   
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. Strain the raisins, discarding the remaining rum. Add the plumped raisins to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool. 

Comments

[Linda]

Hi there,
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Would the cookies be very moist? I've just tried a batch of rum raisin cookies from another recipe and it turned out very moist, which I don't quite like. There's not much rum taste too... I used Bacardi Rum (light brown). I'm gonna try out your recipe...
Linda