FOOD FROM THE WIRES Less oats in oatmeal cookies

I haven’t been consistently happy with my oatmeal cookie recipe for a while. Sometimes they turn out perfectly — fairly flat, chewy and moist in the middle, with crinkly, caramelized edges (not cakey or rounded) and a butterscotch-esque flavor. Other times, they don’t follow orders, staying too puffed, or becoming a little dry and less damply dense than I crave.

So I took the recipe, reduced the amount of flour and oats slightly, upped the butter considerably, took out one egg, increased the salt and the vanilla, changed the sugar ratio a bit to favor the brown variety, and tried it again.

I also baked bigger cookies. Only when your cookies are at least three inches wide can you approach the nirvana that comes with a cookie that has different textures throughout: a ring of crispness around the edge, firm but with some give as you head in for the next bite, and, finally, soft but chewy in the middle.

I also took a page from my favorite chocolate chip (or chunk) cookie recipe, and let the dough rest for two days.

BIG BUTTERSCOTCHY OATMEAL COOKIES

Start to finish: 40 minutes, not including optional refrigeration time

Makes 16 to 18 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 1 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup raisins Steps 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (postpone this step if you are planning to refrigerate your dough for a couple of days).

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium-size bowl.

3. Blend the butter and both sugars together in a large bowl with a hand mixer (or standing mixer), until well blended.

4. Beat in the egg, and then the vanilla.

5. Add the flour mixture gradually, mixing on low speed until each batch is incorporated.

6. Mix in the oats and raisins.