Old-fashioned sweet treats for St. Patrick’s Day
Bake a batch of Oatmeal cookies with raisins and walnuts for St. Patrick’s Day
G rowing up in southern Austria, I never had much of a chance to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. But I certainly made up for lost time once I moved to the United States in 1973.
With its own rich Irish-immigrant heritage, America is home to some of the world’s most exuberant St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. I’ve long enjoyed the traditions of the holiday, from the beer that’s dyed an otherworldly shade of green to the Irish whiskey to the soda bread, and the green vegetable soups to the corned beef and cabbage I love to make — especially when I can cook it to absolute tenderness in record time using one of my pressure cookers. But looking back over the recipes I’ve shared with you to mark this occasion over the years, I’m surprised to find that I’ve never offered an appropriately Irish-themed treat that’s one of my favorites: Oatmeal Cookies.
Oats are among the most time-honored, traditional ingredients of the Emerald Isle. Since prehistoric times, the earthy-tasting, nutty, wholesome grain has nourished the Irish in everything from bowls of porridge for breakfast to crunchy oatcakes served with the country’s great farmhouse cheeses to those soda breads I just mentioned. Today, of course, oats are finding legions of new fans, thanks to the discovery that oats contain nutrients that can lower cholesterol levels, reduce risk for cardiovascular disease, lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes and fight certain cancers.
While I certainly eat oats for all those reasons, I also simply enjoy them for their delicious flavor and robust texture, both of which are highlighted at their best when you combine the grain with nuts, raisins, sweet spices and other ingredients to transform them into cookies. Sure, the recipe also includes some sugar, butter and eggs, but this is St. Patrick’s Day, after all — a once-a-year celebration. Why not enjoy yourself just a little bit, if you can?
With the holiday several days away, you certainly have time to get these easy cookies ready. In fact, you can make the dough up to several days in advance and keep it in the refrigerator before shaping it into balls and baking the cookies — final steps that will probably take you no more than about half an hour. Feel free to vary the nuts you use, substitute dried cranberries or cherries for the raisins or even include some chocolate chips.
Pack a couple of the cookies in your children’s lunchbox, or your own. Enjoy them at home or work with your morning coffee, afternoon tea or as an evening dessert. Whenever you enjoy them, you’ll feel at least a little bit Irish — and your St. Patrick’s Day will be all the sweeter for it!
OATMEAL COOKIES WITH RAISINS AND WALNUTS
Makes about 4 dozen Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice Pinch of salt 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 cups quick-cooking (not instant)
rolled oats
2 cups seedless raisins 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts Directions:
In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, allspice and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle or beaters, soften the butter at medium speed. Still mixing, add the granulated and brown sugars, and as soon as they are incorporated into the butter, raise the speed to high; continue beating until the mixture looks fluffy, stopping the machine as needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl and under the beaters.
Reduce the speed to medium, and one at a time, beat in the eggs until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture, and beat just until combined. Add the oats, raisins and walnuts, and continue beating just until fully combined.
On a work surface, place a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to hold all the dough. Use a sturdy spatula to scrape the dough from the mixer bowl onto the plastic wrap. Completely enclose the dough in the plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 hours or preferably overnight.
Position the oven rack on the center level. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and divide it into mounds that each weigh about 1 ounce, rolling them between your clean palms to form balls, about 48 in all. As the balls are rolled, arrange them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies have spread and are slightly firm to the touch, 13 to 15 minutes total, rotating the sheet or sheets front to back after 7 to 8 minutes to ensure even baking.
Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the hot cookies from the baking sheets to a wire rack to cool. If reusing a baking sheet, let it cool slightly before arranging more dough balls on it. Once the cookies have cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.