Truly, I blame some of my cooking/baking addiction with two things. 1, my kitchen TV. Sometimes a girl has got to mentally switch off, and nothing does it for me like a little tube. I could sit in the living room and watch OR I could watch in the kitchen, and end the sesh with a baked good. The other thing is terrible.
Sometimes I don’t want to play on the floor with my daughter, and I want my husband to do it instead. I’ll say, “I’ve got to go start dinner!” which also involves more TV time. Does this make me a bad person? At least there is food at the end of it, which is something. These cookies came together easily during some Sex and the City reruns on E.
I usually make cookies on the small side, for portion control, but these are big dogs. Just break them into pieces like I do; that way you can eat like four or five pieces and pretend it doesn’t add up to a cookie. Originally in America’s test kitchen containing 1 1/2 c. raisins, I swapped dates and white chocolate. Feel free to go back to just raisins or suit them more to your taste with dark chocolate, craisins, or dried cherries (just keep the total to 1 1/2 cups).
Lastly – what makes these special is the nutmeg. Usually cinnamon is the spice star of an oatmeal cookie but in this case, nutmeg takes the lead. If you want the more traditional cookie, add an equal amount of cinnamon or swap it for the nutmeg entirely. Just FYI, these were gone in two days in my house – and they were only shared with Bri (I gave her three and she ate them before she got home – she lives about 1 mile away).
Oatmeal, Date and White Chocolate Cookies
Makes 2 dozen large cookies
Slightly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (ideal, but pre-grated works too)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1 c. dates, well chopped
1/2 c. white chocolate
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in a small mixing bowl.
2. In a larger mixing bowl or standing mixer, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes on medium speed. This can be done by hand but will take longer. The consistency should be fluffy and the mixture should lighten in color.Â
3. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating in between until combined.
4. Switch to a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and mix in dry ingredients.
5. Add oats, dates and white chocolate. Mix just until evenly combined.
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray. Roll dough into golf ball-sized balls and space 2 inches apart, about 9 on each sheet. Make sure oven racks are in the two middle positions; place one pan on upper left rack and the other on the bottom right.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes, switching pans midway through. Cookies should be lightly golden on the edges but still very pale in the middle.
8. Let cool for several minutes on sheets and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature for several days.
