Everything Pecan Oatmeal Cookies - February Secret Recipe Club

Who can resist a good cookie?

I remember an amazing oatmeal cookie from my childhood. My Mom used to save up coffee cans to store them in. They just barely fit inside! I have no idea what recipe she used, and we haven't been able to locate it again, but I know it included cinnamon and was neither too chewy nor too crunchy. It was the stuff of childhood memories.

Being February, it is time again to delve into another blog and pull out a winning Secret Recipe Club recipe. This month I was delighted to be assigned Close to Home. I know Maria online and she started the Friday Food Frenzy - a recipe linky I help co-host with her every week. She loves food as much as I do and I hope you take a moment and check out her fabulous blog.

I was immediately drawn to the Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookie post on Maria's blog. Not only was it from one of my favorite Food Network Star's cookbooks (Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa) but it made my pregnant taste buds water. Cookies really haven't been doing that for me lately.

Usually I see toasted walnuts in oatmeal cookies, which are good... but nothing special. These called for toasted pecans. Oh, be still my heart! I adore pecans and just happened to have some in my pantry just begging to be useful.

In her post Maria mentioned the cookies might be even better with chocolate chips. Since my husband is pretty anti-raisin I decided to cut back on the raisins and fill in the gap with a mixture of dark chocolate chips, craisins and raisins. This little personal touch in the recipe really worked for me. I kept the 1 1/2 cup measurement the same, just played around with items.

I also cut back the sugar from the original recipe which I was very happy with and swapped out 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour for my home ground wheat. It still turned out great and I made it a little healthier at the same time.

On a whim I also threw in some Rice Krispie cereal. Yeah, I went there. It was my secret 'crunch' weapon. Just a 1/4 cup was enough to add texture without changing the flavor of these yummy treats.

So you can see why these became "everything" oatmeal cookies. I kinda threw a little of everything into this batch along with a little love.

Seriously, I'm not very good at following recipes to a "T". I am always experimenting and personalizing my food. These cookies are a testament to the fact sometimes that fun pays off in a delicious way.

Everything Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Close to Home and Barefoot Contessa

You Will Need:

• 1 1/2 c. pecans, toasted
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temp.
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 1/4 c. craisins
• 1 c. dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 c. rice krispie cereal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for about 3 minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time, till fully incorporated, then add the vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl,  sift or whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt). On low, add the dry ingredients to the mixer. Scrape down well before adding the remaining ingredients (raisins, craisins, chocolate chips and rice krispies.) Stir to incorporate the final parts.

On a baking sheet measure out 2-inch balls and slightly flatten with the back of a glass. Bake for 13- 15 minutes until the tops are dry and the sides are just starting to turn golden. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Be sure to check out all the other Secret Recipe Club goodies in the linky below: