Levain Bakery Oatmeal Cookies

Who knew being a dog owner could be so dangerous?

A few days ago, I was heading to answer the door for a visitor when my dog suddenly dashed in front of me causing me to trip and catapult myself head-over-heels into the stairway. The pain in my left foot when I got myself up was so intense that I was positive it was broken. After a few hours of icing, after which the swelling reduced but the pain did not subside, I took myself into the doctor's office where an x-ray confirmed that I had fractured my fifth metatarsal. In a matter of seconds, I went from an active mother with a love of running to a handicapped gimp who takes about 10 minutes to get a pair of pants on in the morning. I have been instructed not to put any weight on my left foot for a few weeks in order to ensure that I do not displace the bones further and then after that it's all crutches for me until the bone completely heals, probably sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The worst part was that when the accident occurred my husband was actually out of town visiting his parents and I was immediately overwhelmed about how I was going to deal with three young kids with a fractured foot. Thankfully, I have some of the best friends in the universe who banded together to ensure that I didn't have to worry about a thing. They took Matthew to school, cared for my girls during the day, brought me food, and tucked the kids in bed for me at night. It took such a load off my mind and helped me survive the few days alone before Paul returned home.

So basically all this means that I have plenty of sit-on-my-butt time and no excuse whatsoever for neglecting this blog. It also means I probably won't have anything interesting to write beyond the recipes I have saved and photographed to be shared. Let's start with this amazing recipe for the Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

These cookies are simply unbelievable. They have a wonderfully dense texture, the perfect balance of butter, cinnamon, flour, and oats. I was seriously frustrated because I had just made a batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies that I was less than happy with. They came from a new cookbook I recently acquired and I found the recipe very fussy and the results less-than-stellar. Burnt edges and an overly chewy texture that make my molars ache are not really my idea of an enjoyable treat. So I tossed them and tried this recipe next since I have had it bookmarked for ages.

I visited Levain Bakery when Paul and I traveled to New York City a few months ago and found their cookies to be totally worth the hype. While the Oatmeal Cookies were tempting, I opted to try one of their Chocolate Walnut Cookies instead. Based on my first-hand knowledge of the density and texture of Levain's cookies, I can testify that this recipe is pretty spot on. I was completely blown away by them. They were simple to prepare - you don't even have to wait for butter to soften - and I found the choice of ingredients as well as the oven temperature to be a stroke of genius. The cake flour contributes to the tender crumb of the cookies and the high temperature shocks the cookie dough balls to prevent them from spreading as they quickly bake. Genius, genius, genius!

I can't rave enough about these. You'll just have to try them yourselves and see if you are as wowed by them as I am! If you are a fan of ultra chewy oatmeal cookies these probably won't be your favorite but I promise you will fall in love with the flavor. I'm going to go eat another one right now...

Levain Bakery Oatmeal Cookies
from Modern Honey

1 cup Cold Butter, cut into cubes
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
½ cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2 cups Flour
½ cup Cake Flour
1½ cup Rolled Oats
1 teaspoon Cornstarch
¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
1½ cups Raisins
1 cup Walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 410 degrees.

In large bowl, cream together cold butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add cake flour, all-purpose flour, oats, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir until combined. Stir in raisins and walnuts (optional).

Chill dough for 15 minutes.

Separate dough into large balls and place on lightly colored cookie sheet. Lightly press on top of dough to smooth out. If you have a scale, you can make them anywhere from 4.5 ounces - 6 ounces. You will fit 4-6 cookies on one large cookie sheet. The dough makes 8-12 extra large cookies.Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let them rest for at least 10-15 minutes to set.