Salty Oat Cookies

A friend of mine is addicted to the salty oat cookies found at Teaism, a DC-area tea house. That's a problem for him now that he lives in the Pacific Northwest, so I wanted to find a way to bring him his favorite cookies without having to ship them in bulk across the country (which I doubt is even possible). I did a bit of research on how to best achieve the essence of the salty oat cookie, and put together this recipe. I have eaten the Teaism variety before, so I basically knew what I was working with. What makes these cookies distinctive is the addition of course salt onto the cookies once they are on the sheet and nearly ready to go in the oven; that way, you get a hit of saltiness when you first bite in, but the cookie base is not over-salted. It is a pretty standard oatmeal cookie starter. One thing I love about this recipe is the buttery taste that goes well with the heartiness of the oats, and the addition of brown rice flour (instead of entirely all-purpose flour). Even without the course salt finishing off the dough, these cookies would be delicious. My friend tried them and was thrilled to have found a stand-in for the tea-house cookies; of course, now I have to worry about consistently supplying him with his favorite cookies. Next time, I might try mixing some chocolate chips, and hope that they don’t compromise the integrity of a fantastic cookie.

Salty Oat Cookies

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, cold
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 ¼ all-purpose flour
• ½ cup rice flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup raisins
• Course salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. In a large bowl, blend the butter and sugars with a hand mixer. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and combine until the mixture is crumbly. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, blending well.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flours. Then, add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and blend together. Fold in the oats and raisins.
4. Drop the dough by teaspoonful onto baking trays and then sprinkle the tops with coarse salt. Bake 12-15 minutes.