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Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries

2.5

(1)

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Oatmeal Cookies with Dried CherriesDonna Ruhlman

That's right, schmaltz oatmeal cookies. We had to have something sweet! The schmaltz does have a great effect here—it doesn't make the cookie taste like chicken, but it does give it a savory depth to balance the sweetness. So using schmaltz in a cookie turns out to be a fascinating and useful example of balancing sweet with a savory ingredient. I love the tart, dense dried cherries in these cookies, but this recipe is a great all-purpose vehicle for whatever garnish you want to give them—raisins, dried cranberries, walnuts, pecans or a mixture of any or all of the above.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    About 18 cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup/180 grams schmaltz, well chilled or frozen
1/2 cup/150 grams granulated sugar
1/2 cup/120 grams brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon/5 grams pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoons/3 grams cinnamon
1 teaspoon/5 grams kosher salt
1/2 cups/150 grams all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon/4 grams baking powder
2 cups/200 grams oats
2/3 cups/85 grams dried cherries (or other garnish as noted above)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    1. Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C.

    Step 2

    2. Cut the schmaltz into chunks and put it, along with both the sugars, into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on high until the fat is fluffy, 2 minutes or so.

    Step 3

    3. Add the egg, vanilla, cinnamon and mix on low, to incorporate.

    Step 4

    4. Combine the salt, flour, and baking powder, and add this to the mixing bowl. Paddle on medium to combine, 30 seconds or so. Add the oats and paddle to combine. Add the garnish and paddle to combine.

    Step 5

    5. Shape into golf-ball-sized orbs and put on a cookie sheet. Flatten them to your desired thickness (they won't spread much but they will puff). Bake the cookies until done, about 15 minutes.

Reprinted with permission from The Book of Schmaltz: A Love Song to a Forgotten Fat by Michael Ruhlman, © 2012
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