Rainy Days and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Thank you Spring for finally showin up. It's been a rainy couple of days for us, and I'm loving it. Drizzly days like this make me want to bake. Since yesterday was also a bit cold, I needed something hearty. Enter the oatmeal raisin cookie. This cookie. Oh. Man. This cookie. So tasty. It's great as it is, but could easily be dressed up some too. Please, please give these cookies a try, you won't be sorry!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls (I didn't listen to this sound advice on my first batch, I added closer to a heaping spoonful, and the cookies ran together terribly. So make sure to drop by teaspoonful, trust me on this) onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Yields about 4 dozen.

*For extra plump raisins, soak by putting them in a colander and placing the colander in a saucepan. Cover with hot water while you prepare the dough.