Doc's Bran-Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

**Doc's Bran-Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies** is the twenty-first recipe featured in Cinnamon Roll Murder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

## Ingredients

* 3/4 cup raisins ***(either regular or golden, your choice)***
* 3/4 cup boiling water
* 1 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 1/2 cup brown sugar ***(pack it down when you measure it)***
* 3/4 cup ***(1 and 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces)*** salted butter, softened to room temperature
* 2 large eggs
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg ***(freshly grated is best)***
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it***)
* 1 and 1/2 cups dry quick oatmeal ***(I used Quaker Quick 1-minute)***
* 2 cups bran flake cereal

## Directions

* Place 3/4 cup raisins in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup or a small bowl that can tolerate boiling water without cracking.
* Pour the 3/4 cup boiling water over the raisins in the cup. Stir a bit with a fork so they don't stick together, and then leave them, uncovered, on the counter to plump up.
* Prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or lining them with parchment paper that you also spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

**Hannah's 1st Note: This cookie dough is a lot easier to make if  you use an electric mixer.**

* Place the cup of white sugar in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Add the half-cup of brown sugar. Mix them together until they're a uniform color.
* Place the softened butter in the mixer bowl and beat it together with the sugars until the mixture is nice and fluffy.
* Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
* Add the salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Beat until the mixture is smooth and well incorporated.
* On LOW speed, add the flour, one-half cup at a time, beating after each addition. Continue to beat until everything is well blended.
* Drain the raisins by dumping them in a strainer. Throw away any liquid that remains, then gently pat the raisins dry with a paper towel.
* With the mixer running on LOW speed, add the raisins to the cookie dough.
* With the mixer running on LOW speed, add the dry oatmeal in half-cup increments, mixing after each increment.
* Turn the mixer OFF, and let the dough rest while you prepare the bran flakes.
* Measure 2 cps of bran flake cereal and place them in a 1-quart freezer bag. Roll the bag up from the bottom, getting out as much air as possible, and then seal it with the bran flakes inside.
* Squeeze the bran flakes with your fingers, crushing them inside the bag. Place the bag on the counter and squash the bran flakes with your hands. Once they're in fairly small pieces, take the bag over to the mixer.
* Turn the mixer on LOW speed. Open the bag and add the crushed bran flakes to your cookie dough, mixing until they're well incorporated
* Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and give the bowl a final stir by hand.
* Drop the dough by rounded Tablespoons (use a Tablespoon from your silverware drawer, not one you'd use for measuring ingredients) onto your prepared cookie sheet. There should be 12 cookie dough mounds on every standard-size cookie sheet.

**Hannah's 2nd Note: Lisa and I use a level 2-Tablespoon scooper to form these cookies down at The Cookie Jar.**

* Bake Doc's Bran-Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Yield: 2 to 3 dozen delicious cookies, depending on cookie size.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: Doc had to warn the Lake Eden Memorial Hospital cooks not to let the patients have more than two cookies. Since they contain bran and bran is an aid to the digestive system, patients who eat a lot of these cookies could be spending a lot of time in the little room with the porcelain fixtures.**