This cookie concoction is out-of-control good
Okay, first off let me say this column feels strange to write. I am reviewing a cookbook called Whiskey Cocktails but sharing the cookie recipe. I mean, I’m the girl who plays mixologist for a friend’s farm-to-table pop-up restaurant as a hobby. Cocktails are my mien. But I couldn’t help it. The cookie was too good not to share . Not that the cocktail recipes in this book aren’t good either but…this cookie. I decided you could get drinks from me later. Or here. Or here. Options abound.
I will first share some of the whiskey wisdom you can learn from author Warren Bobrow though, so you can sound learned on the topic, should you find yourself amongst the mixology crowd. As one does. First bit of wisdom is actually from Mark Twain, who said “Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.” I would add to that that too much whiskey and cookies is perfect.
Now, there are a variety of categories of whiskey, or whisky as it is called in Scotland. Indeed, this spirit can be found in the US, India, Japan, Canada, and even France. It is, after all derived from the Scot-Gaelic phrase “uisge beatha” which translates to “water of life.” Every culture has theirs. In the US it is fond in the form of bourbon, which uses corn to make it, rye, which is made with more rye, tennessee whiskey, and also moonshine, that deadly white spirit. In Scotland the whisky is made with malted barley. Peat smoke goes into whisky too. Japan is a rising star in the whiskey scene, perhaps Suntory and Bill Murray had a lil’ something to do with that. I dunno.
What I do know is that if you are going to drink, you need something to soak up the booze. This cookie recipe actually involves a whisky liqueur called Drambuie, which is a lovely Scotch-honey mash-up. The actual alcohol in this recipe will get cooked off so you can feel okay if you want to make these and are not a drinker. You can also legitimize a drink on the side.
You will find oodles of options for what drink to have in this book. After all, it is mostly a cocktail book. There are recipes using rye, recipes using scotch, and even recipes using quinoa whiskey. Yes, that exists. I’m waiting for kale whiskey.
About the whoopee pie. I know this is not really a traditional whoopee pie. Those have a very different filling and are not made with oatmeal cookies. Really, this is just an excellent sandwich cookie. It is also a big cookie. But it is just fun to say the word “whoopie” so I a sticking with that. Enjoy!
Oatmeal Raisin Whoopie Pies adapted from Whiskey Cocktails by Warren Bobrow
For the cookies:
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup Drambuie
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
- 1/2 cup sweetened desiccated coconut (I left it out because I hate coconut)
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3 cups steel-cut oats
For filling:
- 1 cup (8 oz.) cream cheese
- 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350 F a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Put raisins and Drambuie in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the liquid is almost gone. Drain and discard the remains. Set raisins aside to cool. Use a mixer (the book says handheld but I used my stand mixer) set on low to cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla and maple syrup and keep beating on low. Add flour, coconut (if using) salt, cinnamon, ginger and baking soda until just combined. Then add oats and raisins. Us a 2-inch scoop to put dough 2 inches apart on the baking trays. Bake in the center of oven for about 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. For the filling, just mix it all up in a bowl. Then take a cooled cookie, top with some filling, then another cookie. Yea, cookie! Cheers to that.
[Image courtesy Warren Bobrow]
