Oatmeal White Chocolate Craisin Walnut Cookies

Whew that was a mouthful (insert snide "that's what she said joke" here). But on a more serious note, they really are :) These cookies are chalked full of delight! Think of the most nostalgic oatmeal cookie you've ever had...then multiply that by 10.

nostalgic cookie x 10 = above mentioned cookie
nostalgic cookie < above mentioned cookie

In case your not catching my drift, these cookies are pretty good. I'm very picky about, well if you know me at all, my food in general, but especially with 1.artichoke dip, 2. chocolate cake, and  3.oatmeal cookies. I don't know why I'm so picky with these 3 things, but I'll take it as a good thing and run with it. I've tried countless recipes and gone through numerous sticks of butter to try and find what I think is the perfect oatmeal cookie. Practice made perfect :)  Let's just say I've got your grandma beat! This recipe really masters the perfect balance of what every oatmeal cookie should be in my opinion. These beauties have a soft but chewy bite, they're sweet but balanced well by the nuttiness of the white chocolate chips, have great texture from the craisins and walnuts, and what I think is most important in an oatmeal cookie, have the perfect amount of spice. Drum roll please...

Oatmeal White Chocolate Craisin Cookies
adapted from Your Everyday Mama

1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbs pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground clove
3 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups Craisins
10 oz. white chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts chopped (optional)

1. Beat eggs and vanilla in a small mixing bowl, add dried cranberries. Allow cranberries to rehydrate for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. Do not skip this step!
2. Brown 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cool in the refrigerator while you wait for the cranberries to finish plumping up.
3. Preheat oven to 350 F
4. Cream butters and sugars with mixer, stand mixer is best as you should cream for about 2-3 minutes. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, kosher salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove. Slowly add your dry ingredients into your cream mixture, scraping sides of bowl as needed, making sure there are no dry patches, but do not over mix. Add in your egg/cranberry mixture, mix on low until just combined.
5. Using a wooden spoon, mix in oats, combining well. Fold in your chocolate and nuts.
6. Refrigerate your dough for about 5-10 minutes
7. Spoon small-medium sized balls onto wax paper covered cookie sheets. Bake cookies for approximately 12 minutes, turning once during cooking. Cookies are done when they are light brown and begin to lose their glossy look. 
Yields: Approximately 30 good sized cookies.