Brown Buttered Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Years ago my now husband and I traveled to Ecuador to volunteer at a mobile medical clinic. We spent the week traveling to villages in the Amazon shadowing physicians, distributing medications, and playing with the children. While we were not able to provide much direct medical help to those in need at the time, the experience impacted our journey to our own healthcare professions. To help raise funds to cover some of our travel expenses I put on an online bake sale for a couple months. My most popular item for sale was my brown butter snickerdoodle cookies. I made hundreds of these cookies, which, hey, I didn't mind because that meant the heavenly smell of browning butter would fill my kitchen and I could enjoy a small sample of the cookie dough (don't worry past customers I didn't double dip!) Anyways. I wanted to revamp a cookie classic with a brown butter twist, so I choose the oatmeal raisin cookie! 

BROWN BUTTER OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

1.  Brown the butter. In a medium, light-colored bottom saucepan over medium heat, melt:
                   3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
A light colored bottom will allow you to see the butter change colors more easily. Using a spatula, move the butter around occasionally to ensure even cooking. The butter will start to foam as the water in it evaporates out. When the bubbling decreases, watch the contents carefully. You will see tiny brown flakes start to form at the bottom of the saucepan. These are the milk solids which cook faster than the butter fat. Continue moving the melted butter around with the spatula to prevent these solids from sticking.  Once the butter changes from a golden color to a toasty brown color and you smell a rich nutty aroma, quickly remove from the heat. Transfer the butter to a mixing bowl to prevent further cooking. Let the butter cool for a few minutes. 
2.  Using the beater attachment of a KitchenAid or an electric beater, mix into the butter until well combined: 
                       3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
                       1/4 cup granulated sugar
                   2 eggs
                       1 teaspoon vanilla
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together:
                       1 1/2 cups flour
                   1 1/2 cups oatmeal
                   2 teaspoons cornstarch
                   1 teaspoon cinnamon
                   1 teaspoon baking soda  
4.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients until just combined. 
5.  Gently fold into the batter: 
                        1 cup raisins
6.  Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator, allowing the dough to chill for at least 3 hours. This is an important step as chilling prevents the cookie from spreading when baking. 
7.  Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Remove the dough from the refrigerator when ready, and allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. 
8.  Measure a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place dough balls on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until the edges appear slightly golden. They will look underdone in the middle, but remove from oven anyways. Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 
9.  Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 2-3 weeks.