Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cupcakes

 Every summer, my fabulous friends Ginna and Charlie throw a wonderful party. It's a summer event that I look forward to every year! And, of course, I always like to bring something delicious and freshly baked. Quite often, I'll bake cookies and I make sure to time it so that I'm pulling them from the oven just as I'm walking out the door, and then they're still warm when I arrive at the party. Everyone LOVES warm cookies right out of the oven!
 This year, though, I decided that I didn't want to make the Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies that I usually make. Ginna loves oatmeal raisin cookies, yes, but I wanted to do something slightly different. So then I thought, "I wonder if I can find a a cupcake recipe that would be similar." So I did some googling, and lo and behold, here it is. You just gotta love Martha Stewart for coming up with a recipe for a cupcake that tastes just like an oatmeal raisin cookie. Perfect! I made them for the party and they were a big hit!! Martha didn't include the glaze, but I figured they needed to be jazzed up a little. I mean, they were for a party, after all.
 So, here's the thing.. I've listed the recipe below, just as Martha Stewart listed it, but be sure to read my tips following the recipe. The recipe is pretty easy, but I've included a few thoughts to go along with it! Hope you like 'em! And thanx again to Ginna and Charlie for another great party! Can't wait until he next one!

3 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup oat bran

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups raisins

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut 

 

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

 Line 3 standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Whisk 2 cups oats, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, bran, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside. 

 Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Mix in sour cream. Stir in raisins with a rubber spatula. 

 Transfer 2 3/4 cups batter to a small bowl, and stir in remaining 1 3/4 cups oats and the coconut; set aside. Spoon 2 1/2 tablespoons plain batter into each prepared muffin cup; top with 1 1/2 tablespoons oat coconut batter. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. 

 

 

Tips:

 So, my first thought is that it says to line 3 muffin tins with papers, but the recipe only makes about 2 1/2 dozen. So, don't think your amounts are off. Just know that you won't be filling up that last tin all the way.  

 Second, I don't understand the point of having two different batters. For one thing, I didn't come out even. I measured everything to the letter, and I still came out with extra coconut batter leftover. It seems to me that you could just mix the coconut and the extra oats right into the whole batch and bake them. I'm sure Martha must have had a reason for putting the coconut batter just on the top portion of each cupcake, but I'm not seeing it. I think, next time, I'm gonna test the theory of just mixing the coconut right into the whole batch and seeing how it goes. And a little side note.. I couldn't find oat bran at the grocery store, so I used wheat bran instead, and they turned out perfectly.

 And finally, for the glaze, I just mixed powdered sugar with a few drops of vanilla extract and enough water to make it the right drizzling consistency. Be sure to add it literally just a few drops at a time. A little liquid goes a long way when you're making a glaze with powdered sugar. Then just drizzle the glaze over the top in one direction, then go back again and drizzle it in another direction to make a pretty cross hatch design. 

Oh, just one more thing...When you serve them.... everyone will constantly refer to them as muffins. But no. They're definitely cupcakes. LOL Just sayin'!