July 27, 2005
Baking In: Teaism's DCist's Salty Oatmeal Cookie
Note: This recipe detailed in this article is not the original Teaism Salty Oat Cookie. Rather it is DCist's approximation of how to make something similar at home. For the real Salty Oat, head to one of three Teaism locations.
With its second location thriving downtown, Teaism is certainly on top of its game. In addition to a seemingly endless variety of teas to choose from, their breakfast menu is a great way to start a weekend day. You owe it to yourself to spend a Saturday morning with the paper, a white jasmine tea, and a hearty ginger scone, and if that doesn't tame your hunger the mammoth French toast slices surely will.
If you really enjoy sweets though, the Salty Oatmeal Cookies at Teaism are a must try. The oversized cookies balance moist, crumbly textures that accent the sweet spice and oatmeal flavors with the occasional bite from a large crystal of salt. It sounds a little strange, but if you've ever enjoyed that same salty-sweet sensation from a chocolate covered pretzel you know what we're talking about. You can buy the cookies individually or take six of them home in a cute cellophane bag, but nothing can replace the joy of filling your own kitchen with the smells of home baked goodness.
Shopping list
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 all purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 cups rolled organic oats
Raisins
Note: Rice flour has less gluten than wheat flours. Incorporating a small amount will give your cookie a bit more crumble, but does nothing for flavor and is not a necessary step. After testing several recipes, however, we've determined that technique is just as important as the ingredients. Working with cool ingredients, cold cookie dough, and the upper racks of your oven are necessary.
Start off with cold butter sliced into small pieces and whipped in your mixer for a minute or so. Because it's cold it will stick a bit, but don't fret -- scrape and mix. Next, add both sugars the baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Combine at a medium speed till the mixture has a crumbly texture. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again until combined.
With the mixer on a low speed, slowly add both flours. Be sure to mix them together in a bowl before adding, and be careful that you do not overload your mixer. If the motor sounds like it's working real hard as you add the last of the flour, pick up a spoon and go at it by hand. Don't overmix at this point or your cookies will get tough.
Gently fold in the oats and as many raisins as you desire. We added about 1/4 cup. Chill the dough for an hour before dropping by the heaping tablespoon onto a non-stick cookie sheet; lightly sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake on the second rack from the top at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. The cookie should still be soft to the touch so carefully transfer them to a cooling rack. While cooling you'll have just enough time to brew up a nice cup of tea before the urge to consume overtakes you. DCist wishes it was cold outside though, and for now we'll probably opt for a tall and very cold glass of milk.
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dumb question: is there supposed to be salt in the recipe??
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scott says "lightly sprinkle with kosher salt" before baking, but i'm not sure how much...sounds really delicious, though.
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ah, i read it like 3 times and didn't see that
oh well
does sound awesome though..i will definitly have to try
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keep up the good work! is anyone going to update the Eating In list on the left menu?
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Just a pinch....These cookies really arent supposed to be salty like anchovies, or ham....you just want to get that tang on your pallet every now and then. Good luck to anyone trying them and let us know how they go!
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There should just be a sprinkling of salt (similar to the amount of sugar on a sugar cookie).
Marvelous Market also makes a good salty oat cookie.
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Excellent! I've been waiting for this recipe. Can't wait to try it. For those who are interested in other sweet/salty treats, my aunt has a recipe for sugar cookies that include crushed potato chips for extra crunch and salty goodness. They are the most popular dessert on the menu at her restaurant.
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Everyone's got a restaurant these days, what's your Aunt into?
Also I wanted to note that I finished off the last of my final batch last night. As these cookies sit around a bit, they resemble the texture of Teasim's even more. I wonder if I can make these things in bulk?
Let us know how they come out. I'm interested to see how this works with other ovens, equipment, and such.
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"Everyone's got a restaurant these days, what's your Aunt into?"
She opened her first restaurant in '81 and has been head chef and owner of seven restaurants since then. The three existing ones in LA and Vegas feature authentic Latin and South American cuisine. Great stuff.
I am secretly hoping that she'll come out to DC sometime though. (She won the popular vote in the "election" of a new White House chef, but I don't know if anything ever came of it).
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Just tried these from the Teaism at Connecticut and H Streets...disappointing. The cookie was really dry and the salt just made it drier.
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That's too bad you must have gotten one that had laid around too long. It's something you certainly wouldnt have to worry about if you make them fresh at home.
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My favorite food at Teaism is the ginger scone. I need to figure that out sometime.
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scott, i just made these this afternoon, and they are SO GOOD. great recipe.
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We here at Teaism are pleased to hear how much everyone loves our Salty Oat Cookie. Thanks for all the positive comments.
After talking with Terri Horn, who is the creator of the salty oat recipe and our partner in making the cookies, we wanted to respond to your story about the Salty Oat. We wish that you had made it clearer that the recipe you posted was not the real Teaism Salty Oat recipe, but rather the result of your work in trying to recreate the cookie.
Terri designed the cookie years ago while sea kayaking off the coast of Maine. She worked very hard to refine the recipe and constantly monitors the quality of the ingredients and the workmanship behind the cookie. We are all very proud of the commitment to quality in the Teaism Salty Oat cookie.
Because the internet is a powerful tool, we ask that you remove the recipe from your website as it proves to be misleading. For the real cookie, your readers will have to visit us. And we have a bit of exciting news to share - Terri has been hard at work on a Chocolate Salty Oat.
Thanks!
Michelle Brown and Linda Neumann, owners,
Teaism
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Oh, give me a break.
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We made these last night - we didn't have rice flour, and only a little light brown sugar so we substituted some dark. We tried some plain, some we added chocolate chips/Raisinets - they were all delicious! Really good right out of the oven. The only thing we had a problem with was that sprinkling salt on top of the rounded cookie dough results in the salt being concentrated in the middle of the baked cookie - I think next time we will try for better salt distribution, maybe rolling the dough balls in some salt. Yum.
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there's three locations.
also, Teaism sells the Ginger Scone mix to make at home... or did last I checked.
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Can you purchase the Salty Oats cookies on the internet?
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Did Teaism really just get all high and mighty about their recipe? After the author wrote a GLOWING and ADORING endorsement of Teaism?
See, I don't live in DC. I live in California. My co-worker raved about Teaism and the salty oat cookie and tried to recreate the recipe (they were YUMMY). Instead of saying, "Gee, I don't ever have to go to Teaism when I'm in DC," I said, "Man, I have got to go to Teaism when I'm in town."
My co-worker going to the effort of trying to recreate the Teaism cookie is actually GOOD PR for Teaism. As was DCist's blog about it. What that Teaism rep posted above is NOT.
Oh, and I probably won't go to Teaism next time I'm in town.
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Sarah - does you aunt share her salty sweet sugar cookie recipe? thanks
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Note to Sarah -- Are you giving out that salty sugar cookie recipe?
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Finding this recipe made me want to visit Teaism in two weeks when I come to town...until I read the comment posted by the owners. I think I'll just stick to trying to recreate the recipe at home instead of patronizing Teaism.
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Has anyone tried putting in a little whole wheat flour (perhaps instead of the rice flour)? I believe whole wheat flour is listed on the ingredient list of Teasim's version.
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I had heard on a tip that rice flour tends to make a cookie more crumbly. Give wheat a try and let us know how it goes?
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i just made this today, my first time working with oats. they were really good, even though i halved the amount of sugars. i doubled the amount of raisins for more sweetness though (and soaked them in water for a few minutes to get them moist and plump). thank you for a lovely recipe =)
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"And we have a bit of exciting news to share - Terri has been hard at work on a Chocolate Salty Oat."
Thinly veiled legal threats inhibit my appetite.
Regards,
ibc
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the owners of teaism only "asked" for the recipe to be removed. seemed polite enough to me. Teaism's a great place, don't avoid it because of their request.
Anyway we just made the batter... but damn damn the hour in the fridge wait.
thanks for the (now very old) post!
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Have any of you had the actual Salty Oats Cookies? They passed them out at my work this year as a gift, I think they cost $8 for three cookies and they were NASTY. I was choking on them and ended up spitting it out. I gave the last two to a friend who also tossed them. At work the next day I was emptying trash and almost everyone had tossed them.
We were all laughing about how the boss was trying to kill us so he wouldn't have to give us a Christmas bonus. I do love oatmeal cookies though, and I am going to try the recipe you posted here, but sheesh people, please don't waste your money on the real kayak cookies YUCK!!!
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I apologize in advance to Teaism for baking and probably absolutley loving this recipe. And probably not purchasing from them as I live clear across the United States.
Thanks for bring this recipe to us. :)
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I just made these today as a bit of a pick me up and because my friend LOVES the Salty Oats cookies at Teaism. I must say, the cookies I made today beat the ones from Teaism for moistness, flavor balance and tenderness. This is definitely my new oatmeal cookie recipe!