I made these pretty woman cookies exactly the way I wanted them. They are chewy, and if you don't over-bake them, they stay nice and chewy. Do not fear the cumin in the recipe. The cumin heightens the earthiness of the cinnamon while taking the edge of the sweet. It is a Formidable Combination. Yes, there's an extra 1/4 cup of mix-ins in in mine, but that 1/4 cup is ground flax, which is kinda more like flour than a mix in, so I didn't count it as one. You don't have to refrigerate the dough after you make it, but your cookies will taste better if you do.
1ozDutch process cocoa powderby weight, about 1/4 cup
½teaspoonbaking soda
1cuprolled oats
1cupdried spent grains from brewing
1cupchocolate covered raisins
1cupdried cranberries
¼cupsemisweet chocolate chips
¾cupchopped toasted almonds
¼cupground flaxseed(I added with the flour because it is more like flour than a mix-in)
Instructions
Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and spices. They don't have to be light and fluffy, since you don't want them to rise like a cake, but you do want it to be creamy and consistently mixed.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping bowl as necessary.
Whisk the baking soda, flour and cocoa powder (along with the flax meal) together and then beat it into the butter mixture on low speed.
Mix all your mix-ins together in a bowl, and then stir them uniformly into your dough with a wooden spoon.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour and up to a day or so.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment or Silpat.
Scoop the cookies into 30 portions (or make really big cookies or small cookies. Your call).
Slightly flatten your scoops of dough, and bake them on the two center-most racks of your oven for 8 minutes.
Switch the pans on the racks and bake for 8 more minutes.
Let cool on the pans for about five minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.
Notes
Baking time is approximate, of course, because I don't know what oven you're using or how big you're making your cookies. Cookies will spread somewhat but still seem soft when it's time to take them out. If you over-bake them, you'll have crunchy cookies. Which is fine if that's what you want.