Maggie's Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, scant
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 cups oats, not instant
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raisins
• Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Beat the butter with both sugars in an electric mixer on medium-high, stopping now and then to scrape the bowl. Continue until the mixture looks paler and fluffier, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the salt, eggs, vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and cocoa powder, then mix until everything is evenly blended. Stir in the oats and flour, then fold in the raisins and the nuts, if you are using them. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.
3. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Roll the dough into small balls and set them on a cookie sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake each batch for 10 to 12 minutes, then leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for 1 minute before moving them to a rack to finish cooling.