Oatmeal Cookies with Apples, Raisins, and Pecans {Tulum – Mexico}
As I was playing around with this recipe for Oatmeal Cookies with Apples, Raisins, and Pecans, all I kept thinking was, “Why don’t I make oatmeal cookies more often?” And that wasn’t some kind of flippant reflection going on in my head. I was serious. And almost upset with myself. Because every time I do make oatmeal cookies, I find them completely hard to resist.
These soft and chewy cookies have the loveliest lightly crispy edges, and I have no regrets in needing to make more than one batch to get the recipe just right. Now, I’ve had plenty of oatmeal raisin cookies in my life, even ones that included nuts of some kind (usually walnuts), but I had never had any with little bits of apple before. Until my family visited Mexico last fall. And that changed everything…
Playing in the sun and sand, sea and pool, takes alot of energy! I don’t think I’ve ever gone on vacation before and actually lost a little weight. But I did in Mexico, while eating and drinking to my heart’s content. And the delicious little oatmeal raisin cookies with apples, served at the Coco Cafe at our resort, were a daily treat. I would even go so far as to say they were sustenance, as I packed a little paper bag of them for my trip to Tulum one morning.
The photo above shows all the kiddos (our two daughters and their cousins) with their always-willing-to-play uncle/dad filling in as Mayan Sand Castle Construction Foreman. Dreams Puerto Aventuras was a great resort for our young active families, never short on engaging activities all throughout the day. This sand castle competition gathered many families along the sunny shore, and is a favorite memory of our girls’ from this week in paradise on the Mexican Riviera Maya.
It was really, really, really hard to tear myself away from our resort for a few hours, but I knew I’d surely regret if I didn’t visit the nearby Mayan ruins of Tulum. With freshly baked oatmeal raisin cookies and a few bottles of water in my backpack, I set out with my parents to visit an ancient site I’ve longed to see for many years.
A little history for you…
Tulum is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city, set 39 feet above the warm turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea, on tall rugged cliffs. It was an important player in Mayan trade, with access to both land and sea trade routes, and required protection from invaders. Tulum translates to “fence” or “wall” in Yucatan Mayan. The limestone wall reaches up to 16 feet tall in places, and is 26 feet thick. We entered and exited the site through short narrow passages in the wall, crouching as we walked.
Whenever I travel outside of the familiar Midwest, my destinations’ landscapes never cease to captivate me. I found this area of Mexico to be both rugged and lush, with rocky coastlines and gorgeous soft sand beaches and thick tropical forests. This shot was taken on the high cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea.
Our guide led us through Tulum, filling our heads with all kinds of interesting facts and surmisings, and showed us sketches of how they believe the site once looked during the 13th through 15th centuries.
The grounds inside the walls are gently rolling and mostly covered with grass. All the structures are roped off. You have to do your looking from afar.
…
There were a number of structures still standing, in varying degrees of time erosion. Pictured above is the Great Palace, which served as a residence to some of the most important inhabitants of Tulum.
Black and gray stone outcroppings, which were once buildings, were commonplace (above, lower left photo). And the small stone shown above, in the lower right photo? That’s a grinding stone, for processing grains and seeds for food preparation.
The Temple of the Frescoes has withstood time better than most of the structures, and shows the most decoration. Painted murals are still visible, and masks of stucco can be seen on the exterior corners (above, right photo).
The most prominent remaining structure is El Castillo, or The Castle, the central hub of Tulum. This temple-topped pyramid also served as a watchtower and a lighthouse. When two torches aligned, it showed sea travelers the way through the reef.
The Castle is the tallest of all the structures, and built on the highest piece of ground. Perched at the edge of the cliff, these walls face the sea and the rising sun.
From the cliff at The Castle, you can gaze across a solitary stretch of beach at the Temple of the Wind. This breathtaking view is etched in my mind, and was worth every single minute away from the fun at the pool back at the resort.
The Temple of the Wind is set off all on its own, and was a very important structure to those who lived at Tulum. They believed that the creation of the earth was due to the wind, and also that the destruction of the earth will be due to the wind. It was here that they offered sacrifices to the God of the Wind to ensure that wind did not destroy the earth.
The temple also served as a place that registered the actions and force of the wind. A hollow stick made a sound when hurricane winds were forming, serving as a warning signal to the Mayans.
The beach that is tucked in below the cliffs of The Castle is breathtaking, with silky soft sand meeting up with the warm turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. Many visitors took full advantage of the opportunity, and donned their swimsuits for a different kind of view of the ancient ruins towering above them.
Those waters are like a magnet, drawing visitors down the long set of wooden stairs. There was no denying its pull. A walk down to the shoreline was a must.
And now I leave you with the recipe for these Oatmeal Cookies with Apples, Raisins, and Pecans. These also are a must. Make them soon. They are packed with all kinds of goodness. And for me, visions of the sea.
(For more on our visit to Mexico, read here and here!)
Oatmeal Cookies with Apples, Raisins, and Pecans
Ingredients
- 1 medium Granny Smith apple peeled and small diced (should equal about 1 cup)
- 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ c. unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ c. packed brown sugar
- ¼ c. granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1.5 c. old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- large pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ c. raisins
- ½ c. small chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine diced apple and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times, for a total of 3 to 4 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined. Add vanilla and beat again to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add to the butter and sugar mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated. With a spatula, fold in the raisins, pecans, and diced apple. Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Then use a medium scoop to place chilled cookie dough on prepared parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until edges are golden. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
I just LOVE these cookies. My friends all want me to make them for them! The only problem is trying to fold in the apples, raisins &nuts into the the dough evenly. Does anyone have an easier way to do this? I would love to hear it if anyone has a better idea.
Barb
I just wanted to tell you thank you for this recipe! My extended family went to Dreams Tulum a few years ago and all the kids loved Coco Cafe and the cookies! I’m making some for Christmas presents to our family and it will remind them of the great time we had on vacation together! Your photos of Tulum are fun to look through. It is a beautiful place indeed! I’m enjoying my coffee this morning in my Coco Cafe mug :D
I used Fuji apples, left out the raisins, and substituted walnuts and it was fantastic! Also visited Tulum last fall. Thanks for your post.
Seeing your comment made me so hungry for these cookies…and for the warmth of Mexico! Wasn’t the Tulum site beautiful? So glad you liked these cookies!
Tried these cookies tonight to use up two apples that had bad spots so were not good for eating whole. The cookies are delicious. My husband and I both considered them addicting. Will be taking some to church tonight for a halloween party. I bet these cookies will become a way for me to use up apples on occasion.
Wonderful! I’m so happy you liked these. Thanks for coming back to let me know! :)
I got online thinking I would try to find a recipe similar to some delicious oatmeal cookies that we enjoyed in February (2014)-at the CoCo Cafe! I too thought they were yummy and unique with the chunks of fruit. We also went to Tulum, and I’m from the Midwest (Nebraska)! Looking forward to trying these, and having a latte in my CoCo Cafe mug:)
That’s so awesome to hear, Holly! We still talk about our time in Mexico so often, what a great time. Hope you like the cookies!
Wow, looks like an incredible trip, so beautiful! The cookies don’t sound half bad either. ;)
What a beautiful place for some R&R! I can not wait to try your cookie recipe!
What a gorgeous, gorgeous place.. Lovely cookies too!
Oh Brenda! Tulum looks amazing! What a neat experience for the whole family! And the cookies? May I have a dozen?
Tulum looks beautiful as do the cookies! Thanks so much for sharing your pictures and this great recipe!
What a fabulousness experience! And there’s these cookies – sign me up!
Oh, and I forgot to say, wonderful work on the post. So glad you went with us to Tulum.
Seeing this recipe makes me repeat Samina’s words, “I want cookies, I want cookies!” Thanks for putting this recipe together, Brenda, so Dad and I can also have more of these yummy cookies.
Love it when I come home with delicious inspirations from a vacation! Thanks for sharing what a fun trip.
What an amazing vacation destination! Looks so NICE!
And the cookies sound amazing! Love the apples in them!
It looks like you had a lovely time, and these cookies are equally so. I love the apples in them.
Couldn’t we all just jump on an airplane about right now to a warm destination. What beautiful pictures of your trip. The history of this place is amazing and to be able to take a peek at life hundreds of years ago, how exciting! Can’t wait to try these cookies. I have 3 in my refrigerator staring at me . I Love any oatmeal cookie!
I lived in Southern Mexico – Tabasco. It was such an amazing experience. Your pictures made me remember the beauty of that area. Pinning the cookie picture. Looks yummy!
Your trips looks amazing. What a beautiful place! And these cookies are so different. I love the apples and pecans!!