Mom's Oatmeal Cookies

Healthy eating is always a lofty goal, but there are times when all you want is a gooey, tasty, sweet something. How do you balance that urge with the fruit and fiber, 6+ fruits and veggies a day, portion control goals that you try to maintain? Bake these oatmeal cookies!

In this house, I have a guy with a major sweet tooth. Nine times out of ten, there is a batch of cookies baked each week. One of our favorite recipes is a wonderful oatmeal cookie that my mother passed to me years ago. It's the first cookie recipe that I made when I was about ten years old and was first allowed to fool around in the kitchen. It's the first recipe that I made a major mistake on... I put only the oats in the batter and forgot the flour. You can just imagine my surprise when I opened the oven door and saw a sheet of batter oozing off the edges of the rimless cookie sheets that my mother used. What a lesson for a fledgling baker to learn! Pay attention and follow the recipe, Susan! It sure was a bugger cleaning the oven out that afternoon, way back in the day! Ah, food memories!


I'm positive that you will find these cookies the ultimate! The recipe is so adaptable. I have substituted the apple, raisins, and walnuts with butterscotch chips and pecans to make Oatmeal Scotchies. I've also done the basic batter with chocolate chips and dried cherries to make Black Forest Oatmeal Cookies I just know you will come up with your own adaptations! Just a few tips ... use the Crisco. Don't try going the butter or margarine route. Use old-fashioned oats, no quick oats or chopped oats here! I've tried and they are NOT the same. And finally, don't forget the flour!

Mom's Oatmeal Cookies - printer friendly

Oatmeal Cookies

Oven: 365º - 8+ minutes

Whip together:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening (Crisco)

2 tbsp. molasses

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Add:

1 cup raisins

1 rounded tsp. baking soda, moistened with water

2 cups old-fashioned oats

Whisk together and add:

2 cups flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ginger

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. cloves

Fold in:

¾ c. chopped walnuts

¾ apple, chopped into small pieces

Drop by a generous teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet.

DON’T OVERBAKE! Watch these cookies. Your oven may run ‘fast’ or ‘slow’ so check them at 8 minutes and see if they are browning around the edges with a hint of moist dough at the center. That’s when they will present a soft, chewy cookie and not a crisper biscuit-like cookie.

Remove them from the cookie sheets immediately and cool them on a piece of foil on a cool counter. Store them in a covered container or cookie jar.

Note: You can substitute ¾ c. chopped pecans and 1 bag of butterscotch pieces for the walnuts, raisin, and apple to make Oatmeal Scotchies or ¾ c. chopped dried cranberries and 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips to make Black Forest Oatmeal Cookies.