Craving Oatmeal Cookies

I started thinking about oatmeal cookies after posting my last blog about Impact Theatre. I make them quite a lot for intermission on our performance nights and so I put them on my baking list for this month. They are a favorite every time. Then yesterday all my girlfriend Kim had to say is that she just made some oatmeal cookies and they were sooooooo good, and my thinking became a craving!

My recipe is from an old Betty Crocker cookbook that has definitely seen better days! The recipe itself is written all over and doesn't stay in the binder anymore. My cookbooks and the recipes that are the best usually look like this....

I don't expect you to read the recipe from the picture so here it is!

Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped nuts (I use walnuts)

3 cups quick cooking oats

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix thoroughly shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 1 inch apart onto greased baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden. There are some substitutions that I make sometimes that are really good........ 

- instead of 3 cups of quick oats use 1 cup cornflakes and 2 cups of the oats

- instead of 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nuts add 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup nuts and 1 cup baking coconut

- dried cranberries are also a great substitute for the raisins

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

My cookbooks are old with tattered pages and my pans are old too....I think that all just adds to the finished product!

As I was waiting for the first batch to cook I looked outside and a full blown blizzard had suddenly appeared.

I had planned to stay home all day today and work on Etsy, bake and do a little crafting. The snowstorm just added to the ambiance. I love to stay home on a blustery winter day but it is now heading into Spring and we can move on from the snow!

Try these cookies....they are different than most because of their secret ingredient....not so secret as it is listed and it is cloves... Enjoy!

AnnMarie :)