Oatmeal Molasses Cookies

Mom said she wanted cookies. "What kind?" I asked. "Oatmeal." So I figured I'd make her a nice batch of Cowboy cookies, a favorite around here. And that would have been fine. Except. Except that I decided to make them "healthy" and pretty much ruined them (actually they were good, and we ate them, but they were not at all what someone craving a sweet cookie would want).

"I still haven't gotten my oatmeal cookies!" Mom said last weekend. "Just regular oatmeal cookies. Sweet. Chewy." "Like Gramma used to make?" "Yes, like Gramma used to make."

I dug Gramma's recipe out of the old wooden recipe file that I inherited, and the card had a note at the top saying that even then the recipe was 100 years old. It looked straight-forward, but it also looked like it wouldn't make many cookies. I compared the recipe to one I found in Rosie's Cookie Book, and that recipe looked good as well, but not what I wanted. I decided to fly by the seat of my pants on this. The result was a dark, sweet, chewy cookie with crispy edges - just like Gramma used to make.


Ingredients - Makes a bunch of cookies
Preheat oven to 375
Line cookie sheet with parchment or lightly grease them

• 2 sticks of butter (or margarine - I actually used 1 stick butter and one stick Crisco (Butter-flavored)
  
• 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar (I like dark, but light is fine, too)
  
• 1/3 cup white sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp molasses
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger (optional: and/or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg)
  
• 3 cups of oats (rolled, quick, or a combination of the two - I like half and half)
  
• 1 cup raisins
  
  -----------------------------------------

Directions

1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and other spices (if using); set aside.
2. Using a mixer and a large bowl, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, and then molasses. Beat until just a bit fluffy. Turn down mixer to low, and add flour until mixed. Add oats, and then raisins. Add more oats if the mix is too soft.
3. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Allow for spreading. I like to lightly press the balls of dough a bit flat with a fork so that I get a cookie with crispy edges that isn't too fat in the middle.
4. Bake 12 - 15 minutes until cookies are golden and edges are starting to darken. Cool on cookie sheets before moving to wire racks.

This recipe yielded a flat, spicy, and dark cookie with a chewy center and crispy edges. If you are used to a light-colored oatmeal cookie, you may be temped to remove them from the oven a bit early. Mom pronounced them "delicious."

Comment posted by zorra
at 11/15/2007 11:50:00 AM
Yummie, these look delicious!

Comment posted by Jessica
at 11/5/2007 4:36:00 PM
"Healthy is probably too strong a word, but I will post the Cowboy Cookie recipe (regular and healthy versions) soon.

Comment posted by Judith
at 11/5/2007 4:31:00 PM
Those sound yummy, but I'm curious about your healthy version too. Will you please share? Thanks.