Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound margarine or salted butter, softened = 2 sticks (I like Costco butter)

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups Quaker quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked

1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F

In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonful’s onto a non-greased cookie sheets or make perfect balls with both hands. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. The cookies should not look fully cooked. This will keep them moist for days.

Cool completely. Store in a tight container or individually wrap each one in plastic. You can reheat each cookie for about 8-10 seconds and they taste like they’ve just come out of the oven.

BAR COOKIES: Press dough onto bottom of a non-greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered.

VARIATIONS: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces for raisins; omit cinnamon.

HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed.

NUTRITION:

105 calories, 4 grams fat, 15 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein per serving. This recipe is low in sodium.

INSPIRED BY: Quaker Oatmeal’s Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

https://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipe/vanishing-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.aspx

Food for thought…

I read this on my trip to Martha’s Vineyard last week and feel it to be so true: “When someone feeds you, they’re saying something; They’re telling you something about themselves.” For anyone who has ever had anything I have personally made, I hope you see and feel the love I put into each and every dish. Each night this week I have been baking something for my dual-sport motorcycle club ride that is in a couple days. They call me the “cookie girl.” So I have to live up to that name! This simple recipe comes from the back of a Quaker Oatmeal box. I found this nearly 15 years ago and still use it to this day. The KEY: Not to over-bake. You must pull them out of the oven when they are slightly under-cooked because they will continue to cook as they cool. The other KEY: remove them immediately from the baking sheet onto a cooling rack so they don’t continue to cook because the heat of the pan will cook them more. The last KEY: Saran Wrap each cookie so they stay fresh for days. This does take time at first, but I can now wrap 50 cookies in less than 10 minutes. Every rider should carry oatmeal raisin cookies in their riding packs. Who doesn’t?