My Second Recipe Post…

Wow, I’m on a roll! 😉

Be careful, because you’re in for a sugar overload in the next couple of posts! 🙂 I will not commit to posting every day… But, I’ll try!

So, if pecan pie is too much for you (NO way!), then, why not try these cookies? These are my go to cookie, so good and so easy! The recipe is simple and it is very easily customizable to your taste.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Comments:

I’ve made this recipe countless times and the cookies are sweet and soft. I’ve halved the recipe and made it almost as is, but I generally make these changes:

• There are two changes I always make. First, I never chill the dough before baking. My first batch is made immediately, then I put the batter in the refrigerator while the first batch cooks. This hasn’t affected my cookies at all.
• The second change is that I never flatten the cookies with a fork dipped in sugar. This is not only a useless step (for me) but also, not necessary at all. I have made them as little balls that flatten slightly while baking, and even as nuggets (as our friend’s little girl called them) when I didn’t really have time to shape them. They always come out beautifully.
• I always try to add walnuts. I’ve made them without, and they were still delicious, but the addition really works for me. I add 1 cup after folding in the oatmeal, fold it in, and voila!
• Little chocoholic me also likes to add 1 cup of chocolate chips. Right after the walnuts. I’ve messed around with this, adding mini baking m&m’s (my husband loved those), but my favorite kind are 1/2 cup milk chocolate, 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips… YUM!
• The last change I’ve made recently… I substituted self rising cake flour for the all purpose flour. This eliminated the need for baking soda and salt. I followed the flour package directions and sifted the flour, as well as adding a couple of additional tablespoons… This substitution has helped a lot in my baked goods, since my husband was noticing a little bit of a weird aftertaste in everything that had flour in it…

In order to make them smaller, I’ve been making them teaspoon-sized. I get 100 cookies from this recipe, and it makes it easier to put more of them in cookie tins or boxes for gift giving.

Do yourself a favor and just TRY these cookies! If you like raisins, add raisins! or even pecans!

These are definitely winners whenever we give them away, and they are easy to make as well!

¡Buen Provecho!