Oatmeal Cookies in the Friday Cookie Jar

I adore these oatmeal cookies! This feeling of devotion has existed throughout my entire life. Not only are these cookies delicious, but they also have a history.

Mom brought this recipe into the family in the mid-1950s. She made the cookies for 4-H, so they are kid-friendly both to make and to eat. They were such a hit the recipe made it into Mamaw’s recipe box, which is how I have my copy.

I grew up making these cookies from the card in Mom’s recipe box. They are unlike any other oatmeal cookies I’ve ever eaten. Instead of flat and chewy or crunchy, they are light and puffy—almost cake-like. Everyone I’ve ever made them for, both kids and adults, has immensely enjoyed them.

The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of fat. I remember as a kid making the cookies with both shortening and margarine, but today I use butter. It also calls for 1/2 cup of dates or raisins. I’ve never tried the dates, but the raisins are terrific. (I use both regular and golden raisins.) The also taste great without the raisins, and I bet they would be very good with nuts or even chocolate chips.

So grab the nearest kid and give this recipe a try. I bet it becomes a part of your family food history, too.

Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the butter in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). Gradually add in the sugar and beat until fluffy.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Mix in the oatmeal and raisins. Set aside.

Measure the milk into a measuring cup. Add the egg to the milk and beat to combine.

Alternately add the flour/oatmeal mixture and the milk/egg mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. (1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 milk mixture, 1/3 flour mix, rest of milk mix, rest of flour mix.)

Spoon out the dough by heaping teaspoons and drop them on the baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to stand for 1 or 2 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack.