The Best Oatmeal Cookies in the World

I made these Oatmeal Cookies last weekend in anticipation of sharing this recipe on our blog to follow Chapter 18 in the “Any Way the Wind Blows” series.  In Chapter 18, called Emergency Planning Checklist, I talk about enlisting the help of others (family, friends, neighbors) to get through the massive undertaking of creating an emergency preparedness plan for your family.  In that post, I kept saying “bribery works” and then suggested that the “bribery” be in the form of cookies!  So, I thought I’d better share a cookie recipe with you!

This Oatmeal Cookie Recipe is my own creation.  I grew up eating Oatmeal Cookies without raisins, because my mother always made them “raisin-less.”  She grew up in Central California in a farming community and in the summers, during summer break from school, would work in the fields and vineyards.  For whatever reason, she hates raisins (can’t quite figure that one out, because she would have never picked raisins – she would have picked grapes and she loves grapes!).  You ask her about WHY she doesn’t like raisins and she just says because she worked in the fields, picking grapes and laid them out in the sun to dry into raisins.  ???  Do you understand that logic?  Neither do I, but the end result is that we didn’t have raisins in the house and she didn’t make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

So, I’m an Oatmeal Cookie “purist”.  For the record, I like raisins and I like Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  But, I never make them.

Through trial-and-error, I created this version.  They are chewy, rather than cakey and a little salty, adding to the “sweet/salty” combo that is so popular now  (bacon and ice cream?).  I took a few to my parents on Sunday and one bite later, my mother declared (with a big satisfied sigh), “these are the best cookies in the whole wide world!”  High praise from my mom who has a strong sweet tooth!

I have only made this recipe once where I didn’t double the recipe (actually, it was this time for the picture-taking for the blog).  The reason I double this recipe is because everybody loves them, everybody eats more than 3 at a time, everybody wants to take some home, etc., so there are never any leftovers!  If, by chance, there are a few hanging around, they are definitely gone by the next day!  And, they are even delicious the next day.

My brother has suggested that I package them up for sale.  In other words, manufacture them on a grand scale and send them out hither-and-yon or open stores to compete with Mrs. Fields.  But, I’d rather just share the recipe with everybody (in the whole wide world) and make everybody happy and advance the cause of world peace (and emergency preparedness)!

1. Gather your ingredients.
2. Put softened butter into mixing bowl.
3. Add granulated sugar.
4. Add firmly packed brown sugar.
5. Mix well.
6. Add eggs and vanilla.
7. Mix well.
8. Measure flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in separate bowl.  Mix well or sift the above ingredients.
9. Add flour mixture to butter/sugar/egg mixture one cup at a time.  Mix well between additions.
10. Lift beaters and scrape down sides of mixing bowl.
11. Mix well, then lift beaters and scrape beaters with spatula.
12. Remove beaters (and lick the yummy batter!).
13. Measure oatmeal.
14. Add oatmeal to batter and mix by hand.
15. Batter all mixed up!
16. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  I use a 2-inch scoop; actually, it measures 1 and 3/4 inches and holds 1 tablespoon.  This batter “spreads” out like a “lace” cookie, so I only put 8 on a very large cookie sheet.  A 2-inch scoop makes a 3-inch cookie.
17. Eight cookie balls ready for the oven!  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheets.

Remove from cookie sheets after 2 minutes to a cooling rack and cool completely.  I place a kitchen towel under the cooling racks to catch crumbs (this was Charlie’s brilliant idea a few years ago because he got tired of cleaning up my cookie mess!).

Pile of cookies ready to eat!

Here’s the Oatmeal Cookies recipe:

The Best Oatmeal Cookies in the World

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5 from 1 review

These are the “best Oatmeal Cookies in the whole wide world” according to my mother!

• Author: Carole from Toot Sweet 4 Two
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups uncooked oats

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together butter and sugars until well mixed.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
4. In separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
5. Add 1 cup at a time of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, mixing well between additions.
6. Fold in oats by hand.
7. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls or use a small cookie scoop (I use a 2-inch scoop, which will make a 3-inch cookie) onto ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes.
10. Remove from cookie sheet onto cooling rack and cool completely (but they are good warm, too!).

Notes

Do NOT substitute margarine or shortening for the butter. You will have a completely different cookie – a “cakey” cookie instead of a “chewy” cookie. These cookies spread out on the cookie sheet, so don’t crowd them. The cookies are “lacey” and chewy. If you make them too big, they will run together on the cookie sheet. Don’t overbake them or they will be crispy instead of chewy. When in doubt, take them out of the oven and allow to finish “baking” on the cookie sheet outside of the oven. In my experience, in my oven, if I bake 2 or 3 batches at a time (on all the oven racks), the top batch is not done, the bottom batch is burned and the middle batch is a combination of the two. So, I suggest the cookies be baked one batch at a time in the center of your oven. This dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen. If you are doing either of these, I suggest that you place the prepared dough on wax paper and roll it into a log, twisting the ends. If you refrigerate this dough, it is very hard, so difficult to scoop from the bowl, so making a “log” is your best bet. Then you can cut the logs into coins to bake. If frozen, defrost in the refrigerator prior to baking. Adjust cooking time to accommodate the fact that the cookie dough is cold. Or cut into coins, place on cookie sheet and wait until they are room temperature to bake.

Keywords: Oatmeal Cookies, Best Oatmeal Cookies in the World

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