From My Mother’s Kitchen: Oatmeal Crispies

Another recipe from the “Red Plaid Cookbook” but this time it is from the older version, Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book (1953 Edition). My Mom had both the 1953 and the 1968 versions in her kitchen when I was growing up. Her 1953 was falling apart, pages missing. We didn’t use it as much but she had recipes in it she liked so she kept it. Last year when I was looking for both books I found out it had been reprinted in 2005 to look just like the original. My Mother In-Law bought me both of the Plaids as gifts and they now sit in my kitchen. If I want to truly feel like my Mom is with me I just have to open those cookbooks and wander through – and think like she did.

Last week I somehow decided buying a 25 lb bag of Bob’s Red Mill Oats was a great idea. Granted we eat oatmeal most days for breakfast and dang it, it was a bargain! (Our Cash n’ Carry store carries them), cheaper than the Quaker oats at Costco and of a higher quality. So after bagging them up I started thinking about recipes to use them in. I adapted the Oatmeal Crispies recipe on page 189. I used butter (instead of shortening), liquid egg substitute and cut the batch in half so we’d only have 2 dozen cookies to tempt us 😉

But if anything, I love reading this cookbook. It was a time when convenience foods were first starting to take off and the concept of “enriched flour” was big. I love how they made a point to ask for that in recipes…..

Oatmeal Crispies

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup liquid egg substitute or 1 egg
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1½ cups old-fashioned oats
• ¼ cup walnuts, finely diced (used candied)

Directions:

Add the butter to a stand mixer, beat until fluffy, add in the sugars and beat till light. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Whisk the flour, salt and soda in a bowl, add in on low and then the oats and nuts, beat till just combined.

Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper, form into a log and roll up tightly, refrigerate for an hour or so.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cut the log into 24 pieces, about ½” thick or so. Place on two ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, until the cookies are golden and set.

Let cool for a minute or two to harden and then remove to cooling racks.

The cookies are chewy when warm, crisp when cool. If covered overnight tightly wrapped they will become soft again (just as delicious!)

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

~Sarah