Friday, September 17, 2010

My Grandma’s Crisp Oatmeal Cookies


I really love cookies.

I think this is because of my grandma. When we were kids, she used to fill leftover tins with her homemade cookies. I remember looking at the Quality Street candy tins and the blue English tea cookie tins sitting under her side table and wondering which cookies were inside. I always knew that these tins were never filled with the original goods. They were always, always full of her (and our) favorites… particularly peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, lemon bars, schneken, and these yummy, crunchy oatmeal cookies.



As a little twist, I added some dried cranberries to the final dough. You could also add raisins, chocolate chips, or just keep them plain and simple. Because they are thin and flat, you can also sandwich them around a generous layer of nutella…


My Grandma’s Crisp Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen cookies

1 cup Butter, soft
1 cup Brown Sugar
3 cups Rolled oats
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 cup Boiling Water
1/2 cup Dried cranberries (optional)

Cream butter and sugar.

Mix together oats, flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir into butter and sugar mixture. Add 1/4 cup boiling water. Mix until dough comes together.
Shape into 2 rolls that are about 5 cm in diameter and freeze.

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Farenheit).. Using a very sharp knife, slice into about 1/2 cm slices. Place on lined baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes until browned. Let cool so that they become crisp.

3 comments:

  1. I wasn't very satisfied of the oatmeal cookies recipe that I have. Yours look way better from mine. I wrote down your recipe, I'll try it out!

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  2. How does the whole wheat flour differ in texture from white flour? I tried whole wheat flour in another cookie recipe but they didn't turn out the way they should have. I'll have to give this recipe a try.

    Thanks for sharing,
    Joanne

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  3. Hi Joanne
    Thanks for your comment.
    I think whole wheat flour gives a heartier, nuttier taste/texture to cookies.
    You need to be careful using just whole wheat flour or a large proportion compared to white because you can end up with a really crumbly cookie. I think it's because it is harder to develop gluten with Whole Wheat, and you don't want to mix it too much or you will get gluten but a really tough cookie.
    Usually I mix WW and White flour and get the best results.
    In this recipe, 100% WW works, I think because of the amount of butter and sugar that keeps it together and tender.

    Anyway, give them a try and please let me know what you think! I love these cookies and I hope you do too.
    Cheers!

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