Oatmeal Lizzies

 Like a cheap pair of underwear, this is a cookie that sneaks up on you. At first, the pleasant taste and crunchy texture seem far from addicting, but like those potato chips in the yellow bag, you can't stop with just one. Ask Mr. O-P whom I had to direct to step away from the cookie plate after consuming nearly half a dozen. Yes, I can hear crunching from the other room.

I don't know the source of this recipe. I'd emailed it to my mother twelve years ago with the not-so-subtle suggestion that she make them. She printed out the recipe and put it in her recipe box which is where it remained until I stumbled upon it yesterday.

It goes together easily. I mixed everything in a stand mixer, didn't bother to chill the dough, and used my beloved cookie scoop to plop hunks of dough onto the greased cookie sheets. I managed to make and bake them while dinner was cooking. These will make a nice addition to the holiday cookie tray.

Oatmeal Lizzies

1 c. shortening (I used Crisco)

1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. butter flavoring
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. quick oatmeal
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. Heath Bits O' Brickle
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease cookie sheets; set aside.

Cream sugars and Crisco. Add milk, flavorings, and eggs. Slowly add flour, salt, and soda. Stir in oatmeal, chips, and pecans, blending to incorporate. Chill 20 minutes (or not).

Shape into 1-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on racks and store in air-tight container. Makes 4 1/2 dozen.

This post is linked to:

Thursday Favorite Things

Full Plate Thursday

Create It Thursday 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pancakes

I love pancakes, but the mister is a pancake purist.  When he sees me pull more than one bowl out of the cupboard and move the box of Bisquick aside in favor of a variety of ingredients, he starts to panic.  I assured him this morning that plain pancakes would be his if he just indulged me momentarily while I tried a revised version of a recipe that I spotted in the December issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.  He eyeballed the ingredients, shrugged and said that he’d try what I was having.  As it turned out, he was very glad he did.

The December issue of Rachael’s magazine featured a rather unique variety of pancakes.  Trying to get more whole grains into my diet, the oatmeal pancake caught my eye.  It was an altered version of the recipe in the magazine for “Classic Pancakes” (pictured below), that I further altered with excellent results.

Their recipe, simply called Oatmeal Raisin pancakes (also pictured below), I turned into Oatmeal Raisin Cookie pancakes, by adding a sprinkling of chopped pecans and a pinch of cinnamon (two ingredients that are musts in my oatmeal cookies).  These two ingredients made all the difference.

  

They really did taste like oatmeal raisin cookies.  Your kids (if not your husband) will love them!

Cliff's Parkay Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe has been in the family longer than I have.  We call them "Cliff's" after my uncle on my mother's side, who introduced the family to these cookies when he was 8 years old.  Back in the 30's when he was in grammar school his class did a unit on baking.  Each of the children got to participate in some way, and each went home with a small bag of cookies.  His mother (my grandmother) liked them so much that she sent him to school the next day with a note to the teacher requesting the recipe.  We've all been making them ever since, and find these are the best oatmeal cookies we've ever tasted.  Sadly, my uncle passed away in 1989 at the age of 60.  I wish he could see this little tribute that I'm paying to him and these delicious cookies.  Here is the recipe exactly as it was written when he brought it home those many years ago.  The "soda" referred to in the recipe is, of course, baking soda; "Parkay" is Parkay margarine.

Cliff's Parkay Oatmeal Cookies

1-1/2 cups Parkay

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup raisins

2 teaspoons soda

Dash of salt

3-3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream Parkay and sugar together, add eggs, then rolled oats, pecans and raisins.  Add the flour which has been sifted with the cinnamon, soda and salt.  Roll into small balls and dip them in sugar.  Take a glass and dip into flour and pat rolls down.  Bake in 375 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove at once from baking sheets.

Clifford T. McDonald ca. 1962

This post is linked to:

Real Food Wednesday

Cast Party Wednesdays

This Chick Cooks

Sweets for a Saturday