Oatmeal Cookies

Does anything smell better than oatmeal cookies baking in the oven? I made oatmeal cookies for the girls over the weekend. I wrapped them up and stuck them in the freezer so that they can come home to cookies and milk all week. I just take out a couple an hour or so before they get home and they are as fresh as the day I baked them. I did put a healthy spin on the cookies, though. Can't help myself!

You will need:

1 cup Smart Balance, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
1 small box raisins (optional)



Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a few cookie sheets with parchment.

Soften your butter for cakes, melt it for cookies. So, add your melted butter and both sugars to a mixing bowl.



Mix until the batter starts to lighten in color.



Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Then mix in the vanilla.



Next add your flours, baking soda, and cinnamon.



Mix together and then add the oats. Mix again. The dough will be a bit stiff, but not dry. If you find it is very dry add a tablespoon of milk.



Now is the time to add your raisins. Or, if you have one kid who likes them and one who does not, now is the time to split your dough into halves and add the raisins to just one half. You can omit this step altogether if you aren't a raisin fan. Me, I don't care one way or the other. I'm an equal opportunity cookie eater. :)



I use a heaping soup spoon to measure out the cookies and get 9 per sheet.



Bake for 12-14 minutes and then allow them to set on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes before removing.






Warm oatmeal cookies. Mmmmmmmm. Perfect on a cold day or a warm day or even a hot day! If you haven't tried baking cookies at 325 yet, please try it with this recipe. I never, never bake cookies at any higher temp. It makes a world of difference!!




Most oatmeal cookie recipes call for a full cup of white sugar in addition to the full cup of brown. I found these cookies to be perfectly sweet (with or without raisins) without all that extra white sugar. In fact, I think you could leave out the white sugar altogether as long as you use a full cup of brown sugar. (You could also substitute a cup of white sugar mixed with a tablespoon of molasses if you don't have any brown sugar.) I think the whole wheat flour gives the cookies just a hint of a nutty flavor.

Enjoy!