Mason-Dixon Recipes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Mary's house smelled like lemon furniture polish and oatmeal cookies and logs in a fireplace. For some reason it made me want to curl up in the fetal position. I could have slept right there on their kitchen table.

         — Adam Rapp

Oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite cookie, but it seems impossible to find them at the grocery store anymore. So what do you do? You dig through your mother's old recipe box until you find her recipe for these cookies she made at Christmas time. I remember these warm, baked cookies cooling in the kitchen as I sneaked in to grab a hot one off the tray. She never seemed to mind if just took one. It was only when I tried to stretch my luck and go back for a second that I got scolded.

The history of this cookie is pretty straight forward. Oats have always been a staple food source in civilizations past. They were often ground into a meal and mixed with honey to create a simple treat. The addition of raisins, a dried fruit, was a natural progression as it was a common way to preserve fruits in ancient times. Nomadic tribes and soldiers often carried this older version of oatmeal raisin treats because they provided energy during long journeys.

The oatmeal cookie as we know it today started to take shape in the 19th century, when rolled oats became widely available. As technology improved, oats were able to be rolled thinner and thinner, making them easier to use in baking. My mother's recipe called for rolled oats, but modern dry oatmeal is probably as thinly rolled as possible.

Fannie Merritt Farmer probably published the first recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies in 1896. The cookies quickly became popular as they were considered a healthier alternative to other baked goods. Quaker Oats started putting oatmeal raisin cookie recipes on their oatmeal containers as early as 1900.

INGREDIENTS

¹/₂ cup shortening
1¹/₄ cup sugar
2 whole eggs
¹/₂ cup molasses
1³/₄ cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups dry oatmeal
1¹/₂ cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

Soak raisins in water for 5 minutes, drain and dry. Mix together shortening, sugar, and eggs. Sift flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon, and then beat into shortening, sugur, and egg mixture. Stir in molasses, oatmeal, and raisins. Mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or 375°F for 8-10 minutes.

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