I could make up a lot of excuses but the bottom line is I goofed. Actually it isn't the first time. And the results were not bad. In fact, I really liked the results. I did make a second batch to see what they were supposed to look and taste like.
Well, I have teased you enough?
You see it was last this...I have mentioned several times that the boys next door were having to move. I woke up Saturday morning and took advantage of the house being quiet (my husband was still asleep) and picked up Caroline Fraser's Prairie Fires, The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the book I am currently reading and read for a couple of hours. The boys pulled up next door in a U-haul truck they rented for the day and started packing it up. My husband woke up and I started thinking I should have made something for them to enjoy while they were moving furniture and stuff around. By this time it was 11 o'clock and I couldn't think of anything to make them that would be quick. Finally, I decided to make them some cookies. That way I could give them some if they started to leave before I had them all baked.
I had seen this recipe for Oatmeal Cookies in a new cookbook Friend Jean had given me from Hillcrest Thrift Shop called Pennsylvania DUTCH Cookbook - Fine Old Recipes Made Famous by the Early Dutch Settlers in Pennsylvania. The recipe made 5 dozen cookies which were more than I wanted to make, in case the boys left before I got them all made and we would be stuck with a bunch of cookies. The first thing I always look at is the number of eggs in the recipe. This one had two which would be easy to cut in half (just use one egg) so I decided to try the recipe and just make 2-1/2 dozen cookies.
My husband came in while I was mixing them up and asked me if I were making some biscuits for the boys. I told him no that I was making some cookies. I baked one pan full (1 dozen) and while the second pan was baking, I asked him if he wanted to try one (while they were still warm). He took a bite or two and said they tasted a little bit like biscuits (which totally confused me). Just before the second pan was ready to take out of the oven, I decided I would try one myself. Surprise, surprise...they did taste a little like biscuits. Then it dawned on me. I had cut the shortening in half, also the brown sugar. I had used only one egg....BUT that was as far as it went. The rest of the ingredients? I forgot to use only half of the called for amounts. I couldn't believe it! But the crazy thing? They didn't taste badly. They tasted pretty good, in fact. I took about 3 dozen cookies to the boys, but I didn't tell them what I had done. (In case you forgot, I did tell the boys when they first moved in back in the summer that I would bring them goodies often, but they needed to remember they were my test kitchen.)
As I said I did try the recipe again yesterday and this time I remembered to cut each ingredient amount in half. The result was a thinner, crispy oatmeal cookie. Tastes good, but I have to admit, I still like my goofed version also.
OATMEAL COOKIES
1 cup shortening
1-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk, or sour milk
1-1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1 cup raisins (I used dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets (I used nonstick ones and didn't grease them.)
Cream shortening and brown sugar together til fluffy.
Beat eggs and add to mixture in thirds (this isn't easy to do. I added my egg in two attempts), beating well after each addition.
Sift dry ingredients together in a smaller bowl. (I sifted some flour first before I measured the required amount and then resifted it with baking soda, baking powder, and salt.)
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, mixing until blended after each addition. (I began and ended with the flour.) Make sure you scrape the bowl as needed during this process.
Blend in oats, raisins, and nuts.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. (I use my cookie scoop that holds 1 tablespoon of water.) I had to flatten the "cookie dough" slightly with the first batch, but it was not necessary to flatten the second batch.
Bake for 15 minutes. (The second batch I baked only 14 minutes.)
I left cookies to cool for a minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to finish cooling on a wire rack.
The recipe (above) ....
My version (1/2 cup shortening, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, + the rest of the recipe)
I'll leave it up to you which one you try. Interested to hear your results in the comment section.
Well, I have teased you enough?
You see it was last this...I have mentioned several times that the boys next door were having to move. I woke up Saturday morning and took advantage of the house being quiet (my husband was still asleep) and picked up Caroline Fraser's Prairie Fires, The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the book I am currently reading and read for a couple of hours. The boys pulled up next door in a U-haul truck they rented for the day and started packing it up. My husband woke up and I started thinking I should have made something for them to enjoy while they were moving furniture and stuff around. By this time it was 11 o'clock and I couldn't think of anything to make them that would be quick. Finally, I decided to make them some cookies. That way I could give them some if they started to leave before I had them all baked.
I had seen this recipe for Oatmeal Cookies in a new cookbook Friend Jean had given me from Hillcrest Thrift Shop called Pennsylvania DUTCH Cookbook - Fine Old Recipes Made Famous by the Early Dutch Settlers in Pennsylvania. The recipe made 5 dozen cookies which were more than I wanted to make, in case the boys left before I got them all made and we would be stuck with a bunch of cookies. The first thing I always look at is the number of eggs in the recipe. This one had two which would be easy to cut in half (just use one egg) so I decided to try the recipe and just make 2-1/2 dozen cookies.
My husband came in while I was mixing them up and asked me if I were making some biscuits for the boys. I told him no that I was making some cookies. I baked one pan full (1 dozen) and while the second pan was baking, I asked him if he wanted to try one (while they were still warm). He took a bite or two and said they tasted a little bit like biscuits (which totally confused me). Just before the second pan was ready to take out of the oven, I decided I would try one myself. Surprise, surprise...they did taste a little like biscuits. Then it dawned on me. I had cut the shortening in half, also the brown sugar. I had used only one egg....BUT that was as far as it went. The rest of the ingredients? I forgot to use only half of the called for amounts. I couldn't believe it! But the crazy thing? They didn't taste badly. They tasted pretty good, in fact. I took about 3 dozen cookies to the boys, but I didn't tell them what I had done. (In case you forgot, I did tell the boys when they first moved in back in the summer that I would bring them goodies often, but they needed to remember they were my test kitchen.)
As I said I did try the recipe again yesterday and this time I remembered to cut each ingredient amount in half. The result was a thinner, crispy oatmeal cookie. Tastes good, but I have to admit, I still like my goofed version also.
OATMEAL COOKIES
1 cup shortening
1-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk, or sour milk
1-1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1 cup raisins (I used dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets (I used nonstick ones and didn't grease them.)
Cream shortening and brown sugar together til fluffy.
Beat eggs and add to mixture in thirds (this isn't easy to do. I added my egg in two attempts), beating well after each addition.
Sift dry ingredients together in a smaller bowl. (I sifted some flour first before I measured the required amount and then resifted it with baking soda, baking powder, and salt.)
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, mixing until blended after each addition. (I began and ended with the flour.) Make sure you scrape the bowl as needed during this process.
Blend in oats, raisins, and nuts.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. (I use my cookie scoop that holds 1 tablespoon of water.) I had to flatten the "cookie dough" slightly with the first batch, but it was not necessary to flatten the second batch.
Bake for 15 minutes. (The second batch I baked only 14 minutes.)
I left cookies to cool for a minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to finish cooling on a wire rack.
The recipe (above) ....
My version (1/2 cup shortening, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, + the rest of the recipe)
I'll leave it up to you which one you try. Interested to hear your results in the comment section.
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