Grandma Minnie's Oatmeal Cookies

The American English word "cookie" comes from the Dutch koekje, which means "little cake." Grandma Minnie's cookbook contains several recipes for cookies, including oatmeal cookies, which can be a nutritious breakfast cookie, if you don't eat too many of them!



Recipes for oatmeal cookies are pretty standard, so there wasn't much modernizing to do with this one. However, I usually reduce the amount of sugar in any cake or cookie recipe I use, so I did that with this one. I also reduced the amount of flour, as my first attempt came out too "doughy." And I believe the technique of dissolving the baking soda in the milk is a holdover from the days before the soda was widely available. When yeast was used as the leavening agent, it was necessary to dissolve it in warm water or warm milk.  Here is my updated version of the recipe:


Oatmeal Cookies

1 3/4 - 2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3/4 cup margarine or baking stick
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried currants

- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Cream together margarine and brown sugar; beat in eggs and vanilla.
- Add flour mixture and milk alternately, mixing well. Stir in oatmeal, raisins, and currants.
- Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake until edges are golden brown, approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet before removing them to a wire rack or plate to cool completely.

This recipe will make 3 or 4 dozen, depending on how big you make your "dollops" of dough. I love how they smell so fresh with cinnamon right out of the oven!