Oatmeal Cookies

It's nice to be home for Christmas and the holidays because that means I get to bake as much as I want! While baking adds to the holiday pounds, at least I'm enjoying my time off. Speaking of holiday pounds, I do not think oatmeal cookies are as bad as other baking goods. I'd like to think because there is oatmeal, there is some nutritional value, right? Anyways, I like oatmeal and I like raisin but I never had the urge to make oatmeal raisin cookies. However, this recipe is a good recipe, especially if you want something different from the standard chocolate chip cookies. You can take this oatmeal cookie recipe and add in chocolate chips and voila, you have a completely different cookie.

I changed the proportion of brown sugar and white sugar and I liked how it turned out. It gave the cookie a richer butter flavor which I love considering the recipe does not have as much butter compared to other cookies.

These cookies are very versatile so try different add-ins when you want something a little different. I split my batch in half. I left half of the batch plain while I added raisins to the other half.

Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
dash of salt (optional, but recommended)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups mix-ins (chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts are some ideas)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Mix butter in an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, dash of salt (optional), cinnamon until combined.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Mix in flour and oats.
5. Stir in mix-ins with a spatula.
6. Scoop dough into a rounded tablespoon and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.