Lacy Oatmeal Cookies
Whelp! Here goes nothing!
I’ve been thinking about starting and writing a food blog for several months now. I’m not sure what made me finally do it other than I was tired of thinking about my fictional blog and just wanted to start one and see where it would take me. It would be amazing if it could eventually be something bigger - me collaborating with cookbook authors, pod casters, and other blog writers. But even if it’s only me reading it and collecting recipes, I will consider that time well spent on a hobby I enjoy.
A little about me…
I don’t have a background in food or any formal training other than my Home Ec class in high school where I made an awesome meringue. I do remember loving to bake as a kid and teenager and being slightly obsessed with cookbooks (now I’m full-blown obsessed with them). One of my favorites was Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Cookbook. I remember looking through that cookbook for hours planning (another one of my obsessions!) what I wanted to cook or bake. I did make a few recipes out of there, but I think most of the enjoyment was just looking at the pictures, reading the ingredients, and dreaming about making it. Seems a little unproductive, but I actually still get great pleasure just perusing cookbooks and making only a few recipes from each one. I need to search for this cookbook among my saved toys and mementos in my parents’ attic. I would love to find my original copy, possibly with crusty food or a crinkled page showing how much it was used and loved.
The other cookbook that I actually cooked from a lot as teenager was Mrs. Field’s Cookie Book. The Lacy Oatmeal Cookies were one of my family’s favorites. My brother still requests that I make these for his birthday every year even though I haven’t recently. Here’s a link to the Lacy Oatmeal Cookies so you can make them too! My parents and my brother who requests these cookies went to an antique store after Christmas this year, and I wistfully mentioned to my mom that I would love to find the Mrs. Field’s Cookie Book as it was one of my favorites. After looking for Depression glass (another thing I’m starting to become obsessed with!), I found a booth with books and started to look through the titles and was excited to find the edition of the book we had growing up in good condition. And for only $5 it was a bargain!
Every time I make these cookies, their texture and chew always seem to be slightly different. Always good, but just different. This time they came out crunchier and thinner than usual, but this could be due to softening the butter too much. I forgot to set out the butter earlier to come to room temperature so I thought I would speed the process along by putting it on the stove as it preheated. While this was happening, I was upstairs folding laundry and not watching as my butter melted in the wrapper and then started to leak out all over the stove top. I salvaged most of it, but added 1 tablespoon of cold butter to the batter to make up for what melted and escaped. I'm guessing that the soft butter made the cookies spread too much; therefore leading to a thinner and crunchier cookie.
I used old-fashioned oats and not quick oats as that is what I had on hand. I also used unsalted butter instead of the recommended salted butter again because that is what I had. I did add about a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. This led to a slightly salty cookie which nicely balanced the sweet (similar to the idea behind salted caramel).
I HIGHLY recommend the use of silicone baking mats instead of foil and baking spray. In the past with foil, the cookies would sometimes peel off easily and other times they would be so sticky that they would stick to foil and you couldn't get them off. Or you would have to check the bottom of the cookie to make sure that you weren't eating foil! With the silicone baking mats, they came off easily without breaking or cracking. I've used these mats for other baking projects and really enjoy how easily they make your food release and lead to easy clean up.
What are some of your favorite recipes from your childhood? What recipes do you make over and over again? Comment below to share with the group!