How not to make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

It was interesting some of the things that you couldn't find in the stores in Switzerland or things that were so different in the way they were processed that when you prepared them in a recipe it just didn't turn out the same. Bacon cooked up differently, oatmeal was smaller and ground up, the brown sugar that was the natural brown sugar or raw sugar, and shortening was non-existent.

So, even though oatmeal raisin are one of Bob's favorite cookies, I didn't make them while we were in Switzerland, with oatmeal being different and shortening not being available, I was concerned about how the cookies would turn out. Of course, there was also the factor of a slew of new desserts just waiting to be sampled and enjoyed while there. Why stick with the old familiar ones?

But now we're back in the states again and I decided it was about time I make Bob some Oatmeal Raisin cookies, especially since fall weather seemed to finally arrive. What is it about fall that just begs cooking oatmeal?

Pulling out my recipe box I could not find my recipe. Did I maybe always just use the recipe on the back of the Quaker® Oats box? Maybe. So I googled Quaker® Oats and found their recipe online. Definitely not my recipe. I hadn't used unsweetened applesauce and apple juice. Nor did I have it in my pantry. So I googled Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and of course found a gazillion. Give or take 10. I found one that seemed very familiar and whipped up a batch. I even snitched a taste before putting them in the oven. Yep. Certainly did taste the same.


However, they weren't in the oven long before I noticed that they weren't cooking up as I remembered. They were flattening out very rapidly, into a thin sheet, not the normal cookie thickness. They were to cook 9-11 minutes. At the end of nine minutes the edges were quite brown the middle still very uncooked. I kept them them in and checked every 30 seconds. At the 11 minute mark, they appeared done, but very flat. I left them cool a bit before trying to remove them from the pan.

Not a chance. They acted as though they were glued on. After destroying the first five I attempted to remove, I gave up and began just scrapping the crumbs off the cookie sheet. I seriously considered just tossing the whole batch into the trash can when Bob entered the room.

Explaining the disaster and my intended action, he convinced me that if I toasted the crumbs a bit longer in the oven, they would make great ice cream topping. Wise man.

If you want some, come over quickly. It doesn't appear they are going to last long in the pantry.