HEARTSMART OATMEAL COOKIES

HEARTSMART OATMEAL COOKIES image

Categories Cookies Dessert Bake Quick & Easy

Yield AT LEAST 30 cookies, more or less

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

1 cup extra-lite olive oil
1.5 cups sugar
4 oz. milk [ THIS is an excellent thickening ingredient. I use powdered milk BUT its made with warmed and filtered water AND is double strength. NO cholesterol, NO fat. It is a fine substitute for eggs in most things I bake. ]
1 tsp. vanilla [ I use a very high quality REAL vanilla but the normal store bought vanilla mixed half and half with an artificial one works too. ]
1.5 cups of flour [ Just plain, none of that whole wheat stuff, though you CAN add a tsp. of wheat bran to many recipes for the same effect, IMHO, and its LOTS cheaper. ]
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon [ I use a very high quality cinnamon but if you use store brands, you might add 1/2 tsp. more, depending on YOUR taste. ]
1 tsp. salt [ Plain, not the one with Iodine tastes MUCH better. ]
3 cups oatmeal { I use the old style, not the "quick" kind. It actually has more healthy ingredients. }
1- 1 1/3 cups of raisens [ I use a store brand, rinsed well and soaked for a while in filtered water. Then I drain them well. You can do this soaking in most any liquid, like you could experiment with Southern Comfort etc... Do NOT throw away the Southern Comfort. ]

Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. [ Let this be on for AT LEAST 20 minutes and use an oven thermometer. ] 2. Beat the olive oil, vanilla and sugar well. [ This may not look like your usual BUTTER recipe. Trust me on this. ] 3. Add the flour; baking soda; cinnamon and salt mixture to the olive oil, sugar and vanilla mixture. Beat it. 4. Pour in the oats and raisens and beat. 5. Put the mix on an ungreased cookie sheet, I use stainless steel, and use a heavy tbs. that is HEAPING full. Drop them on the sheet. OK, they don't drop, you have to use your finger. Just spread them out adequately for YOUR baking sheets. I get 3 across and about 5 down. 6. Bake for about 9 minutes the first time you do this with your gear. [ Mine works well at 11 minutes AND keep in mind: you have used NO eggs so you can adjust the doneness according to YOUR wishes and those of your family and don't have to worry about potential bacteria in the eggs. You can make some soft and chewy, some crispy and satisfy everyone. ] 7. Cool. [ Sure most recipes for cookies STATE use a cooling rack. Phooey. Just have two baking sheets or pans. Put the hot one on the stove top, OK it should be cool, but just that. As you time the next batch, about a minute before use a spatula to remove the cookies to another place. I use a plate. Next batch, I move the plate-cooled batch to a freezer container, etc. Some don't make it TO this container. : ^) ] 8. These cookies freeze VERY well. I can easily eat them directly FROM the freezer. Now I have a micro-wave, I just buzz them 10 seconds. You need to experiment with this for YOUR MW. Robin's Cookin' With Olive Oil Oatmeal Cookies