Recipe: Grandma Van's Oatmeal Cookies (vintage recipe)

The story about these cookie is very cute. The recipe is 40 years old.

GRANDMA VAN'S OATMEAL COOKIES

"This recipe was shared with me almost 40 years ago, by my mother-in-law, "Grandma Van." She was a wonderful cook and baked great cookies. One of our son's most enduring memories of going to Grampa and Grandma's house was that there were always freshly baked cookies in her cookie jar.

During the course of my husband's work, we lived in Des Moines, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Omaha, Atlanta, and Austin. Everywhere we lived, we baked these cookies and shared them with neighbor children. They were known as "Grandma Van's Oatmeal Cookies," and frequently mothers would call asking for the recipe.

So, even though Grandma Van lived her entire life in a tiny town in the heartland - a place called Manson, Iowa with a population of about 1800 - her oatmeal cookies are being enjoyed across the land. Incidentally, Grandma Van celebrated her 93rd birthday on March 25 of this year. Although arthritis has slowed her hands and she can no longer bake cookies, she still loves to eat good cookies! With the publication of this cookie recipe, she'll be the star of the nursing home."

Proudly submitted by Grandma Van's daughter-in-law,
Jan
Austin, TX

GRANDMA VAN'S OATMEAL COOKIE RECIPE

1 cup Crisco all-vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla

Using an electric mixer, cream the sugar, brown sugar, and Crisco until fluffy. Next, add eggs and beat well. (Mixture should be very fluffy.) Then, gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until no trace of flour remains.

Add oatmeal and vanilla and blend well. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen large cookies.

RECIPE VARIATION - AND A HUMOROUS NOTE:
Jan: "We had been baking these cookies for a number of years, and I mentioned to Grandma that our new neighborhood loved her drop oatmeal cookies. She thought for awhile and said she remembered sending her slice and bake oatmeal cookie recipe, and then added, "I must have forgotten to put on the recipe that I refrigerate and slice and bake them!" We all had a really good laugh. They are a wonderful cookie, no matter which way you make them.

If you prefer to slice and bake, chill the dough and roll into 2-inch logs in plastic wrap. After rolling into logs, chill several hours then slice 1/4-inch-thick, and bake at 375 degrees F for about 8 minutes.

Source: Crisco.com, 2004