Admittedly, oats don’t make the shopping list often. I’m off to fill my larder with a short list, basics. You know eggs, milk, garlic, black pepper, cheese and then whatever strikes my fancy. But I’ve been thinking about home made oatmeal cookies all day!
Oats are remembered more often when one is face-to-face with the smiling face of the man in the Quaker hat. And even then, we may decide to follow the shelf down toward the cereals that only need milk.
But I’m not speaking of the first meal of the day. Late this afternoon I want warm milk with two or three cookies. Perhaps again in the quiet of the evening with a good book and camomile tea.
I am the nutritionist looking for fiber content, the ethnographer seeking foods Scottish, the gourmand prowling for propriety. I want to eat art and science. Time is requred. Quick is good but real, unexpurgated oats will take a little time – as does any art.
“Oatmeal cookies for desert?” So, you’re thinking sugar. Right? How about replacing it with honey! And then there are the “additives” like fruit and spices! A big secret is a little extra cinnamon and a dash of cardomom.
More of us read the label these days but what’s in this box is not as serious an issue with oats. Follow my lead though and begin with the receipe that’s on the inside of the lid.
I’m here to tell you that about half the sugar content in honey will suffice! Really! I don’t like them super sweet anyway. And then there’s the dreaded “white sugar buzz”! But not with honey!
Choose your honey wisely. The “half teaspoon” test will serve. If you can take the spoon of honey “neat” and like it, then use it in place of sugar.
Find white raisins if you can and soak them in warm water before you make the dough. Indeed oatmeal is style-specific to many cooks. I actually mix all wet ingredients and cover it for a few hours – or even a day prior to cookie sheet time.
Watch the cookies, not the clock at this point. Less time equals chewy cookies. More time equals crispy cookies.
So, I’m at the check out, putting my groceries on the belt when the man in front of me says, “oats” but I can not write the sound of his speech.
He was a Scot. Says he, “In Samuel Johnson’s dictionary, oats were defined as ‘eaten by people in Scotland, but fit only for horses in England.” Then he added, “That’s why England has such good horses, and Scotland has such fine men!”
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