January is Oatmeal Month. I will be posting additional recipes featuring Oatmeal as an ingredient. I just could not wait to post this one. In our family we have a long tradition of making cookies and candies as part of our holiday celebration. Many of these recipes have "special" ingredients and this recipe features ingredients slightly different than the traditional oatmeal cookie.
Holiday Oatmeal Cookies1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (light firmly packed)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup pecans
1 cup dates – chopped (can be sugar coated – must be pitted dates)
1 cup flaked coconut
Combine shortening, brown sugar and white sugar with electric mixer. Add vanilla and eggs, mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda together. Add to sugar, egg, shortening mixture. Mix by hand into bowl of all other combined ingredients oats, pecans, dates and coconut.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drop by teaspoonfuls dough onto GREASED cookie sheets placing dough about 2" apart. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on racks. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Note: Do not use canned coconut; use the flake coconut from the bag. The cookie count will depend on the size of the spoonfuls you drop on the cookie sheet. You can also flatten the top of the cookie with a plastic glass dipped in sugar.
These make wonderful cookies for Santa and are perfect when served on one of our
square monogramed plates which can be personalized. I like the red and green colors for the holidays. The red is my favorite since it can be used for other holidays such as Valentines and the 4th of July. When I was a child Santa always like a big plate of cookies; we suggest
the 10" plate.Enjoy and do not be afraid to try something different to make this your own dish!
Marilynn