Cowboy Cookie Exchange with Jo-Ann Roberts

Merry Christmas Eve, Friends!

Any time I can bake cookies is the most wonderful time of the year!

But during the holiday season, there is something special about the scents of butter, sugar, vanilla, and spices wafting through the house, along with the Christmas tree lights, and holly, jolly holiday songs on the Music Channel.

Most of my cookie recipes are handed down from my grandmother, mother, and aunts. They are the same cookies I make for weddings and special occasions for our family and friends. I have vivid memories of watching their fingers shape, scoop, roll, and frost dozens of Italian cookies, then carefully pack them in rows between sheets of wax paper in large plastic tubs before placing them in the bottom of the chest freezer until Christmas Eve.

This year, however, I’m changing things up a bit. Since y’all will reading this on Christmas Eve, I’m going to share a cookie that is sure to keep Santa satisfied during his trip around the world.

For years, I’ve been making the oatmeal cookie recipe that was printed on the Quaker Oats box. But recently, they were leaving me a little “flat”…pardon the pun. So, when I saw this recipe, I decided to give it a try. All I can say is “WOW!”

Buttery and rich, this old-fashioned oatmeal cookie is fantastic. They’re crunchy and crisp around the edges and chewy in the middle. Coconut adds tons of flavor and texture. It’s what makes this different from other oatmeal cookies. I opted to add walnuts and raisins along with the coconut and loved these. If you love oatmeal cookies, give these a try.

Grandma Helen’s Oatmeal Cookies

Yield:  18- 24 cookies depending on size of cookie scoop 
Prep time: 15 Min
Cook time: 10 Min

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 large eggs, well beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups of coconut (or your choice of, nuts, raisins, dates, chocolate chips, etc.)*

Directions

  1. Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
  2. Add beaten eggs and vanilla.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix salt, baking soda, flour, oatmeal, and coconut.
  4. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
  5. Fold in your choice of nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, or dates.
  6. Allow dough to rest in the refrigerator (or on the counter) for a few hours.**
  7. Use a cookie scoop, drop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake immediately.
  8. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

*I use a mix of raisins, coconut, and walnuts.

**I seldom bake cookies immediately after mixing the dough. The primary reason for a brief resting period is to redistribute the liquid in the dough. While the dough sits, turning from loose and soft to drier and more scoopable, the flour is hydrating, yielding cookies that will bake and brown more evenly. The sugar also absorbs moisture from the eggs and butter: With less “free moisture” hanging around, the dough has a higher concentration of sugar, and the higher this percentage, the more likely it is that you’ll get cookies with chewy centers and crispy edges.

Wishing you all the joy that this beautiful season can bring.

Merry Christmas – Happy New Year!

 

Author at JMV Creative Enterprise | jrobertsauthor@yahoo.com | Website |  + posts

Born and raised in western Massachusetts, Jo-Ann Roberts was fascinated by America’s Old West and always felt she was destined to travel on a wagon train following the Oregon Trail. With her love of history and reading, she began reading historical romance during high school and college. Victoria Holt, Jude Deveraux, and Roseanne Bittner were among her favorites. Influenced by her father, she fell in love with John Wayne, James Garner, and her all-time favorite, James Stewart and grew up watching Wagon Train, Bonanza and Rawhide.
A firm believer in HEA with a healthy dose of realism, Jo-Ann strives to give her readers a sweet historical romance while imparting carefully researched historical facts, personalities, and experiences relative to the time period. Her romances take her readers back to a simpler time to escape the stress of modern life by living in a small town where families and friends help one another find love and happiness.
When she isn’t creating believable plots and relatable heroes and heroines, Jo-Ann enjoys spending time with her husband, children and grandson. She also enjoys baking, quilting and eating way too much chocolate.
After 38 years in public education in Connecticut and Maryland, she’s now calls North Carolina home.

14 thoughts on “Cowboy Cookie Exchange with Jo-Ann Roberts”

  1. Merry Christmas JoAnn. I enjoyed your recipe exchange with us. I’ll try it! I loved the barn picture too. So happy you are part of Petticoats and Pistols. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.

  2. I am allergic to oatmeal, so I use rye flakes instead. No one ever realizes the difference. When I do make these, I either use chocolate or butterscotch chips.
    On very rare occasions I make a Little Debbie type cookie.
    I love to bake but don’t need to eat.
    Emily

  3. Thank you for sharing the cookie recipe they sound delicious ! May you and your family have a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas.

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