Quick & Easy Jam Bars

Use your favorite jam (raspberry and apricot are nice). These are ready in a flash and folks with a well-developed sweet tooth love them!.

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup jam of your choice 

 

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend in oats and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter (or rub between fingertips) until mixture is crumbly.

Pat 2/3 of crumbly mixture into a 9x9” pan (for thicker bars, use an 8x8” pan). Spread with jam. Top with remaining crumbs and pat down lightly.

Bake at 375° for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into bars when cool.

Pinky's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

These were the “staple” cookie when I was growing up.

My mother must have made thousands—and we never got tired of them.

• 1 CUP BUTTER OR MARGARINE*
• 1-1/2 CUPS WHITE SUGAR
• 2 EGGS
• 1/2 TEASPOON VANILLA
• 2-1/2 CUPS FLOUR
• 1 TSP BAKING SODA
• 2 CUPS QUICK OATS
• 1 CUP RAISINS

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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter until soft, add sugar and beat well. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and baking soda and mix well. Mix in oats and raisins (if dough is too stiff, use your hands to mix**).

Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork, making a criss­cross pattern.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until they begin to brown.

Variations:

If desired, add 1/2 cup chopped nuts.
My husband doesn’t like raisins, so sometimes I substitute toffee bits or butterscotch chips (not as healthy, but very good!).

*The original recipe (that Pinky used to develop this recipe) called for shortening, plus 1/4 tsp salt.

**This is an old recipe, hence the instructions to use your hands, not an electric mixer!

Albert's Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

Similar to Pinky's recipe, but softer and chewier.   Very popular at my house.  Albert ate fourteen.

• 1 CUP BUTTER
• 1 CUP WHITE SUGAR
• 1 CUP BROWN SUGAR (FIRMLY PACKED)
• 2 EGGS
• 2 TEASPOONS VANILLA
• 2  CUPS FLOUR
• 1 TSP BAKING SODA
• 1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
• 1/2 TEASPOON SALT
• 3 CUPS OATS (QUICK OR OLD-FASHIONED OR A MIXTURE OF BOTH)
• 1 CUP RAISINS

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets (or line with parchment paper).

Cream butter until soft, add sugars and beat well. Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl, then stir (don't beat) into butter mixture.  Mix in oats and raisins.

Roll dough into generous balls and place on cookie sheet. Press cookies with fingers to flatten slightly.

Bake or 11-12 minutes or until cookies are golden.

Lumberjacks

Sweet and crunchy
An easy cookie for kids to make

This is the first cookie my mother taught me to make. No need for a bowl or spoon--she just put the ingredients in the pan, mixed and patted with her hands, and voila--lumberjacks were ready for the oven!

• 3 CUPS ROLLED OATS
• 1 CUBE OF BUTTER OR MARGARINE (MELTED)
• 1 CUP BROWN SUGAR (PACKED)
• 1/2 TSP VANILLA

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, mix together oats and brown sugar (use your hands to mix).
Melt butter over low heat and pour over oats mixture. Add vanilla and mix together quickly and lightly (if you use your hands to mix, be sure not to burn yourself on the hot butter).

Pack into 8x8 pan immediately and bake for 30 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm; remove from pan when cool (if you wait until cookies are cool to cut, they will be too hard).

Whole-Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

A healthy take-along treat!

• 1/2 CUP WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR
• 1-1/2 CUPS QUICK ROLLED OATS
• 1/2 TSP BAKING POWDER
• 1/4 TSP SALT
• 1/2 TSP CINNAMON
• 1/8 TSP GRATED NUTMEG
• 6 TBLSP SOFT BUTTER
• 1/2 CUP BROWN SUGAR
• 1 EGG
• 3 TBLSP MILK
• 1/2 CUP CHOPPED WALNUTS
• 1/2 CUP RAISINS

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together flour, oats, baking powder, salt and spices. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy; beat in egg. Add the dry ingredients and milk and mix well. Stir in the nuts and raisins.

Drop by teaspoons onto oiled baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until well browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes approximately dozen cookies. Recipe may be doubled.