27 August 2011

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies


Last weekend was tax-free shopping in Texas for back-to-school items. Families were busy buying the necessary school supplies, new clothes and backpacks - and saving a little bit of money. I was thinking of my mom.


Mom & I in 1998
I was in town for her birthday AND and Astros Playoff game!!


I don't need the local news station to remind me when the first tax-free weekend was. It happened in 1999 - the same weekend we drove to Houston because a heart attack had put the girls' Grandma in the hospital. We got a little shopping done but our hearts weren't in it. As it turned out, it would be the last time that Mark & the girls would see her, she would pass away less than 2 weeks later. I was fortunate enough to be by her bedside.

There is one other thing that always reminds me of Mom, and that is her Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. If I had a bad day at school, she would cheer me up with their aroma and a welcome homework break. They were my favorite and it was the first thing she taught me to bake.


This time, I decided to change them up a bit by adding pretzel m&m's instead of chocolate chips. However, before I could get the cookies baked, some of the pretzel m&m's had disappeared!! So, I made half a batch with chocolate chips and the other half with the m&m's. I really liked the bit of saltiness the pretzel m&m's gave to the cookies.


Cream the shortening and brown sugar

Add eggs one at a time

Add flour & 1/2 of the milk/vanilla

Add the oatmeal and remaining milk/vanilla

Beat well after each addition

I divided the dough in half and added m&m's to one
and chocolate chips to the other.


Grandma Larson's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup  Brown Sugar
1 cup  Shortening
2  Eggs
1 pinch of Salt
1  teaspoon Baking Soda
1  teaspoon Vanilla
4  tablespoons Milk
2  cups Flour
2  cups Oatmeal
2  cups  Chocolate Chips (I used 1 cup chocolate chips, and 1 cup Pretzel m&m's)

Cream together the shortening and the brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat until fluffy. Add the salt, baking soda and vanilla to the milk. Stir well until dissolved. Add 1/2 of the flour, and 1/4 of the milk mixture. Add the rest of the flour and another 1/4 of the milk. Add 1/2 of the oatmeal, 1/4 of the milk, the remaining oatmeal and the rest of the milk. Be sure and beat well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Bake 12-14 minutes at 350 on a Silpat or parchment paper.



There's one other thing I love about making this recipe. Every time I make them, I feel like Mom is right there in the kitchen with me.

3 comments:

  1. Loved your mom! Love you! Love the cookies!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Glenda, Mom loved you too!!

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  3. Some anniversaries in our lives are bittersweet and I'm sure every time you look at that lovely photo of you and your Mom you have so many mixed emotions.
    Your cookies look like a lot of fun to make and I'm sure even more fun to eat. So nice that you have this recipe that you grew up on to pass onto your children as they grow up on this treat and as you all recall loving memories of your Mom.

    P.S. Your daisies are so pretty and I love your collection of little milk bottles.
    P.P.S. I haven't tried the pretzel m&m's yet but I do experience the same disappearing issue with my peanut butter ones :)

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