25 Ways to Make Oatmeal Cookies Vanish

Jul 18th, 2008 by Marilyn

My daughter was headed to a pool party the other night, and I was supposed to send cookies. I opened the pantry door, and from a tall cylindrical box a man wearing a Quaker hat said “Pool party? Thou shalt need oats, of course.”

So I made oatmeal cookies.

There are as many oatmeal secrets in America as there are splattered recipe cards - everyone seems to have a grandmother’s trick or a magazine shortcut to oatmeal bliss. Me? Forget fancy training and hand-kissed organics, because I’d never abandon this pleasure: pulling back the Quaker Oats tab with a satisfying “whh-ch,” getting a nice wholesome whiff, and then turning over the recipe to make Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies.

Oh, there are more glamorous recipes, more wholesome recipes, certainly more interesting recipes. But when it comes to oatmeal cookies, I don’t mess with the oven gods. Simple is best, and tradition rules. Still - one gets creative, and on this particular day I sorely tempted Quaker man’s patience by mixing a handful of white chocolate chips into the dough. He looked at me sternly as they went into the bowl. “Dude,” I whispered, “come on. It’s a pool party.”

I say keep the base traditional - it can hardly be improved - and when white-haired guy’s not looking, throw something delicious in for fun. Here are 25 ways to trick out your oatmeal cookies - not necessarily ground-breaking, but all tasty and all in one place. I guarantee they’ll vanish.

25 ways to trick out your oatmeal cookies

add extra cinnamon and chocolate chunks
add dried cherries, crystallized ginger and a dash of powdered ginger
add chopped dried pineapple and toasted coconut
add finely chopped granny smith apple
add dried currants plumped in orange juice, and the zest of one orange
add chopped toffee bits and toasted almond slices
add dried wild blueberries and nutmeg
add chocolate chips and pecan halves
add white chocolate chips and toasted walnuts
add a few handfuls of any Trader Joe’s trail mix
add a tablespoon of powdered espresso and cocoa nibs
add chopped dried pears and white chocolate chunks
add chopped candied orange peel
add dried cranberries and pumpkin pie spice
add chocolate chunks and salted peanuts
add grated raw carrot and toasted walnuts
add chopped dates and toasted coconut
add chocolate chips, chopped walnuts & mini-marshmallows
add about a cup of Rice Krispies cereal
Chocolate-Dipped: Bake jumbo cookies and allow to cool. Cut cookies into quarters and dip each pointed end in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Allow chocolate to set, and serve.
Oatmeal Black and Whites: bake large oatmeal cookies and cool. Make chocolate and white icings (try these icing recipes). Frost one half of each cookie with dark icing, and the other half with white.
Oatmeal Faux Macarons: make small, puffy oatmeal cookies and sandwich two with chocolate ganache. Allow ganache to set, and serve.
Orange-Glazed Oatmeal Cookies: make a light glaze by mixing 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice, and pinch of grated orange zest. Drizzle over cookies and allow to dry.
Oatmeal Cookie Dip: Bake mini oatmeal cookies, and make chocolate yogurt dip: whisk one cup vanilla yogurt with one tablespoon of cocoa powder and one tablespoon brown sugar. Chill for an hour, then serve with cookies and fresh strawberries.
Brandied Cherry Oatmeal Ice Cream Sandwiches: soak dried cherries in brandy and drain. Add to oatmeal dough; bake jumbo cookies and cool. Sandwich with good-quality cherry ice cream and freeze.

Quaker Oats Vanishing Oatmeal Cookie

1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins (if using raisins); mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. (or cookie sheets lined with parchment paper) Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown - do not overbake. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

makes about 4 dozen, depending on size of cookie

oatmeal

Tags: bb, oatmeal cookies, recipes

Posted in Let's Bake, recipes

26 Responses to “25 Ways to Make Oatmeal Cookies Even Better”

on 18 Jul 2008 at 1:22 pm1jenni

The raw carrot and walnuts along with the orange glaze caught my attention. YUM!
on 18 Jul 2008 at 1:29 pm2PVS

Ooooooooh. And if you separate the dough into quarters, you could make 4 different kinds from one batch! Yum!

Now, which four to try…….. definitely the one with cranberries, I’ll have to let the family vote on the others!
on 18 Jul 2008 at 1:33 pm3Susan

Oh yeah! Those are some great ideas.
I’m not a lover of raisins, so I always leave those out. But, just to even things out a bit, I throw in some coconut and white chocolate.
I also have some toffee bits just screaming for me to free them…
on 18 Jul 2008 at 2:37 pm4Renovation Therapy

Chocolate chip oatmeak cookies can stop me in my tracks. My Mom makes big batches and then freezes them…and I eat them one by one…frozen.
on 18 Jul 2008 at 2:37 pm5Renovation Therapy

Oatmeak? Hah!
on 18 Jul 2008 at 3:25 pm6Carol

Looks like I’ll be making some oatmeal cookies soon. Thanks for all the mix-in ideas!
on 18 Jul 2008 at 3:49 pm7wanderluster

Yummmm…I’ll take some of #7, 12, 14, and 23 please.
on 18 Jul 2008 at 3:54 pm8Jo

My favorite combination of add-ins is “as many of these in combination as possible”: dried cherries, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped dates, coconut, pecans (always pecans!), walnuts, almond slices, and whatever chocolate you can get your hands on. With so much stuff, there’s no way you can get a little of everything in each cookie. It’s a different cookie every time!

I’ve also been known to put in sunflower or pumpkin seeds, when the mood strikes. I like a bit of crunchy and salty in chewy sweetness.
on 18 Jul 2008 at 4:47 pm9BeanPaste

Lovely post. Who doesn’t love oatmeal cookies? My mom makes these double chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that are absolutely my undoing. They are particularly amazing right out of the freezer.
on 19 Jul 2008 at 6:53 am10grace

oh my. something tells me my family and co-workers shall be feasting on oatmeal cookies for quite some time. oh, and i’ll be eating my fair share, don’t worry.
on 19 Jul 2008 at 7:06 pm11kim

(sigh) I wish I had a working kitchen. *pouts and walks away*
on 19 Jul 2008 at 8:01 pm12theresa/t does wool

now,with all those suggestions why shouldn’t I make a batch!
on 19 Jul 2008 at 10:53 pm13Amy (mom2bjm)

This too I proclaim as the best recipe.. though I have not tricked them out with anything other than raisins. I shall have to experiment!
on 21 Jul 2008 at 9:31 am14TheCrepesofWrath

Thanks for the great ideas!
on 21 Jul 2008 at 9:36 am15tara

How funny, I was just thinking of making oatmeal cookies yesterday; there is something so homey and comforting about them in their ‘classic’ form … But I will admit, I am rather tempted by these glam versions - thanks for the ideas!
on 21 Jul 2008 at 10:01 am16Jeanine

Mmm…I’d like to try all 25 of those versions! Wonderful article, and I’m sure the man with the white hair would agree.
on 21 Jul 2008 at 10:15 am17Marilyn

Jenni: Anything crossed with carrot cake is a good idea, no?

Pam: You’ll bite for anything with cranberries!

Susan: Coconut plus white chocolate plus oatmeal = divine.

Jean: Frozen baked or unbaked? I mean, good either way. Oatmeak.

Carol: You’re welcome. Mix-in at will!

Wanderluster: Those are some of my picks, too. Enjoy.

Jo: I forgot pumpkin seeds. Perfect salty and sweet!

BeanPaste (Mel): Double chocolate is always double better, I agree.

Grace: what a generous co-worker you are! They’ll be gone quick.

Kim: that kitchen will be up in good time. Good luck!

Theresa: enjoy the cookies, but don’t forget to see the Farmer’s Market post, above, for some locally-spun yarn. It’s beautiful.

Amy: It feels like heresy to mess with that recipe…but tastes great.

Crepes, Tara, Jeanine: Welcome, and thank you!
on 21 Jul 2008 at 10:26 am18Naama

great tips, thanks!
on 21 Jul 2008 at 3:31 pm19GirlCanBake

What a great post! I’m going to reach for the trail mix next time I make oatmeal cookies.
on 21 Jul 2008 at 9:59 pm20Cathy C

This is the best list I have ever seen - It is a way to keep an old favorite fresh and new. Love it

Cheers
Cathy
http://www.wheresmydamnanswer.com
on 21 Jul 2008 at 10:28 pm21brilynn

You’ve sold me, those are some fabulous ideas!
on 22 Jul 2008 at 9:33 pm22julie

This is an amazing list! I am so glad to stumble across it. I recently moved to Lawrence a little over a year ago, so I’ll check back often on this great blog! Thanks!
on 22 Jul 2008 at 11:46 pm23Chris

These cookies look delicious–there’s nothing like a full-flavored, rich oatmeal cookie, and with so many variations, too!
-Chris
http://smellslikedessert.blogspot.com/
(P. S. I’ve linked to this post on my blog and hope to try the recipe very, very soon!)
on 23 Jul 2008 at 12:20 pm24Marilyn

Hey, welcome and thank you - Naama, GirlCanBake, Cathy C and Brilynn! Get in there and start churning out cookies!

Julie - hope you’re enjoying life in Lawrence! That Treehouse Berry Farm jam is soooo good.

Chris - thanks for the link. Oatmeal cookies are delicious - obviously, I agree!
on 23 Jul 2008 at 9:20 pm25Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)

Oatmeal black and whites? Brilliant idea! As a native New Yorker, I adore my black-and-white cookies, but never thought to make the cookie an oatmeal cookie.
on 24 Jul 2008 at 3:10 pm26Marilyn

Lydia:
Thanks! It does sound good. I think the cookie itself would have to be on the cakier side to work perfectly, but anything iced in black and white can’t be bad, eh?