Oatmeal Scotchies

Oatmeal Scotchies

March 18: National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Highlander’s Mum would often bake cookies as afterschool snacks for her seven kids. Oatmeal cookies were a favorite among them. She often mixed in raisins but sometimes would include butterscotch chips in the batch instead. Perhaps it was an ode to Mum’s Scottish heritage, if not just for the cookies’ name, that she baked oatmeal “scotchies.” They are a sweet treat for snacktime and for National Oatmeal Cookie Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Very Best Baking)

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
  • ¾ cup granulated white sugar
  • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ¼ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked
  • 1 2/3 cups (11-ounce package) of butterscotch chips

Directions

Cream the butter with the white and brown sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Gradually add this dry mixture to the the wet batter. Blend until smooth. Stir in the oatmeal and butterscotch chips.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Place 1 ½ – inch rounds on a lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving space for the cookies to expand. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let set on the cookie sheet for about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to a crisp.  Yield: Approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Notes

  • National Oatmeal Cookie Day is also listed as a food holiday on April 30. See our blog recipe post then for oatmeal raisin cookies.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

April 30: National Oatmeal Cookie Day

A batch of home-baked cookies never lasted long in Highlander’s household, where he grew up with three brothers and three sisters! Whenever Mum made classic oatmeal raisin cookies, they would quickly disappear, leaving some crumbs and seven children with satisfied smiles. Perhaps that is why the company, Quaker Oats, from which this blog recipe post is adapted, named their version “Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.” We feature this time-honored traditional treat for National Oatmeal Cookie Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Quaker Oats)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • ½ cup sugar, granulated white
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 3 cups quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked
  • 1 cup of raisins

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon. Stir until well mixed. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the brown and white sugars. Stir in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the flour mixture until smooth. Mix in the oatmeal then the raisins to form a lumpy dough.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

On a lightly greased baking sheet, scoop about a rounded teaspoonful of cookie dough about two-inches apart to allow for spreading.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies start to flatten out and turn golden. Remove from the oven and cool for about a minute on the baking sheet before transferring the cookies to a wire rack. Cool completely. Yield: About 3 dozen.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Notes

  • Oatmeal is a naturally healthy ingredient that may help lower cholesterol, control weight and boost immunity; can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain types of cancers; contains several vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; and is a good source of complex carbohydrates, iron and protein.
  • See more blog recipe posts with oatmeal as an ingredient in January, National Oatmeal Month, and on December 19, Oatmeal Muffin Day.