The Perfect Cookie

A Grammy's cookie jar should always, always be full!

Cub Sweetheart and I lived in North Dakota when we were first married. His job required him to be outdoors much of his shift, and it was not uncommon for temperatures to dip well, well below zero on winter days.

During our four years there, the coldest it ever got was fifty below zero. When you added in the factor of wind chill we had days that were recorded to be 100 below zero.

I grew up in a house full of kids so my mother fed us whatever could be obtained in mass quantity on the cheap, and that included buckets and buckets of oatmeal. Back then it didn't occur to anyone to worry about whether food was healthy, but rather was it affordable and filling and oatmeal filled the bill. We'd slather it with butter and sugar then a dash of milk on top, and I thought it was wonderful.

CS did not grow up with oatmeal, so he didn't share my deep, abiding love of it. But he neglected to tell me so.

Before he'd walk out the door to go to work, whether it was 10 pm and midnight shift, or 6 am and days, I'd fix him a huge bowl of the stuff, topped off as I had my own years ago. He ate the stuff for months on end, until finally he must have hit his point of resistance, when he confessed to me he HATED oatmeal, and could I please stop making it for him.

I still love the stuff, with all the toppings, and he still dislikes it for breakfast, but I did manage to find an oatmeal he dearly loved too.

Thirty eight years later, this is still his very favorite cookie on the planet.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 4 dozen

Preheat oven to 340-350 degrees

1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 TBSP water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups regular oatmeal
2 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Mix shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar til creamy, then add eggs, water and vanilla.
Add flour, soda and salt then mix in til smooth and creamy. Add oatmeal til well blended then add chocolate chips. The dough will be pretty stiff after adding the oatmeal. Chocolate chips can be stirred in by hand if needed. My kitchenaid mixer handles the task, but a hand mixer may struggle.

Spoon onto cookie sheet - either 9 or 12 to a sheet, depending on size of cookie. Bake 10 - 12 minutes and let sit on cookie sheet to cool a bit.

These freeze well and make the perfect after school snack. Or breakfast.