Mémère's Cookies; The World's Finest Oatmeal Cookies

½ lb unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup white sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla (optional, not in her original recipe)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups rolled oats (quick oats)

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, not in her original recipe)

1 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds (optional, not in her original recipe)

Preheat oven to 350° F

Cream together the eggs, butter, both sugars and vanilla (if using). Blend on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes.

In a separate bowl sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Once the butter and sugar mixture is uniformly blended, add the sifted flour ingredients and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes or until it is well incorporated.

Add oats and mix until fully blended in. If you are using the nuts, add them with the rolled oats.

Drop spoonful’s of cookie dough onto baking sheet.

Or use a mini ice cream scoop to make them uniform size and it is faster too!!!

Bake in preheated oven for 11 – 12 minutes or until slightly brown around the edges.

So, stopping here for a moment, when the cookies come out of the oven identify a few of them that you want to kick up a notch, then press down onto them with your thumb to make a small dent or dimple in the hot cookie.  Once dimpled thus, put a little dollop of jam into the hot cookie dimple then place on cooling rack to cool. This was a signature move for Mémère.

Remove cookies from oven and place on cooling rack until cooled. Serve with milk, tea, coffee or other beverage of choice.

Go ahead! Try to eat one without smiling!  It can’t be done….

Low Fat Oatmeal Cookies

The recipe below is not my Mémére's recipe, in fact it pales in comparison. Unfortunately as I age I try to avoid excessive fats and cookies when made well and with love are full of butter fat, which while I love cookies made with butter, my doctor is not a fan of me enjoying them.

Also fibre is a big deal when you start to go grey and this recipe delivers a good cookie with a ton of fibre, not a child's favourite cookie by any means but I like them and that's all that counts.

1 cup brown sugar, packed

¼ cup white sugar

2 egg whites

2 whole eggs

1 ⅓ cups unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups whole wheat or multi-grain flour (bread flour makes them chewier, my preference)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg, fresh ground is best

 

3 cups old fashion oatmeal

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds

¼ cup Raw or Turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F

Place brown sugar, white sugar, egg whites, whole eggs, applesauce and vanilla in a large bowl and mix well for 2 minutes.

Place flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg into a separate bowl and whisk ingredients together. Add to the egg/applesauce mixture. Mix for 2 minutes to incorporate all the ingredients together.

Once flour is mixed well add the oats, walnuts and the sunflower seeds to the mixture. Mix well.

Dampen your hands with water and roll balls of dough into golf ball or smaller sized balls.

Place on greased cookie sheets or line cookie tray with parchment paper.

Flatten cookies with a wet fork. This is important! Because the cookie dough has no butter in it, the cookie will come out of the oven the same thickness or size as it went into the oven.

 

 

Sprinkle a large pinch of Turbinado sugar over the top of the cookie before baking.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until slightly brown at the edges.

Serve with milk, fruit and enjoy the heck out of them. Not mémére's cookie for sure, but nothing will ever be...

Makes 4 dozen or so, depends on the size of yer balls ma'am...

Note: These cookies will be very moist, unlike cookies made with butter.  The applesauce lacks the fat that normally allows the cookies to age and not go bad.  When cooking with applesauce you need to ensure you do not store these in a cookie jar with a tight fitting lid.

Keep them in a bowl open to the air and freeze surplus until required. Thaw in a bowl at room temperature.