Grandma Millie’s Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

My Grandma Millie was one fantastic grandmother, that’s for sure.  She was originally from England, and ever since I was a little girl – I thought she was the classiest lady I’d ever known.  From the words she used when she spoke, the way she dressed, to even the way her house was decorated.

She passed away just a few years ago, when I was pregnant with my little boy – who is now 3 1/2.  We knew she was dying, and she had told me not to come to the hospice because she wanted me to remember her healthier.  But, I think deep down inside she knew I was too stubborn for that.  So, I came – and I will never forget her words when I walked through the door to her room.  ‘Crystal!  I told you not to come…. But, I’m SO glad you did! Now, come give me a hug!’.

That was the last day I saw her, and I even get a little teary eyed writing this post. She was such a wonderful grandmother, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. And, I will always carry memories with me of the great times we had together.

You know, the very first time I ever had macaroni & cheese from ‘the blue box’ was with her? My Mama never bought the stuff, and always made hers from scratch. Well, Grandma Millie pulled out a box of it from her pantry one day when I was spending a week with her when I was about 13 year old, and prepared it for us for dinner – and it may sound crazy to some of you, but I was in total awe and thought it was so good… much to the dismay of my dear mother who’d labored over the stove making it homemade all my life!  So, ‘the blue box’ of macaroni & cheese became a tradition for us to eat whenever I came to visit.  There was never a time I was there that she didn’t stock up on it – it was ‘our’ thing.

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My favorite memory of all was making cookies with her!  And of course, eating those cookies!

Grandma Millie made cookies with all of her grandchildren when any of us came to visit, and it was always a blast!  Plus, there was never a Christmas that went by that we she didn’t send every one of her kids & grandkids a big ol’ box of cookies.  She was like the Queen of Cookies!

She made so many varieties, but her specialty was her ‘famous’ oatmeal cookies. No, they weren’t famous like Brad Pitt – but they were famous to our family for sure! In fact, I don’t remember a single Christmas without a big batch of these in our house, and everyone always looked forward to those special cookie deliveries.  Even when Grandma Millie’s arthritis started getting really bad later in life, she still was in the kitchen making her oatmeal cookies for all her family.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Grandma Millie is in Heaven with the good Lord now – and I have picked up the tradition of making her delicious oatmeal cookies for my own children, husband, the rest of my family, & friends.  I even package them up & mail them to my father so he can enjoy his favorite cookie too.  Last year, Daddy paid me one of the biggest compliments I’ve ever received from him too… which was, “Crystal, these cookies taste just like moms!‘.  Wowzers!  That made my whole month year when he told me that!

I have never had an oatmeal cookie that I like better than my grandmother’s. Seriously!  They are absolutely delicious – and it’s just not Christmas here in my house without a big batch of these!

So, when the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap came up – I immediately knew that these would be the cookies I’d make to send out to the 3 bloggers I was assigned. And, I figured it was about time that I shared this magnificent cookie recipe with all of y’all… handed down to me from my wonderful grandmother, and now I’m handing it down to all of you!  What better way to let my beautiful Grandma Millie’s memory live on by sharing her delicious oatmeal cookie recipe with all of you?!

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Although, I do have to say – I’m all about sharing my & my family’s recipes with you, my friends… but this was the one recipe I was a little hesitant about for a while.  But, I’ve been thinking about it for some time now – and I decided I was finally ready to share this wonderful cookie recipe of my lovely grandmother’s with all of you… and I really hope that you enjoy them as much as we all do, and have enjoyed for as long as I can remember!

Yet another great thing about this recipe – they are SO simple!  Seriously!  Even my kids can make these… and they’re better than any other oatmeal cookie I’ve ever tasted before.  Crisp with just the right amount of sweet & oatmeal.

Absolute Perfection.

Here’s what you need:

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

As you can see in the above ingredient photo, I’ve got a stick of margarine… or as Grandma Millie would say, ‘oleo‘. Now, this part is VERY important.  Do NOT by any means substitute the margarine for butter!  You may think, hey – butter makes everything better. And in 99% of cases, that is absolutely correct.  But, not here.  Don’t do it, just don’t.  I don’t know why, but it ruins these cookies… they just don’t taste right.  You HAVE to use margarine.  Trust me on this.

First things first, cream together 1/2 cup of shortening with 1/2 cup of margarine (aka oleo – just love that word!) using an electric mixer or stand mixer. You can also hand beat it with a whisk, but I’m kind of lazy in that aspect and prefer to my electric mixing devices 🙂

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Beat in 1 cup of brown sugar & 1 cup of white sugar until creamy.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Add in 2 eggs along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.  Beat well.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

 

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Mix in 1 & 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, & 1 teaspoon of baking soda.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

And last but not least, stir in 3 cups of old fashioned oats.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

 

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Grandma’s recipe calls for using an ungreased pan – but I do usually line my baking sheet with aluminum foil &  give it a light spray of non-stick cooking spray.

Roll the cookie dough into small balls – and place on your baking sheet.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Using 2 fingers, lightly press down each ball just a tad to slightly flatten them.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  No more than 10 minutes! I’ve found that my cookies are done at precisely 10 minutes each & every time – and you certainly don’t want to overcook them.

What comes out of your oven is not only a time honored recipes, past down from my grandmother – but you get the best oatmeal cookie EVER.

Grandma Millie's Famous Oatmeal Cookies

Grandma Millie was the master of oatmeal cookies, and now you can serve her famous oatmeal cookies in your own home. 🙂

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Grandma Millie's Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup margarine do NOT substitute butter, trust me on this - they won't turn out the same!
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 & ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 cups old fashioned oats oatmeal

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cream together the shortening & margarine. Beat in the light brown sugar along with the white sugar until smooth & creamy. Add in the eggs & vanilla extract; mix well. Stir in the flour, salt, & baking soda.  Fold in 3 cups of old fashioned oats.
  • Roll the cookie batter into small balls, about 1 teaspoon's worth or so. Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Using 2 fingers, lightly press down on each cookie dough ball to slightly flatten it. Don't completely flatten them, just press down lightly so they're not a round ball anymore.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes. I find my cookies are done in exactly 10 minutes, and not a second more. You don't want to overcook them! After baking for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes; then transfer the cookies onto a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. They will crisp up as they cool.