My favorite cookies

Hubby asked me to bake cookies for a meeting tonight. I was pressed for time and intended to buy some.

Except for fig newtons, I don’t much care for store-bought cookies. And I do love to bake. So instead of buying cookies, I baked a double batch of Oatmeal Gingersnaps.

Mother bought me a set of Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks when I was still in high school, including their Homemade Cookies Cook Book. (Book is apparently now out of print.) When I baked the first batch of this recipe, I knew I had found a winner. I immediately decided that I had a new favorite cookie and I have yet to change my mind. My brother loved them also and often asked me to make them.

I usually double the recipe. I love to eat the dough, so doubling the recipe enables me to both eat dough and the final product.

Below is the recipe as it appears in the book, with a few adjustments:

Oatmeal Gingersnaps

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Ingredients:
1½ C. all-purpose flour
½ C. sugar
½ C. Splenda
¾ quick-cooking rolled oats
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ground ginger
¼ t. ground cloves
¼ t. salt
½ C. shortening
½ C. molasses
1 egg

Method:
Stir together dry ingredients. Blend in shortening, molasses and egg. Beat well with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Form into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake on top rack at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Let stand for at least 1 minute; cool on rack.

Yield: Allegedly 3½ dozen. Even without eating the cookie dough (what a sacrifice!), I have never gotten 3½ dozen cookies from this recipe.