If I Could Have Tea with my Grandmother

I baked my Grandmother's Oatmeal Cookies tonight.  As I said yesterday, I never got the chance to know her, as she died when my father was still a child.  I did, however, know her kitchen and the wood-burning oven she would have used to bake them. 

As I mixed the ingredients I pictured my grandmother in her kitchen doing the same.  I saw her beating the egg and adding the sugar while my father, as a child, sat on the stool they always kept there and asked questions.  Why are you doing that?  When will they be done?  When can I have one?  All of the questions a child of 5 or 6 would ask.

I followed the recipe as closely as I could, with one exception.  I did not chop the raisins, something I realized later should really be done.  This recipe has less sugar than any conventional recipe I've seen, so the raisins are used to add sweetness.  Chopping the raisins distributes them more evenly and, therefore, spreads the sweetness a little more equally.  That makes me think that this recipe was probably developed, or at least made popular, during either the Depression or World War II, both times when sugar would have been either expensive or more difficult to come by.

Pearl Burnett McCormick
High School Graduation

One thing my grandmother's recipe did not state was what temperature to bake them at or for how long.  I know her wood-burning stove would have probably had a moderate fire going for baking, so I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.  She said to drop the dough by teaspoonful, so I used a small scoop to keep them uniform and then slightly flattened them.  I baked the first batch for 10 minutes, but that seemed to be just a tad too long, so I baked each subsequent batch for 9 minutes, and they all came out perfect.  

My roommates and I all tried the cookies, and we agreed that they're really quite good, even if only slightly sweet -- the type of cookie that would be perfect with a cup of tea or a glass of cold milk.  

I imagined sitting around the old table at the homeplace on Old Sparta Road with my grandmother and her sisters, enjoying a pot of tea and her oatmeal cookies.  My father and his younger brother would be playing outside.  I could hear the chickens as the boys chased them.  I think we would talk about books, swap recipes and patterns, and share our latest needlework.  

Yes, these are the cookies I would serve if I could have tea with my grandmother.

Here is the recipe updated for today's ovens.

Grandmother's Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 4 Tbl buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 cup raisins, chopped
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients together, being sure to add the oats last.  This dough will be very stiff and a little dry.  Continue to work it until everything is combined.

Drop by rounded teaspoonful onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Press each down slightly, but not too thin.  Bake for approximately 9 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.  

Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.  

Makes 5 1/2 dozen cookies.