When our son recently visited, his flight arrived late at night – and I wanted to make a bedtime snack for him. I saw a recipe for Oatmeal Cookies in a hundred-year-old cookbook – and decided they might fit the bill.
These classic cookies were easy to make and very tasty. They have a hint of cinnamon, and are soft and chewy.
Here’s the original recipe:
I used brown sugar when I made the recipe. It’s intriguing that the recipe specifies “sweet milk” which I think is just regular milk. A hundred-years-ago many families still lived on farms and drank milk that was not pasteurized; and, even in towns, much of the milk that was sold was not pasteurized. Back then, if the non-pasteurized milk was not used quickly, the “good” bacteria in the milk would turn it into a sour milk suitable for use in recipes. I would think that if a recipe just said “milk” that cooks would know that it was just calling for regular milk and not for sour milk, but apparently the cookbook author thought that it was important to clarify.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
Preheat oven to 375° F. Cream the shortening and brown sugar. Stir in the milk and eggs, then add the salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, flour, and vanilla; stir until smooth. Still in oatmeal; stir until combined. Drop heaping teaspoons of the dough onto greased baking sheets; bake until set and lightly browned (about 10 minutes).
That sounds like a really good late snack. That is interesting about milk. We don’t even have to think about milk going bad very fast. I was listening to a podcast on how pasteurized milk lowered the US death rate.
Sometimes I’m amazed how far out the expiration date is when I buy a jug of milk. It’s so much longer than what I remember when I was a young adult. Back then it seemed like pasteurized milk often spoiled before I got the entire container used – and raw milk would sour fairly quickly.
you just can’t beat oatmeal cookies…but peanutbutter cookies come close
Agree – though I might rank them in the opposite order and put peanutbutter cookies on top. 🙂
One of my granddaughters would agree.
Oatmeal cookies with peanut butter chips!!!!!
Just like Grandma used to make:)
It’s nice to hear that this post brought back some good food memories.
They look really tasty! My grandmother called regular whole milk sweet milk as opposed to buttermilk or sour milk.
Yep Sweet as opposed to buttermilk…. my mama told be that when the butter was made the whey left from that process was the buttermilk and did not spoil as fast as regular milk…
She was absolutely right, and when you make your own butter, that whey, or real buttermilk, is so delicious, nothing like the commercial buttermilks.
Your comment makes me want to make some butter so that I’d get some real buttermilk. I know that commercial buttermilks are very different from real buttermilk, but it’s been so long since I’ve had it that I can’t remember what it was like.
The only time I have ever “enjoyed” buttermilk was from a butter churning. I use it all the time for baking but never drink it.
It’s sweeter and a flavor all its own!
It’s fascinating that the whey didn’t spoil as fast as regular milk.
Interesting – Your comment confirms that years ago people used the term “sweet milk” to distinguish regular whole milk from other types.
I love oatmeal cookies! I like to make them with a few extra spices 🙂
cheers
sherry
This recipe didn’t call for raisins, but I’d also typically add raisins when making oatmeal cookies.
Oatmeal cookies are the best!!
They are a nice classic cookie.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️