The second treat for their trip... Crisp Oatmeal Cookies

With our visitors and getting back from the Minneapolis trip, we had a very slow week for new recipes - while we did make quite a few dishes, only 4 were new. I'll just pick one this week as our favorite and that would have to be the outstanding Lemon-Lime Meringue Ice Cream Pie in Toasted Pecan Crust.

As I mentioned yesterday, we made two cookies for Jen and Steve to take back with them: the second type were these Crisp Oatmeal Cookies. These golden rounds have a high ratio of rolled oats to flour, so they have a very homely appearance to them. Unlike the chocolate chip cookies from yesterday, the texture of these are definitely crisp, but not dry or rock hard - they also have a chewy bend to them. They seem to be very sturdy and would hold up well in a lunch box or even thrown into a pack to enjoy on a nature hike.

I used golden raisins since they are juicy and plump and added toasted pecans for a nutty crunch. The cookies have a lovely aroma and a spicy bite from cinnamon, ground cloves and fresh grated nutmeg. The batter calls for both vanilla and almond extract - I don't use almond too much as I find it often overpowering, but in these cookies it adds just enough unique flavor to have you guessing to find out what that secret ingredient is.

Recipes
Crisp Oatmeal Cookies