Aunt Dot's Oatmeal Cookies 2/325

Aunt Dot's House

The Relation

Aunt Dot, for who this recipe is named after, would be my great-great-aunt. Mary L., who submitted this recipe, would be her daughter, and therefore, my second cousin, twice removed? Who knows. Dot was one of the original 14 kids that the Webers produced. While her sister's (my great-great-grandmother's) descendants wear Gassmann Gold at the family reunions, Dot's descendants wear purple. She lived in a big house, two houses down from where the Henry Gassmanns were brought up.

The Process

Under baked :(

Overall, these are a pretty easy bake. I recommend using softened butter, though the recipe doesn't specifically ask for it. I used my handy dandy electric mixer to cream the sugar and butter (because what sentient life form hand mixes anything these days?). 

The challenges with this recipe start once your dough is mixed. It's a very sticky dough, so getting it onto a spoon and then onto a pan was messy, to say the least. I highly recommend using parchment paper to line your pans (not wax paper... rookie mistake). When the recipe calls for teaspoon-sized drops, it means it! Aunt Dot was not playing around. If you go too big, not only will you end up with fused cookies, but the center will remain gooey - and not the good sort of gooey. Straight up raw.

Over baked :(

The instructions specifically say “Don’t over bake.” A cautionary tale to be sure. These baddies bake fast. After 3 trays to experiment, I had decided that 5 minutes was just right. Only after I threw the last batch in for 5 minutes, they came out underdone. Results inconclusive *big sigh*.

Further experiments were performed at the Weber Mecca (Olney, IL) under the watchful eye of Will (Gertrude>Henry>John). We lowered the temperature to 350° F and increased cooking time to 8 minutes. The results were indeed better, but even more so after Genie (Will's mother, and John's wife), helped us to move all the cookies to a cooling rack immediately out of the oven. No pressure to apply these changes, but I will say that cookies were crisper and evenly baked.

Just right :)

At the end of my baking, I realize that I never added in the nuts (which would have been leftover almonds from the Double Almond Crunch).  To be fair, the recipe technically never calls to add the nuts! Very confusing.

The Feedback

Climbers and family members alike were very fond of these cookies. Their thin and lacey texture received a special mention from both parties. The Henry Gassmann clan consistently referred to them as "Illini Crispies" which they are NOT! Illini Crispies are an altogether different recipe and should not be confused!

AUNT DOT’S OATMEAL COOKIES       CC90

Mary L.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup – 2 sticks – butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 tsp soda

½ tsp salt

2 cups “quick cook” oatmeal

½ cup nuts – more or less

Cream brown sugar and butter well. Add vanilla and egg and beat well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Add oats. Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet 1– 1½ inch apart. Bake at 375 for 7 – 10 minutes. Don’t over bake.