A truly delicious oatmeal cookie is, well, truly delicious. It's also a rare find. Some oatmeal cookies just take blank, like you're eating Cream of Wheat in a cookie. But other oatmeal cookies are so bursting in flavor that they become favorites. Oats are sort of the "tofu" of Amish baking and cooking. Use can use them in so many recipes and they can sort of absorb and complement the flavors around them.
❓ Why Oatmeal Crispy Cookies?
Looking for the perfect Amish-style treat that satisfies your sweet tooth while still offering a touch of wholesomeness? Look no further than this ultimate oatmeal crispy cookie recipe. Whether you're hosting a gathering or simply craving a delicious snack, these cookies - if you are like me and like oatmeal - will be your go-to option for any occasion.
This cookie offers a pleasing combination of hearty oats, a hint of cinnamon, and a generous amount of buttery crispiness, these cookies strike the perfect balance between being chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside.
The aroma that wafts from the oven as they bake is simply irresistible, drawing everyone to gather around and take a bite. What sets this recipe apart is its versatility. You can customize it to suit your taste preferences by adding nuts, dried fruits, or even chocolate chips. Whether you prefer your cookies on the softer side or enjoy a little extra crunch, you can easily adapt the baking time to achieve your desired texture.
📜 My Oatmeal Crispy Cookie Journey
About ten years ago, I was visiting with two Amish sisters in southeastern Indiana. Their last name was Wickey. I asked each of the Wickey sisters and their elderly mother to pick their favorite recipe out of their family cookbook, and one of the sisters chose Oatmeal Crispy Cookies, which are a chocolately cross between an oatmeal and chocolate chip cookie. She happened to have some on hand and offered me one.
It was a really good cookie, I got to sample one. The recipe is below, reprinted from their out-of-print family cookbook "Country Home Cooking." There aren't any cookbooks left, but they may reprint. I'll keep you posted. I LOVED the cookbook because it was so authentic, not just a collection of passed around recipes, but hundreds of THEIR recipes.
📋 Step-By-Step Oatmeal Crispy Cookies
The blend of sugars, white granulated sugar and dark or light brown sugar in this cookie complement one another very well.
I have used old-fashioned oats, rolled oats, steel cut oats, or quick cooking oats in this recipe and I don't notice a difference either way.
You can use whole wheat flour, white all-purpose flour, or spelt to make these cookies. I am sure the Wickey sisters would just use white flour, though. Use large eggs when you make these, if you only have small eggs, you might want to use four. Drop by tablespoon or cookie scoop onto a cookie sheet. I like to cover my baking sheets with parchment paper for a no-mess experience.
You can use a stand mixer or electric mixer to stir the mixture in a bowl or just use a wooden spoon. Just scrape the edges so you are using all the mixture. And when you are stirring the flour mixture that is when you can add any "tweaks" like some nutmeg or cinnamon. But I think this recipe generally is perfect as posted!
By the way, this recipe calls for lard. I absolutely think lard gives the best taste, but some people don't like lard or just don't have easy access to it. So you can use other shortening in its place, or even butter. You want to bake these a good 10 minutes until the edges are nice and crisp.
Most Amish cooks recommend chilling the cookie dough for several hours or overnight before making any good. Just gives a chance for the ingredients to really meld. So in a perfect world, chill the dough for awhile first. If you don't have time to, you can still make these, and they'll turn out fine.
These are essentially classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with a crispy twist. The prep time is minimal. I mean if you don't chill the dough, your total time on this is about half an hour.
Cool the cookies on a wire rack and then, for storage, an air-tight container at room temperature. Or if you have a cookie jar, these are perfect for that.
🙋 FAQ Amish Oatmeal Crispy Cookies
Yes, you can instead put the cookie dough into a 10 X 13 baking pan and bake as bars. They won't crisp up as much and you'll likely need to bake longer than 10 minutes.
Yes, a Crisco shortening or even butter with do the job, a lot of Amish bakers love the flavor and texture that lard adds, but many non-Amish don't have easy access to lard.
🍪 More Amish Cookie Recipes
Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
🖨️ Full Recipe
Amish Chocolate Oatmeal Crispy Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 cups lard
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda (dissolved in a little water)
- 3 cups flour
- 6 cups oatmeal
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream together sugars and lard.
- Add eggs after salt and vanilla have been added.
- Stir well Sift flour and soda. Mix well.
- Add the rest.
- Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet spaced 2 inches apart
- Bake 8 - 10 minutes in 375 oven.
Dorothy
Can I substitute butter and/or Crisco for the lard? I've never used lard!
Kevin
Yes, Dorothy, you can use either in place of lard, they'll turn out fine.