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My Happy List: Oatmeal Cookies! *plus* A Childhood Memory

Tuesday, September 10, 2013


My Happy List
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Good Morning, Lovelies!  Welcome to My Happy List!

Today there is only one thing on my list:  oatmeal cookies!  Believe it or not, I found the recipe in the back of an Aunt Dimity book by Nancy Atherton (the first one, actually).

You can read more about Aunt Dimity here.  I think there are around twenty books in the series!



I really enjoyed this book for several reasons.  First of all, the main character's name is Lori.  My younger cousin (by three years) is also named Lori.  Both my cousin and the fictional Lori love stuffed animals and bedtime stories.  My cousin Lori would ask my grandmother to tell us stories before bed, and she would pick at her stuffed animal.  She would pick the poor thing bald!  :D  I guess it was a nervous habit because my grandmother told us some pretty scary stories, about sack men who carried naughty children away, and a psychotic neighbor named Josey Koonz.  It's a wonder that we both don't need therapy.  After Big Mama (our grandmother) would tell us these horrible stories, Lori would always ask for more!

The fictional Lori's bedtime stories were a lot less creeptastic, and they centered around a sweet British lady named Aunt Dimity.  Soon after the death of her mother, Lori discovers that Aunt Dimity was a real person, and she has been bequeathed a task in Aunt Dimity's will: Lori must write a preface to the Lori Stories, the entire collection of the Aunt Dimity stories from her childhood.  This book has ghosts, mysteries, romance, plus a delightful Cotswold cottage surrounded by lilacs.  *le sigh*

Here are Beth's Oatmeal Cookies from the book.  (Beth is Lori's mother in the book.)





Beth's Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 jumbo eggs
2 T raisin water (see below)
2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup raisins
2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In small saucepan, combine raisins with water and bring to a boil;  lower heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  When cool, reserve 5 tablespoons raisin water, then drain raisins in colander.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs ann raisin water. Mix well.  Sift dry ingredients (excluding oats) together and blend into creamed mixture.  With a wooden spoon mix oats, nuts, and raisins. Combine well.

Drop by heaping teaspoonful 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake 10 - 15 minutes, or until golden brown and firm on top when touched with your finger.  Cool on racks.

Makes around 6 dozen cookies.

NOTE:  I used a small ice cream scoop and baked 11 minutes in a convection oven.

~Adapted from recipe in Aunt Dimity's Death



This is the first time I've ever made oatmeal cookies with raisin water. Have you heard about this?  Learning new skills makes me happy!

I hope you're having a happy week so far.  

This is a linky!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill



18 comments

  1. My hubby's favorite cookies are oatmeal cookies. He would love it if I made these for him!!

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  2. I love the cover of that book! I love Oatmeal Raisin cookies. I'm one of those people that prefer them to chocolate chip (I know gasp right?) but I've never heard of raisin water before!

    Thanks for hosting!

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  3. never heard of raisin water but they look delicious

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  4. Mmmm...the cookies look great. I've never heard of raisin water, but I have heard of putting raisins in water to plump them up.

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  5. uh Yum and so cool!
    I love both tales of the the real lori in your life and the book lori.
    This post made me Happy :)
    amy

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  6. I have soaked raisins before adding them to cookies, but this sounds much more fascinating. Good thing you have my address!

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  7. Never heard of raisin water, and I've never seen this piece of McK-C. the oatmeal cookies look pretty tasty.

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  8. It's a cookie recipe with my name on it...literally! That's a win in my book. :)

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  9. Wow! This is a totally different recipe from what I have seen. We will have to try it. I loved reading about your childhood memory! Your post made me HAPPY!!

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  10. I've never seen that McKenzie-Childs bowl ;o) The oatmeal cookies sound wonderful!

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  11. These look so good! A fall favorite of ours:)

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  12. I love finding recipes in my cozy mysteries! These cookies look delicious.

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  13. Hi Ricky Jill,
    Thanks for all the wonderful reminders that life offers so much happiness. Hugs

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  14. Thanks for sharing your happy list. It is so easy to forget how to find happiness during tough times. Your happy list has helped me not to forget all the joy that life has to offer. I look forward to making these cookies and I hope I don't eat them all! Hugs

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  15. Oatmeal cookies is my very favorite! I have this allusion of them being healthy! LOL

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  16. I have never heard of raisin water, but I have been making lots of oatmeal cookies lately. My family finally asked me to stop because they can't stop eating them. The neighbors are all asking me to keep making them.

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  17. So many good things to bake, so little time! They look yum!

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  18. That is too funny that your grandmother would tell you creepy scary stories. I would have been terrified. I wonder if that is why you like stories with another dimension and vampires and other worldly creatures.

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Hello!

I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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