Tutorial Tuesday: Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Last week I shared my Oreo Ball recipe, inspired by "Oreo Cookie Day."  Well, guess what, March 18 is "Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day."  (They have a day for everything!)  So I figured, what better time to share the oatmeal lace cookie recipe I used for my Valentine's Day dinner?

I must admit, this was my first time making these cookies, & I had a small (or shall I say big?!) issue.......I'll explain a little later on.

Here's what you'll need:

1 3/4 cups shortening

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar

1 3/4 cups cake flour

2 1/2 cups whole oats

1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 medium eggs

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350*.

2) Place each ingredient in a large mixing bowl in the order listed above & mix for at least 2 minutes.  (I had to add a very small amount of water to help me mix it.)

3) Okay, here is where I went wrong!  The recipe calls for using a #60 dipper to drop the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Well, I didn't have a #60 dipper and didn't even know what it was.  When I looked it up on-line, I read that it was equivalent to 60 ml or 2 oz.  Being the novice that I am, I just assumed that I could measure 2 oz. in a measuring cup and then try out a couple spoons 'til I found one that would hold the 2oz.  Makes sense, right?

Well, let's just say that 2oz. in a measuring cup must be WAY more than what this dipper actually holds!  My first few cookies ended up more like OATMEAL LOAVES!  They were huge.....falling over the side of the cookie sheet & super thick!  Keep in mind that these cookies are supposed to be thin and crispy.  While they still tasted good, they didn't look like oatmeal lace!

We even tried dipping a glass in flour and using it to "smash" the cookie dough down before baking.  This helped a little, but as you can see in the above picture, the flour was still noticeable even after they were baked.

After a little trial & error, I found that only about 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture is needed per cookie.  But either way, big or small, they are delicious!

4) Place cookies at least 3-4 inches apart because they'll spread  (I only placed 4-6 cookies per sheet pan.)

5) Bake 12-14 minutes until golden brown, thin, and crispy.

Enjoy!