The Great Oatmeal Cookie Bake-Off! Wish You Had Been There

The winner, from Kingsport's Christine Hickam:

Preheat oven: 375^o

Bake 8-10 minutes

Yield 5 dozen

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups plain flour

2 cups quick oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup white sugar

½ tsp. salt

1 cup raisins (optional)

1 cup vegetable oil

½ tsp. baking powder

1 cup nuts (optional – Jo Ann used thin sliced almonds)

Sift together flour, soda, salt and baking powder and set aside. Mix beaten eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in oats, and/or raisins and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonful (or use a cookie scoop) onto baking sheet.

Second Place: The Mistake

Baker Jo Ann Castle accidentally added twice the sugar to the fourth place finisher to create the number two cookie:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups quick oats

1 cup raisins

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

PREPARATION:

Sift together dry ingredients; stir in rolled oats and raisins. Stir in oil, eggs, and milk. Beat with a spoon until thoroughly blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes.

Third Place: eBay Oatmeal Cookies (recipe taken from vintage Kroger Oats box for sale on eBay)

2 eggs

4 cups Rolled Oats (uncooked)

1 cup chopped nuts

pinch of salt

2 cups flour

1 cup coconut

2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup melted butter and lard

1/2 teaspoon soda in 4 tablespoons hot water.

Beat eggs together and add other ingredients in the order given, mixing with each item thoroughly as added. Drop by spoonfuls on buttered tins and bake in moderate oven.

Fourth Place (second place with half the sugar)

Kenny’s Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups quick oats

1 cup raisins

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

PREPARATION:

Sift together dry ingredients; stir in rolled oats and raisins. Stir in oil, eggs, and milk. Beat with a spoon until thoroughly blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes.

Fifth Place (anonymous recipe from friend of Jo Ann's)

Preheat oven: 375^o

Bake 10-12 minutes

2 eggs

1 cup plain four

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup vegetable oil

½ tsp. baking soda

1 cup raisins

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Mix oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the oats and raisins last. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.

Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.