Great Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My Great Grandma loved to bake. Perhaps that's where I got my own love of baking. She made wonderful birthday cakes for all of the kids and would frequently stop by with a fresh batch of cookies.

For my dad's birthday (which is today), I decided to bake him his own personal batch of his all-time favorite cookies, using the same recipe my Great Grandma used. This recipe is from the back of the Quaker Oats box which, my uncle swears, is the recipe she always used.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(Source: Quaker Oats Box)

1/2 cup + 6 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I'm going to start off by saying this: I am not particularly fond of Oatmeal Raisin cookies. Raisins and cookies just don't go together for me. However, they are a wildly popular cookie for people, like my dad, and I promised I would make them for him. This recipe was taken from a Better Homes and Garden cookbook I received as a wedding present. The combination of cinnamon and cloves in these cookies gave them just the right amount of spice and I think they turned out well.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(Source: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook 14th edition)

3/4 cup butter

1 cu brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in remaining flour and oats. Stir in raisins.

3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart onro a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool on a cookies sheet 1 minute. Teransfer to wire rack and let cool.