Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 Instant oatmeal is low in saturated fat and even lower in cholesterol. It is a very good source of calcium, iron, manganese, vitamin B6, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, vitamin B12 and I could go on. Of all the flavors that Quaker oats produces, I find the regular and old fashioned one particularly difficult to consume. May be because the taste is a bit too bland? but I've managed to find interesting ways to dish them! Apart from mixing milk and nuts before cooking it and having it as a breakfast cereal, baking oatmeal raisin cookies paves way to a tasty way for a quick and delicious snack. So I collect all the old fashioned oats packets and when I have a good amount I bake cookies.

Ingredients:

1. Softened Butter 1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons, softened
2. Brown sugar -3/4  cup
3. White sugar- 1/2  cup 
4. Eggs-2 (optional)
5. Vanilla essence=1 tsp
6. All-purpose flour- 1-1/2  cups
7. Baking soda- 1  tsp
8. Ground cinnamon- 1  tsp
9. Salt-1/2  tsp (optional)
10. Quaker Oats-3  cups (the old fashioned variety)
11. Raisins-1  cup

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars using a medium or low speed food mixer until a creamy mixture is obtained. 
2. Add eggs and vanilla. Ensure that each egg is followed by a gentle and thorough mix before you add another one. 
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon powder and salt to the mixture and continue to beat it. 
4. Add oats and raisins and mix well. Ensure that the food mixer does not beat the raisins too hard that they start to break into pieces.
5. Place many a tablespoon full of dough on ungreased cookie sheets and bake in the oven at 350F for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Don't keep it in for too long, or they will start to get too hard. 
6. Once done, Remove the cookie rack and cool them for 5-10 minutes before you gorge on them. Bon appetit!

Oatmeal Bars- A variation

1. Instead of dropping a spoonful of dough in cookie shapes, you could smother the entire dough to take the shape of the cookie tray. Let it bake in the over for around 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown. Take it out of the oven once done and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Then, cut them into bars. Voila! oatmeal bars are ready to be eaten.
2. You can also substitute the raisins with any kind of nut for a crunchy snack. Let me know how you liked them.