My favorite Oatmeal Cookies

I am a HUGE fan of oatmeal cookies. I got it from my dad. We naturally gravitate towards them every time if given a choice. I have been making these cookies since I was a teenager. I remember making multiple trips down to the kitchen (in a day) for handfuls of them at a time. They are really that good.

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups quick oats

1 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

raisins (optional)

Add all the ingredients until the vanilla and mix well. Your cookie dough should be smooth and look like this (without the funny child trying to sneak in the picture!)

Next, add the dry ingredients and mix well. Your dough should be a little thick now.

Use a big spoon to drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet. It doesn't need to look perfect, that is the great thing about oatmeal cookies! They actually look better when you can see all the texture.

Bake them for about 11 minutes at 350 degrees. Always watch the first batch really carefully to see how long they should bake in your oven. The trick to making these cookies GREAT is to undercook them just a bit. I like to take them out when they are just barely turning golden. It will seem like they wont be able to stay together, but if you let them cool they harden. This is also the trick to keeping them a little thicker. I like oatmeal cookies when they have a thick, chewy center instead of being thin and crispy. SOO Yummy!!