it's cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg & allspice, people!

My mom makes really good oatmeal cookies that were my favorite cookie growing up. I loved the chewy texture, and the spices are quite perfect. That combination makes these cookies addicting. So, as long as you can look past the ordinary, brown, oatmeal cookie appearance, you will find an extraordinary cookie.

I lost the recipe my mom gave me and didn't want to call and bother her for the hundredth time for one of her recipes {ok, and,...well, if I admit I lost something, it is bringing up the idea that I am disorganized and that is not an area I feel like getting into...better to let her think my homemaking is up to par...you get the idea...this is a whole another blog post I'm delving into here...}, so I decided to try to recreate the magic myself. Consequently, our family quickly gobbled up two batches this week.

Here is my version that has the same texture and taste as my mother's great recipe...less a little sugar, plus a little molasses...and the key here is don't skimp on the spices! In fact, it was baking this recipe as a kid that caused me to learn what later made my pumpkin recipes a hit. And because I grew up knowing these five spices, I still don't understand why more spice recipes don't use them together, or use enough of them. Including all five spices is KEY, and the sixth spice is to play around with to make the flavor profile even more tantalizing!

Chewy Oatmeal Spice Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon each cloves, ginger, allspice, nutmeg {and/or cardamom}
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup chopped, dried fruit or raisins, optional

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, spices, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and dried fruit.
• Drop by rounded spoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. May still look slightly shiny and soft in the middle; this is fine. Let stand for 1 minute before removing to wire racks. 
• Yield: 4 dozen.