This is from Epicurious & is a Cook's Illustrated recipe: Cook's Illustrated's (Moist And Chewy) Oatmeal Cookies (With Raisins & Variations Michael in Denver, Quaker Oats has their famous Vanishing Oatmeal cookies, which remain soft if you leave them on your baking sheets for a minute or two before completely cooling on wire racks. I always soak my raisins in water and drain them before adding them to my cookies, although, I have heard that rum is better. :O) Cook's Illustrated #1 Oatmeal Cookies Why did it take six months to develop the right recipe for a chewy, thick, buttery oatmeal cookie? Well, it all started and ended with the back of the Quaker Oats box.... The challenge: When we considered doing a story on oatmeal cookies, the first place we went was the back of the Quaker Oats box, and the cookies the Quaker recipe produced were very good. Nonetheless, we wanted something moremore chewy, more moist, and more substantial. We were after a big, moist, chewy cookie with lots of real oat flavor. The solution: After literally months of testing, our final recipe was in fact still very close to the Quaker Oats recipe that had gotten us started, but we had discovered four simple changes that made a significant difference in the end result. First, we substituted baking powder for baking soda. The baking powder gave the dough more lift, which in turn made the cookies less dense and a bit chewier. Second, we eliminated the cinnamon recommended not only in the Quaker Oats recipe but in lots of other recipes. By taking away the cinnamon, we revealed more oat flavor. Third, we made our cookies really big, doubling the amount of dough most recipes recommend dropping onto the cookie sheet. We had learned that small cookies tend to be dry; by increasing size, we got more moisture and more chewiness. Fourth, we increased the sugar in our cookies, and this made a huge difference in terms of texture and moistness. Sugar makes baked goods both more tender and more moist because it helps the end product retain water during baking. In addition, by encouraging exterior browning, sugar promotes crispness. In the end, we had gotten even more out of our new oatmeal cookie recipe than we'd hoped for. BIG CHEWY OATMEAL-RAISIN COOKIES Makes 16 to 20 large cookies If you prefer a less sweet cookie, you can reduce the white sugar by one-quarter cup, but you will lose some crispness. Do not overbake these cookies. The edges should be brown but the rest of the cookie should still be very light in color. Parchment makes for easy cookie removal and cleanup, but it's not a necessity. If you don't use parchment, let the cookies cool directly on the baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Ingedients: 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened but still firm 1 cup light brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 3 cups rolled oats 1 1/2 cups raisins (optional) 1. Adjust oven racks to low and middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. 2. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg together, then stir them into butter-sugar mixture with wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in oats and optional raisins. 3. Form dough into sixteen to twenty 2-inch balls, placing each dough round onto one of two parchment paperÂcovered, large cookie sheets. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. (Halfway during baking, turn cookie sheets from front to back and also switch them from top to bottom.) Slide cookies on parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving. DATE OATMEAL COOKIES Substitute 1 1/2 cups chopped dates for the raisins. GINGER OATMEAL COOKIES Omit raisins and add 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger. CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES Substitute 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips for the raisins. NUT OATMEAL COOKIES Omit raisins, decrease flour to 1 1/3 cups, and add 1/4 cup ground almonds and 1 cup walnut pieces along with oats. Almonds can be ground in food processor or blender. ORANGE AND ALMOND OATMEAL COOKIES Omit raisins and add 2 tablespoons minced orange zest (remove zest with peeler, being careful to leave behind any white pith) and 1 cup toasted chopped almonds (toast almonds in 350-degree oven for 5 minutes) along with oats. Author(s): Christopher Kimball - Eva Katz Written: January,1997

for those who love ginger, TJ's has a new "Organic" ginger cookie. They're small and ultra crisp, but have a great bite! DH sent me out to stock up in case they discontinue them! My favorites are Milano's mint and dark chocolate, Thin Mints and Mrs. Fields Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers! Odd choice I know, but I love dark chocolate and I really like ginger!

Here is the long-ago original recipe from the Quaker Oatmeal box. I understand the one printed there now is different. This is the one that I have always used and everyone enjoys so very much Original Quaker Oatmeal Cookies 3 cups Quaker oats, (quick or old fashioned, uncooked) 1 cup all purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup vegetable shortening 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 1 egg 1/4 cup water 1 tsp vanilla Heat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet. Combine oats, flour, salt and baking soda. In large bowl, beat together shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla until creamy. Add dry ingredients, mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. For variety you can add chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips or coconut

Well, a little late but here is an outstanding oatmeal cookie recipe. In fact, my son says I should quit my design job and sell these on the street if I really want to be a success. And when dh took some to work with him one of his colleagues who tried them immediately proposed marriage to me. When dh pointed out that I was already married to HIM, his colleague said, "Yeah, but you gotta die sometime!" Oatmeal Cookies 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 1/2 cup butter (don't use all butter or the cookies will be too soft and spread all over) 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup white granulated sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (NOT artificial) 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (this is the secret!) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans Beat the shortening, sugar, and brown sugar in a mixer bowl until creamy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine the flour, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt in another bowl and mix well. Add to the creamed mixture gradually, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the oats and pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls (I use a mini ice cream type scoop so they will be uniform) onto a baking stone (Pampered Chef or similar) or a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or til light brown. The time will depend on your particular oven. The trick is to get the cookies barely done but not so well done that they are no longer chewy. When cookies come from the oven they should be light brown and look a little bit shiny and wet in places. It should be almost impossible to remove them from the baking sheet immediately from the oven so cool the cookies on the stone or cookie sheet for 2 minutes. During that time they continue to cook a little and become firm enough to remove but they will still be very soft. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely. When the cookies cool they will be delicately crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. Makes about 3 dozen....and your reputation!