Well, I'm sitting here eating your cookies, Roselin, and have to say thank you for a delicious new recipe. These are really delightful, crispy, great flavor and texture. They're sure to become a standard in our house. I wondered as I was shopping for ingredients what would happen with substituting regular oatmeal or as Lorna mentioned, Irish oatmeal. Have you tried other oatmeals or does the cooking in butter require the texture of the instant? I have an entire box of regular sitting in the cupboard and it looks so forlorn. Sue

--Palm sugar is a low-glycemic sugar made from the sap of the Palmyra palm tree. It works like sugar in cooking and baking and has a caramel-like flavor, and is a tawny brown color. I order it on-line from several different places (currently using NAVITAS organic palm sugar). You might want to check with your health care professional before using this. I have several friends with diabetes who can't use Splenda (one friend ends up in the hospital each time she is unknowingly served Splenda) and use palm sugar in moderation without any problem. But each person is different. --Another sugar substitute I've been trying is SWERVE (made from Erythritol). This product is safe for diabetics. --Almond flour is made from ground almonds. It is high in protein (6 g. per 28 g. serving) and low in carbohydrates (6 g. per 28 g. serving). I purchase it in 5-pound bags from Honeyville Grain Farms (http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/blanchedalmondflour5lb.aspx), but I also sprout and dry whole almonds and grind my own in my little Wonder Mill, Jr., as well as using almond pulp leftover from homemade almond milk I make. I dry the pulp in the dehydrator or use it moist. I make cookies, crackers, and there is even a recipe for Almond Pulp Freezer Fudge I'm going to try. Check out Elana Amsterdam's web site (www.elanaspantry.com) for recipes using almond flour. I've about worn out her cookbook "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook". She uses agave nectar in most of her recipes, and that's another low-glycemic sweetener you may want to check with your health care professional before using it. --Coconut Flour is a high fiber, low-carb, gluten-free alternative to wheat. You can find lots of recipes using it on-line and I love the book by Bruce Fife, N.D. "Cooking with Coconut Flour". Most of the recipes can be made with alternative sweeteners. Diabetes is rampant in hubby's family, so I work hard at making foods that will hopefully help prevent him from ever getting it. We don't do without our favorite goodies, I just make them with different ingredients. -Grainlady

That recipe is very similar to my favourite Oatmeal Cookie. About the only difference is the addition of an extra egg and it doesn't contain cinnamon or nutmeg. Like Woodie I'm not a fan of raisins but I don't mind cranberries. I add Callebaut White Chocolate cut into chunks. Also try them with a sprinkle of sea salt. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Oatmeal - Best Oatmeal Cookies ============================== 1 Cup butter 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 2/3 cup flour 3/4 Teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon dash nutmeg 1 1/2 cups rolled oats Preheat oven to 350 Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until smooth. Add vanilla Combined flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into butter mixture. Add rolled oats. Roll into small balls (golf ball size) and flatten with glass dipped in sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Cookie should not get brown. Cool on wire rack. Source: Toronto Star

This is what I used to make at the restaurant where I worked: 1 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if using oatmeal instead of granola) 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2-1/2 cups sifted A/P flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups granola (plain or with coconut) 1 cup chocolate chips Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; add eggs, and beat thoroughly. Sift flour with salt and soda. Stir into butter mixture, add granola and chocolate chips. Drop from a teaspoon about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until completely browned. Using granola instead instead of oats makes the cookies crunchy instead of soft, and so if you like crisp cookies, this is a good substitution. You can use oatmeal instead of granola, but you will have to use 1 cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cup. I would multiply this recipe by four or six when making it for the restaurant, and I mixed the dough in a Hobart machine. I also tended to add coconut if the granola did not have any. Granola with almonds is good in this also.