Jamie’s Lace Oatmeal Cookies
To the woman who preferred dessert over dinner. Tea instead of coffee, and dogs before cats. The sight of a wooden spoon, mixing bowl and measuring cups was always a sign that something sweet and delicious was on the horizon. To the woman who was not afraid of salmonella and always knew the dishes could wait while we licked the cookie dough bowl clean. She made the perfect pie crust, always used real butter, and knew the best medicine for almost any ailment or heartache was a homemade treat. To Pepper’s Mimi. Oh how I wish she could have spent time with you in the kitchen. Learning your magic ways with a whisk, sugar and room temperature (always!) eggs. Thank you for passing along your famous recipe for Lace Oatmeal Cookies. They will be enjoyed for generations to come. The recipe makes about 24 cookies (though we always only managed about half that because, well….cookie dough batter) Mimi, we love you, we will miss you. We can’t believe you are gone. You can all thank my Mother-in-law for these amazing cookies. They’re a gift to humankind. Life is short, unpredictable and precocious. Do yourself a favor and bake some cookies for someone you love today. And please, if you make them, don’t forget to lick the mixing bowl. The dishes can wait.
Jamie's Lace Oatmeal Cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Serves: 24
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg (room temperature) beaten
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Melt the butter in a small pan on the stove top over medium-low heat.
- Pour the melted butter into a medium-sized bowl. Add the sugars and egg. Mix well.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the sugar mixture and stir well. Drizzle in the vanilla and water. Add the oats and give the whole mixture a good stir.
- Taste test the dough. Like, really taste test it. Eat a few good scoops. Maybe one more..
- Add 1 tablespoon size balls to a parchment lined baking sheet. Space each cookie about 2 inches apart (the cookies spread)
- Bake for 10 minutes.
Notes
This recipe is my Mother-In-Law's. I wouldn't change a damn thing
The sweetest and best tribute to Jamie. Sending you a hug and lots of love.
All of Concord is grieving. Heartfelt condolences on your loss, Taylor, Andrea, and Pepper.
Barbara
Thanks for sharing about Jamie. Such a delightful remembrance. Hugs and solace to you and Taylor.
Andrea
I’m so sorry for your loss. Thanks so much for sharing your story about her and her recipe.
Your tribute to Jamie was touching – it brought a tear to my eye. I immediately went into the kitchen and baked a batch….and tasted the dough!
Give my best wishes to Taylor –
Russ’s mom
Such sad news. I enjoyed our chats on our walks. Thanks for sharing the cookies. I’ll serve with tea and have fond memories of Jamie.Love to all.
I love this. Here’s to Mimi!!
Very sorry for your loss. Grateful for your story. I made the cookies tonight in honor of Jamie. Thank you for sharing.
Andrea, your tribute to your mother in law was so touching to me that i went home and immediately made the cookies to share with a dear friend who was coming for dinner last night. And yes I tasted the dough, licked the spoon and will make these gems again. Sending your family love during this sad time.
My condolences to you on the loss of Jamie. She sounds like a very special Mimi. I would really like to print the recipe. My problem is anytime I try to print your recipes I get the message “Something went wrong. Check your printer and try again later.” I have no problems with my printer ~ I can print anything else. Can you help? Thanks, Janet
I am so sorry for your loss, Andrea! Thank you for sharing your memories and your Mother-in-law’s cookies. Such a lovely memory. I am making these now and they are delicious!
Eating your mother in laws cookie dough right now – loving it!! Wishing you a great day back at the market tomorrow!!
Your MIL visited my kitchen tonight via this recipe and it was divine intervention. My 3 year old just ate 3 of them!
I love love love this!!! Thank you so much for making her cookies and taking the time to comment. XO
Hi Andrea,
I’ve never commented on here before but am a longtime lover of this site. This was such a beautiful tribute, I made these when I first read your post and we ate the whole batch almost immediately. I think they’ll be a forever favourite! Sending you and your family love and healing.
Victoria from Australia x
This is a beautiful post! I would love to try these this week but I only have salted butter- how much would you decrease the salt in the recipe to balance this out? Thank you <3
Nearly 50 years ago, my boyfriend decided to make oatmeal cookies using my mother’s (Mimi’s) recipe. I came into the kitchen and realized to my horror that he had melted the butter and sugar because he was “tired” of trying to cream the cold butter and sugar. I told him that would never work but he got huffy and went ahead and proceeded with the recipe. Of course they were the most delicious praline-like cookies I every tasted. So we and Mimi continued to make oatmeal cookies this way.
I love the sentiment behind this recipe!
Are they meant to be soft? I was thinking they would be crispy being so thin. I will try again another day as I froze half the batch 😉
They were a tad sweet for my liking so I may scale that back on my next batch.